Odds are your Chicago kitchen remodel includes replacing the sink – and that means there are choices to be made. One of the first tier sink factors will be whether you prefer a single or double bowl?
Here are some of the pros and cons of both types, listed via the different ways homeowners use their sinks on a daily basis. Reviewing these might help you discern which sink version makes the most sense for your kitchen and its most common occupants. Then you can move on to the aesthetic features.
How many people use the kitchen each day?
If you live in a household of four or less, the double bowl sink might be fine because a day’s worth of dishes will fit inside each half, and you can take care of them all in the evening. If you are a couple, living mostly alone, then double bowl sink allows you to hand-wash barely-dirty dishes on a daily basis, avoiding the long expanse of time it can take to completely fill a dishwasher.
If you have a household of five or more, the larger, single-bowl version might be the best bet. After that many people have made their way through the breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack portions of the day – a double bowl sink might be over-full due to the extra space the divider takes up, and that leads to an overflow of dirty dishes onto the countertops.
Do you hand wash dishes often?
Those who like to handwash dishes, particularly that fine crystal glassware or antique china, often prefer double bowl sinks. One side works for soaking/sudsing and the other for rinsing. The same might hold true for those who bake on a regular basis, or have baking pans with stuck-on food, as you can use one side for soaking the item in question while the other can be stacked with the dishes waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher.
Do you use large baking sheets, huge pots or more cumbersome dishware?
On the flipside, you may find you’re driven nuts by the inability of larger baking sheets, pans or cookware (that 11 x 13 pyrex) to sit flush inside the smaller dimensions of most double bowl sink models. It’s impossible to evenly soak these larger cookware items without having them sit on the countertop. If that bothers you, a single bowl sink will accommodate them, keeping countertops free of clutter.
Are you constantly rearranging dishes in the sink to accommodate dinner prep?
If you find you’re constantly juggling dirty dishes from one side to the other in order to keep your fresh veggies from dipping into dirty dishes when you rinse them, or you often take extra time to load the dishwasher before you can start prepping dinner due to sink overload, a double sink might be the answer. With two sides available, you can keep one for the dirty dishes while the other remains free for more sanitary kitchen tasks.
Is water conservation a consideration for you?
Double sinks are the more sustainable or eco-friendly option because it takes far less water to fill up half the sink – or a third of the sink, depending on how the bowls are divided – when you want to soak or handwash dishes. Single bowl sinks require far more water, which can be wasteful if you’re only needing to soak a single pan or a few dishes with stubborn food stains.
The good news is that there are a wide range of design options when it comes to single or double bowl sinks. Sometimes, it’s all about finding the right double bowl sink, with optimal dimensions, if you’re more drawn in that direction.
Come in to the Kitchen & Baths Unlimited showroom, or schedule a consultation, and we can help you narrow your options to either sink style, so your Chicago kitchen design is both functional and stylish.
