Seven key decisions when choosing a kitchen sink

The clean lines of a minimalist kitchen demand all unnecessary objects to stay out of sight. Even necessary ones, like fridges and dishwashers, can be integrated behind false cabinet doors. Innovative products like boiling water taps and built-in coffee machines mean previously safe products like kettles are surplus to requirements and can be retired from the worktop. One fixture that will never disappear from the kitchen landscape, however, is the kitchen sink.

While almost all other fixtures, appliances, objects and utensils can be hidden away in drawers and behind cabinet doors, kitchen sinks are consistently in use and need full accessibility. So because it’s now possible to get rid of everything bar the kitchen sink, it’s more important than ever to get the right one.

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.

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.

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.

Another way to add volume is with a deeper farmhouse-style sink. These are the perfect way to complete a rustic kitchen look but the low-slung bowls take up more under-counter cabinet space and can be uncomfortable for taller users. Meanwhile, if worktop space is tight, smaller circular sinks like Blanco’s Ronis are suitable for micro-kitchens or bar kitchens. Ronis even comes with accessory trays to use the same space for chopping and washing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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