Seven key decisions when choosing a kitchen sink
Where most kitchen activities start and finish, the kitchen sink is imperative to a cohesive, effective and multifunctional kitchen. Here’s what to consider when choosing one.
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By Dornbracht, Franke Home Solutions, Blanco and
September 5, 2023 | 10:00 pm CUT
Under-mount sinks like this black glazed-steel sink from Dornbracht extend the worktop and simplify cleaning up, while matching or contrasting with the rest of the space
One fixture that will never disappear from the kitchen landscape is the kitchen sink
Sink CS (top) is made from solid surface HIMACS, meaning the sink and worktop can be moulded as one continuous form, while Dornbracht’s glazed steel (bottom) material is easy to care for
Kitchen sink materials
Gone are the days when a gleaming great hunk of stainless steel was forcibly thrown at a lovingly curated kitchen palette. In modern times, many kitchen sinks come in spotless white ceramic that goes with anything. The Sink CS from HIMACS uses the technologically advanced solid surface material to seamlessly mould a full work surface together with a sunken sink. If a specific colour is desired to match or contrast with an existing palette, meanwhile, then composite sinks open up a variety of colour options. Both solid and easily cared for, however, steel should not be so quickly overlooked. Using glazed steel, Dornbracht’s sinks come in a variety of colour options, too.
Blanco’s Metra granite sink is available in a variety of tones and neutral shades including white, black, coffee, off-white and five shades of grey
Colourful kitchen sinks
With so many hardwearing worktops, flooring and wall-covering surfaces available in a variety of colours and patterns, specifiers are creatively free to explore in any direction their minds take them. Blanco’s Metra range, for example, is available in the standard white and black of most granite sinks, as well as five separate shades of grey, a coffee-brown and an off-white, covering a full spectrum from light to dark and back. Schock’s Waterfall granite sink, meanwhile, featuring the brand’s patented CRISTADOR® finish, is also available in white, black and grey, along with coffee and magnolia tones, and even a deep ruby red.
Franke Home Solutions’ Urban Sink (top, middle) fits in more bowl by moving the tap fixture to one side, while Blanco has added accessory trays to extend the usability of its circular Ronis sink (bottom)
Size matters with the kitchen sink. But use it wisely
To find the perfect sized kitchen sink, specifiers must think ahead. For those who cook for many, large pans and roasting dishes need wide, deep sinks. Franke Home Solutions’ already-large Urban Sink, for example, pushes its tap mount to one side, giving one half of the bowl extended depth and lengthening its corner-to-corner measurement to over 800cm.Under-mount sinks allow a luxurious worktop’s fine finish and edging to draw the line
Blanco’s Andano sink can be realised as a full-sized single sink (top) a 50/50 double-sink combination (middle), a 70/30 single and a-half sink pair (bottom) or in many more iterations
How many bowls does one sink need?
From washing dishware to draining, rinsing, soaking and even just running the tap until it’s the right temperature, sinks have many uses. So those with a single bowl can feel restrictive. Along with simultaneously serving two functions, double sinks are great for using one to wash and another to rinse, but both are only half the size. It can be hard to decide between two small sinks or one large. Blanco’s Andano sink is available in a range of sizes and arrangements and with various accessories, making sure whatever size the sink is, it stays as functional as possible.
An under-mount sink like Mythos from Franke Home Solutions (top, middle) is a perfect partner for the clean look of a minimalist kitchen, but Scarabeo’s Up sink (bottom) stands to demand attention
Practical differences between under-mount and over-mount sinks
Slotting into a pre-cut hole, over-mount sinks are simple to install but can be harder to clean, and their exposed seam can be susceptible to leaks over time. Meanwhile, under-mount sinks like Franke Home Solutions’ Mythos allow the fine finish and edging of a luxurious worktop material to draw the line instead. By positioning the bowl underneath the worktop edge, meanwhile, users are able to wipe worktop mess away with ease. Instead of going down, the Up sink from Scarabeo goes up. With a full frame that fits flush to the work surface, Up makes cleaning easier than with a traditional over-mount sink, too.
Schock’s Signus sink (top) uses a patented overflow to protect the bowl from wastewater while drainage grooves can alternatively be routed straight into solid-surface worktops like HIMACS (bottom)
Sinks and boards used for drying and draining
Draining boards are useful to allow washed items a place to sit while waiting to be dried – or to be left to air dry. Schock’s Signus range, for example, features a draining board with a patented tray and overflow to catch and direct wastewater away from clean water in the bowl. Specifiers of luxury worktops, meanwhile, are often keen to keep as much of them on display as possible. In lieu of a sink-integrated draining board, worktops with solid surfaces like HIMACS can be routed to allow for drainage. And for those who don’t like getting their hands wet either, Dornbracht’s kitchen sinks are available with a Touch Flow drain, featuring push-button operation at the top of the sink.
Corner sinks like Blanco’s Blancodelta fit snugly into the kitchen counter corner, making good use of this awkward area
Space-utilising corner sinks
As sinks need to be a minimum distance from electrical points and appliances, and require surface space on each side to collect soiled and sparkling cookware at opposite ends of the process, their location and positioning options can be fairly limited – especially in small kitchens. Using up the awkwardly unusable counter space and awkwardly unreachably cabinet space in a kitchen’s corner, however, corner sinks like Blanco’s Blancodelta sink offer the functional advantage of tucking the sink and its connecting pipework neatly out of the way.Project Gallery
