Does it matter where you put your kitchen sink?

18 Feb Does it matter where you put your kitchen sink?

There are lots of things to decide on when piecing together your dream kitchen design. How you want it to feel and look. How you want to move around and use the space. Where you want things and how you want to be able to interact with other people in the space. What materials you like and the lighting you want, all of these decisions play a role in planning your dream kitchen and getting every detail just right. 

Kitchen layouts 

You’ll have heard about the kitchen triangle (if not, we’ve written a blog about that, too! The kitchen triangle explained). This concept is rooted in the practicality of having the three most used points in the kitchen in terms of food prep: oven, sink and fridge, in a triangle formation within your kitchen layout. So you can move efficiently between the three areas. You’ll see lots of kitchen designs set up with this format in mind. 

It makes absolute sense to ensure these three cornerstones of the kitchen are in easy reach of each other, and it helps dictate where you need other practical items like your dishwasher and your bin; you can build out the most practical layout for your home when you have the essentials in a logical order.

Does it matter where you put things, though?

The simple answer, of course, is for you to have things where and how you want them. However, from decades of designing kitchens for a wide range of customers, there are some design protocols we believe apply to nearly every good kitchen design. Whether we’re designing kitchens for big families, kitchens for young families, kitchens for foodies, kitchens for bakers, kitchens for entertaining, kitchens for wheelchair users, kitchens for open plan or kitchens for closed plan spaces, the practicality of the space is critical.

An often overlooked element is the placement of the kitchen sink, and for us, this placement really matters! It is especially important to think about when planning an open-plan design which features a breakfast bar on an island or peninsula (funnily enough, we’ve written a blog about these, too: Kitchen island or peninsula?).

We talk about this a lot with customers because often when they are having their kitchen done as part of a larger renovation or building project, they will bring us their architect’s plans. We look at the draft layout the architect has suggested for the kitchen, and a constant source of bafflement to us is that they have drawn the kitchen with the sink placement on the breakfast bar. Every time.

Sinks and breakfast bars

You can create the triangle kitchen layout with the sink being part of the breakfast bar, but that’s the only benefit, and there are better ways to give you a practical kitchen.

Let’s go back to why you want a breakfast bar in your design. It’s likely that you want a more sociable, flexible and open-plan kitchen. Open-plan living remains ever-popular because modern living is more about engaging with family or guests in the kitchen rather than one person consigned to a separate room to do all the meal prep. It is also much less common now for people to want a completely separate dining area which segregates guests from hosts. In addition, parents often want to be able to cook and keep an eye on young children.

Creating an open-plan space with an island or peninsula that has seating is a really sociable and flexible design format. And once you have a breakfast bar in the kitchen, this is where everyone naturally congregates. So what’s the problem with having the sink on the breakfast bar?

• If your sink is on the island, the most natural place to then put your oven and hob is on the opposite run of units, often facing the wall or out of the window. Now, it’s much harder to chat with your guests or your family while you’re facing the wall and cooking and even harder to keep an eye on your children.If your hob is on the island, however, you can stir, flip, saute, toss and simmer with ease whilst engaging with anyone sitting at the breakfast bar or in your open-plan space.  Be central to your dinner parties and family dinners, not have your back to them.

• Unless you’re the most fastidious cook in the world, during the process of cooking, items end up in or next to the sink. This is normal life, whether it’s food scraps, that pan that needs soaking, that dish that can’t go in the dishwasher, just-washed items left to dry, the fact that the dishwasher’s full, or that the kids have left all their breakfast bowls on the side next to the sink before rushing out the door, the sink area is generally a busy one.So, do you want this busy area between you and your guests as they perch at the breakfast bar with a G&T? We think a better design is to keep your breakfast bar clear or use it with an induction hob with downdraft extraction.When the hob’s in use, it keeps you central to the family or party as you cook, and when you’ve finished with the pans on the hob, you can pop them over by the sink whilst you sit down to enjoy your food with friends and family with no dirty pans under your nose.When the hob’s not in use, no one’s leaving any pans or plates near it, and a lovely slim profile induction hob is easy to keep clean and will maintain that lovely, uncluttered design aesthetic.
• Do you want to change your plumbing? If your sink is on the breakfast bar, you’ll need to account for additional work and costs to move the plumbing if it’s not in place already. We’d rather your budget went on all the lovely things on your dream kitchen wishlist!

What’s the best place for the sink then?

We recommend having your sink against the back wall, or if you have a lovely garden view from your kitchen, centralise your sink to your kitchen window. At least then you can deal with the dirty dishes with a restful view of the garden when the guests are long gone! 

Are there any exceptions?

Always! There are always exceptions to the rules, and we have been known to put sinks in islands when that’s how a customer wants their kitchen set up. Your kitchen, your rules!

For kitchens set up for real foodies, a kitchen might warrant two sinks, one for washing up and a smaller one for food prep; a small prep sink on the island next to your hob can be a really efficient set-up. So, whilst we might advise the best placements for things, we’ll always listen to your needs and wants and ensure you get the kitchen you’ve always wanted.

Do you need some help ensuring your kitchen is as practical as it is beautiful? Book a free design consultation at info@kitchensbespoke.co.uk or call the showroom on 01342 133 311. The showroom is open six days a week, plus we can do evening appointments on request.