THE OVERLOOKED ESSENTIAL IN EVERY KITCHEN
What makes a room a “kitchen”? There are several elements which are absolutely non-negotiable, but along with some kind of cooking facility, and even ahead of food storage, comes the sink. When we move house we talk about “even taking the kitchen sink” – this apparently unglamorous object may be overlooked, even despised, but it is absolutely at the heart of your home.
When we first started as a company, the majority of our kitchen worktop installations had two separate, under-mounted stainless steel sink bowls. Some were equally sized, like these twin Astracast Opals under Black Pearl Granite…
… and some were different sizes, like this one-and-a-half bowl undermount layout in Black Galaxy Granite.
THE GRADUAL MOVE TO THE ONE-AND-A-HALF-BOWL SINGLE UNIT
Over the years it has become far more common to fit a combined sink with the two bowls in one cut out. There were several reasons for this:
- Cost – it tends to work out cheaper for the cost of the bowls and the cost of the cut outs.
- Space – if two sinks are fitted in a 600mm cabinet, the best way to maximise sink size and flexibility is to go for a one-piece one-and-a-half-bowl unit.
- Practicality – a single unit has the benefit that, if you swivel a running tap from one bowl to the other, less water is likely to hit and rest on the worktop.
- Longevity – if you are going to hit and chip stone with heavy pans anywhere in your kitchen, it will like as not be the separating bar between the two separate sinks
Etroduo Stainless Steel one-and-a-half bowl undermount sink in Black Pearl Granite
Astracast Lincoln one-and-a-half bowl ceramic undermount sink in Paisley Gold Granite
THE TREND BACK TO THE LARGER, SINGLE BOWL
What we have noticed over more recent years is that a lot of people are dropping the half bowl altogether and opting for one large sink which will accommodate bigger pans and baking trays. This may also account for the continued popularity of Belfast sinks.
Single bowl undermount sink in Silestone Blanco Stellar quartz
Single Belfast sink in Radianz Mirama Bronze quartz
Double Belfast sink in Steel Grey Granite
THE RETURN OF THE TOP-MOUNTED SINK
Top-mounted sinks have had a resurgence in popularity. This is in part due to the range of designs now available, choice of finishes and ultra-thin profile sinks. Some customers go back to this option as they buy solid stone worktops for the second time and decide that a sink with its own integral drainer tray handles water better. Drainage grooves cut into the stone worktop look “right”, but the water doesn’t realise this and needs to be squeegeed away rather than looking after itself. More positively, the grooves do allow cups and crockery to “breathe”, preventing them hover-crafting off the worktop edge.
We have tended to advise people who do a lot of washing up to go for a top-mounted sink because the drainage advantages, but since we have had a top-mounted sink fitted in our office kitchen we have missed the ease with which you can wipe the whole surface straight into an under-mounted sink! Ultimately it is a matter of personal taste and lifestyle as to which you think is best for your own kitchen.
One final option is to stay undermounted, but choose a recessed drainer, where the sink and groove area is entirely within a defined, dropped area, cut into the stone. This is not inexpensive, and seems not to look so effective in some stones, but it certainly helps with the water handling.
1810 Company Zenduo one-and-a-half bowl topmounted sink, stainless steel, on Silestone Crema Urban quartz. This is a low profile sink with thin flanges on the worktop.
MOVING ON FROM STEEL
The most recent trend that we are seeing over the end of 2016 is a move away from stainless steel. Although steel is extremely practical and popular, particularly when teamed with other stainless steel appliances, coloured stone/acrylic mix and ceramic sinks are becoming more popular again. This may have something to do with the general trend toward lighter worktops and people wanting the sink to blend with the work surfaces that they have chosen.
If going with Ceramic we strongly recommend that you go for a good brand as the firing of these sinks seems to be more consistent and less prone to any issues. We particularly like the Cisterna range through Sterling Distribution which is made by Villeroy & Boch. Also worth looking at are the Kohler Modultop range
Villeroy and Bock Cisterna 60b ceramic one-and-a-half bowl sink in Cimstone Arcadia Quartz.
We now stock Quarella Blanco Paloma as our regular white quartz.
Coloured acrylic mix sinks, that complement the colour of the quartz worktops, are definitely on the rise e.g the Schock Crystalite and Cristadur sinks and also the new Cava range from The 1810 Company. Franke Fragranite and Blanco Puradur are also very popular. Silestone Quartz manufacturers also manufacturer a range of matching sinks to go with some of their quartz work surfaces; to see the full range please visit: http://www.silestone.co.uk/integrity-sinks/
1810 Company Cavauno composite single bowl sink in X-Gloss Dekton Fiord worktop
