When designing your new kitchen, one thing that you can consider is the number of sinks you will have in your kitchen. Will you opt for one sink, or would you think about having two sinks in your new space? Is there an advantage to having two sinks in your new space? Here are some things to help you consider your options.
Functionality
Having two sinks in your kitchen could help with the traffic and workflow. If two people are prepping food at once, each can have their own sink area to work. This way people are not trying to work on top of each other. If one person is prepping meat, and the other is making the salad, there will be no cross-contamination. For the solo cook as well as the multi-cooks, one sink can be used for prep and the other sink used for cleaning. It will just be important to make sure each sink is in the best location for traffic patterns. You don’t want the person clearing the dinner dishes to get in the way of the person serving dessert.
Location
Something to keep in mind is where the two sinks will be located. If one sink is designated the prep sink, it could be located on the kitchen island. Thinking of your regular workflow when you cook your meals, will help determine the best placement of the sink on the island. If you are going to be moving food from the refrigerator to the island, you will most likely not want the sink straight in front of the refrigerator. You can consider placing the sink on the other end. You will also want to consider how far your sink is from your cooking surface. If you are cooking pasta, having the sink close by means an easier time draining your pasta water. You don’t need an island to have two sinks, though. A review of your regular cooking habits will help determine the best flow and placement.
Size
One thing you want to make sure that you do is to determine the proper size of both sinks. You don’t want a prep sink that is too large or a designated clean up sink that can’t hold dishes. By reviewing the workflow, traffic pattern, and use pattern for your kitchen, you can determine the best size of your sinks. Sketching things out ahead of time can also help you determine how varying sink placements and sizes can affect your kitchen functionality.
