This past week (and current weekend) is what I like to call “getting things done”. I’m typically a list person anyway, but I’ve got a serious list going right now on all things project related – people to contact, samples to order, places to visit, drawings to finish, details to work on. I feel like I’m chained to the computer so much these days (nights, really), and so mid-week I decided it was time to do something a little more fun. Time to kick the tires on a few things I’d like to include in the kitchen, so we hit up a few showrooms around town.
Today was project sink – I’ve got two close contenders, (and one bonus one I didn’t know about) and they are fantastic.
Sink goals: BIG. I want a seriously large sink, and one that will work well with the way I like to prep food. We go through a lot of produce in our house, so dinner always starts with a good rinsing and washing of fruits and vegetables, and then I like to chop everything and have it in glass bowls or ramekins, ready to go when I start cooking. I currently use a bamboo cutting board on the 15″ countertop I have between my range and sink. I chop the food, sweeping the discards to my right, directly into a colander that I rest in the bottom of the sink. This works pretty well for me now, but I really run out of places to put the prepped ingredients, and once I have the heat going on the cooktop, the chopping board is a little too close for comfort (and has the burn marks to prove it.)
In the new kitchen (also a linear one), I want the sink on the left and the range on the right. I want to move from the left to the right as I cook, from beginning prep to mise en place to the stove. We’re gaining some space on the current wall by moving the refrigerator out of the room, and eliminating the 12″ wide full height cabinet to the right of it – so that’s about four extra feet of space. But in order to have a really large sink and range, I’ve got to make every inch count in this place.
Sinks in contention:
Kallista Multiere.
Multiere is the most expensive of the bunch, but it’s beautiful. I love the design of the sink – it’s the most minimal design as far as how much space it takes under the counter, which means we can utilize most of the space below with pull out drawers. No wasted sink cabinet with a pile of cleaning supplies and empty around the pipes. (That’s what mine looks like now.)
Kohler, Stages 45
45 as in inches – these sinks are seriously long. This one is probably my favorite. It comes with all the accessories that you see in the photo, and it’s my favorite video as well. I feel like they designed this sink for our kitchen. I also would like to devour whatever they are making in that video, stat. We don’t defrost a lot of meat (or devein a lot of shrimp!) but man, that higher portion on the sink is brilliant. I love how every last piece is designed to remain as clean and sanitary as possible, everything drains, nothing slops over on the countertop.
Kohler, Prolific
This is the least expensive of the bunch, and a little bit smaller, but seriously so well designed. I love the wash bin, the colander, the drying racks. This is how I use my sink now, just with random pieces in my kitchen that don’t fit exactly right and don’t stack and store so well.
I have a feeling we’ll go with the Stages sink and accessories, but all three are really great options for a residential sink that is a solid workhorse in the kitchen. I love the way the sink is an integral extension of the prep space – I don’t think I could consider anything different after seeing how well these will work in an efficient kitchen layout.
P.S. Faucets. I’m not completely sold on the articulating faucet (two shown in the Stages photos), but man, they appear to work so well in that video. With a sink this wide, we’ll need a really large faucet with a big swing, plus one with an integral spray feature. I’m really leaning towards a touchless one as well. That’s a decision for another day…
Those all look awesome. The faucets in option 2 aren’t quite as pretty, but they mean business! I would looooove touchless, so that feature gets my vote. (I’ll be over to wash my hands and refill water glasses.)
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#2 Faucets look like something out of Star Wars (although when they are folded up and not in use, they are really understated). Ignore the faucets, and just bask in the loveliness of sliding trays. Ahhh…
I even like the faucets that you just have to tap – like with your wrist or forearm, to turn them on and off. So helpful when your hands are covered in raw egg.
Speaking of touchless, we opted for the double garbage drawer that you tap with your knee to open. I thought it was too frivolous when my husband chose it, but it’s now a favorite feature in my kitchen.
A drawer under the sink would be lovely. That’s the only set of under-counter cabinets we have, and I dislike them so much. Pretty sure they were our only option since we went with the triple farmhouse (without any compartments).
That garbage drawer magic sounds amazing. Tell me more…
I’ll ask my cabinet maker for the brand name he uses in his cabinets, but it seems to be similar to other Blum products. A quick Google search showed that IKEA is selling something like this as well. UTRUSKA, I think.
Thanks lady.
Wow! I absolutely love the second one! So functional and still beautiful. I had no idea there were even this many options in sinks!
Wow…I’m having serious sink envy. That Stages sink is pretty amazing. I do not have 45″ of space for it, however. Wow!
We couldn’t go wide, so went deep with our sink. I love the space but when we have a lot of pots and pans to hand wash I find myself with a sore back from bending over the sink. So, deeper and shallower options would be great. Those are some beautiful sinks!
Great initiative
You have done the work efficiently and effectively. It,s very helpful information for me. This is a perfect sink. It looks so beautiful.
Thanks for sharing!