It is well known that the heart of every home is the kitchen. Family members can cooperate to create sumptuous feasts here. Laughs, memories, and special moments are shared in the kitchen too. In these ways, it is the epicentre of warmth in many homes around the world. The kitchen sink is an important facility where vegetables and dishes are cleaned. It is necessary to choose the right sink so as to get the best experience in your kitchen. There are dozens of sink styles and designs available today. Thankfully, we have crafted a comprehensive guide for you on how to choose a kitchen sink.
Step by Step by Guide to Choose a Kitchen Sink:-
Choose a Material that Complements Your Interior Design
There are many types of kitchen sink materials for example stainless steel, porcelain, cast iron, plastic, and engineered wood. Each material exhibits unique pros and cons during use. For example, stainless steel is very popular due to its durability while the wooden sink is beautiful because it can be decorated with intricate carvings on request. The porcelain sink delivers a retro feel but is known to be fragile. While the cast iron sink is immensely durable, it is heavy and prone to rusting.
With these outstanding materials available to you, strive to pick one that fits in well with your overall style of interior decor. Stainless steel and plastic are great for modern interiors while wood and cast iron complement vintage interiors quite well. Porcelain sinks are best combined with retro interior design but can fit into most interiors. While choosing the sink’s material, let your home’s interior be the guiding factor.
How Many Bowls Should You Have?
The depression in your sink is known as a bowl. Sinks come with single, double or triple bowls. Others come with one large bowl with another little one beside it for rinsing purposes. A single bowl is ideal for homes because it strikes a perfect balance between functionality and space-saving capability. If you have a large kitchen where you expect to perform a lot of cooking, a double bowl sink will come in handy. Lastly, the triple bowl sink is most applicable in commercial kitchens. Let the purpose of your kitchen and the amount of cooking you intend to do guide your choice of how many bowls to get in your sink.
How much noise can you handle?
Cleaning kitchen items in the sink usually produces a cluttering noise that can be very irritating. This is especially if you are cleaning cutlery and crockery in a stainless steel sink. It is necessary to make as little noise as possible when cleaning utensils in your sink as a matter of common courtesy for your family or your guests. To this effect, you can choose a sink that has a PVC or rubber lining in its bowl. This can be decorated in the same color as the rest of the sink for uniformity. If you prefer a silent kitchen, choose this type of soundproofed sink.
Choose the Correct Taps
No sink is complete without a set of taps. Also known as faucets, they are usually bought separately. Taps come in various types ranging from classic ones to high-tech digital models. Your sink will play an important role when choosing a set of faucets because it determines the material, size and placement of the taps.
If your sink has a modern styling that features stainless steel, porcelain or plastic resin, a metallic or PVC faucet will match up perfectly. Classic wooden or cast iron sinks can be paired with decorative faucets featuring wrought iron turners and a wire pipe.
In case you have a futuristic, minimalist kitchen containing a stainless steel sink, a waterfall, motion-controlled faucet fits best. If you have a single bowl sink, pair it with a single faucet. This rule is also applicable for double sinks but you should never exceed two faucets even with three sink bowls.
Color
Let your imagination take over when it comes to the color of your sink because the possibilities are endless. You can have your kitchen sink in colors such as silver, beige, off-white and mustard. Manufacturers often line their kitchen sinks with colored materials for added beauty and durability.
As you choose a color, make sure that it complements your interior decor. Furthermore, ensure that it is stain resistant because you don’t want visible blemishes, spills and stains on your kitchen sink. If you want a safe color, pick a stainless steel sink. Its silver sheen is scratch-resistant and stain-proof. It also fits in with any interior color you could have in the kitchen. That said, you can get a kitchen sink in any color you want as long as it meets these rules of thumb.
How deep should the sink’s bowl be?
The depth of your sink should be comfortable such that you don’t suffer from backache or a strained neck while cleaning vegetables or dishes. It should not be too deep or too shallow. The standard sink depth ranges between 6 and 12 inches. However, the best sink depth is between 8 and 10 inches deep. If it gets any deeper, it can cause you to bend over too much resulting in fatigue, a strained lower back and neck pain. These dimensions can be adjusted if you are short in height. If you are shorter than 5 feet, 5 inches, choose a shallow sink so as to make usage easier. With the right sink depth, you can expect up to 15 years of service from your sink!
All matters drainboard
Sometimes you may need to clean items that don’t fit inside your sink. In such a case, a drainboard comes in handy. This is a grooved, water-resistant surface that is attached to the sink where you can clean longer or larger utensils and have the water drain into the bowl. A drainboard can be attached to one side of the sink or installed on both sides.
If you expect to wash large items in your sink, make sure to have some drainboards installed. While doing so, have a pair of them sandwiching the sink bowl. That is because many people place dirty dishes on the left and clean ones on the right. Therefore, having a drainboard on both sides proves very convenient.
Top mount or under-mount
There are two general methods through which a sink can be installed and they include top mount or under mount. A top-mounted sink is literally dropped into the kitchen counter from above meaning that the sink’s rim emerges above the counter. On the other hand, an under-mounted sink is installed from underneath the kitchen counter. In this way, its rim lies flush with the rest of the counter.
The top-mounted sink is easier to install but it is difficult to clean because debris can accumulate around the outer edge of the rim. In contrast, an under-mounted sink is difficult to install but it is very easy to clean. With these facts in mind, you can choose which way to mount your sink.
Overall
A sink is the most important installation in your kitchen because it serves as a cleaning station for vegetables and utensils. Sinks are available in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors and designs so you can find one that fits your personal preference. To get the best sink experience, you need to choose the correct one. Our guidelines above can assist you to accomplish this objective with satisfying results. Pick the right sink and inject some life into your kitchen today!