Kitchen Sinks: Buying Guide

If you’ve ever had to buy a new oven or kitchen cabinets, you’ll be familiar with all the different measurements you have to make in order to accommodate your new appliance. Fortunately, while you do have to measure for a sink fitting, it’s a very simple process.

There are three main steps to follow when measuring your sink space. First, you’ll need to determine if you plan on replacing your current sink with a similar design or an entirely new style. If you want a simple replacement, all you need to do is follow the first step and then find a sink replacement that matches your measurements. However, if you plan on choosing one of the other kitchen sink styles available, there are a few more steps to follow.

Begin your measurements by finding the width and length of your current sink. Unless you’re totally refurbishing your kitchen, the size of your current sink is going to roughly dictate the size of your new sink. Next, if you’re planning to buy a sink with different measurements, you’ll need to conduct the same measurements as the previous step for your kitchen worktops and cabinets. Measuring your worktops will help you get an understanding of how much usable space you’ll have to install your new sink. For your cabinets, you’ll need to measure the interior length of the cupboard space and subtract 3-4 inches (7-10cms) to account for sink mounting space.

The final measurement you’ll need to make is the depth of your current sink. As a large number of sinks are slightly dipped at the base for better drainage, you’ll need to measure from the deepest part of your sink. If you’re getting a deeper sink, you also want to ensure that it won’t obstruct anything inside the cabinet beneath.

But size isn’t just about sink measurements. You should also think about how big your kitchen actually is and where your sink can sit. For a small kitchen, you probably don’t want to buy a big sink so you can make space for an attached draining board, and it’ll let you save space for other nifty appliances like a microwave and coffee machine.

The other major factor you should consider when deciding which kitchen sink to buy is style. Simply put, you need to make sure that, no matter which of the sink types you buy, it will blend in with your current kitchen aesthetic. Not all kitchen sink styles suit both a traditional kitchen as well as a contemporary interior, so you should take this into account when viewing the types of kitchen sinks available.

Of course, this isn’t as much of a problem if you plan on having a full kitchen redesign as you’ll have free rein to design your kitchen exactly how you want it.

Perhaps the most common type of sink available, an inset sink is the easiest sink type to fit. Essentially, an inset sink works by slotting seamlessly into pre-cut gaps in your worktop. The edges of the sink are wider than the gap, enabling it to hang comfortably while creating a stylish lip.

Inset sinks can come in a good range of sizes and materials, most commonly stainless steel, and their design allows them to match almost all kitchen aesthetics. The majority of inset sinks also tend to come with a draining board, allowing you to store clean dishes safely while they dry.

Undermount kitchen sinks, on the other hand, are much more suited to kitchens with a minimalist look. Their ceramic and granite models are perfect for a contemporary style, and their lack of an attached draining board also makes them suitable for smaller kitchens. Undermount sinks work by fitting the sink under your worktops, this allows it to blend in seamlessly with your kitchen cabinets, and as a bonus, the lack of lip means it's very easy to brush crumbs into.

However, you do need a solid surface such as granite or stone installed underneath to support the sink, otherwise, it’s liable to break your worktops. This makes them slightly more expensive than an inset sink. You’ll also want to choose a non-porous material to avoid damaging the kitchen cabinet beneath it.

Single bowl sinks are the standard sink option no matter what design you choose. They’re ideal for washing smaller numbers of dishes and take up minimal space, so they naturally go well with tight spaces. If you use a dishwasher, a 1 bowl sink is the perfect companion to wash up all the bits that can’t go in.

A 1.5 bowl model differs very slightly from a single bowl sink. While your primary sink will be the same size as a single bowl design, you also get another smaller bowl attached to the side. This additional bowl takes up minimal extra room while giving you another tool for rinsing, food preparation, and waste disposal, especially when the main bowl is full.

Lastly, you can double the size of your sink by purchasing a 2 bowl design. Having two bowls takes all the benefits of a 1.5 bowl and gives you more space. They’re particularly useful if you cater for large groups of people on a regular basis, allowing you to soak dirty dishes in one bowl while washing dishes or preparing food in the other.

Stainless steel is an incredibly popular choice within many kitchens, being particularly well suited for contemporary kitchens while easily being matched with other similar styled appliances.

It’s a highly durable material that’s very easy to clean, but it’s also less scratch-resistant than other materials. Stainless steel can also eventually dull from persistent staining, requiring you to clean it with specific tools.

If you want a more traditional kitchen sink material, ceramic offers a classic feel while being incredibly versatile in its application. Ceramic is great for use in kitchens with contrasting colours and conventional cabinet fittings while offering the same durability as stainless steel. It’s also very easy to clean but has the added benefit of being heat, stain, scratch, and chemical resistant as well as possessing anti-bacterial properties.

Unfortunately, all of these bonuses make ceramic sinks more expensive than their stainless steel counterpart, and if your sink cracks or chips, there’s no easy way to repair it.

To give your sink a more exotic feel, you might want to opt for a quartz or granite composite. This material is formed through binding stone elements with a super tough resin to replicate the natural stone for a hard-wearing, long-lasting appliance.

While limited to stone themes, quartz and granite composites still offer a range of colour and size versatility. Not only that, but any composite is super resistant to heat and scratching, as well as having an antibacterial coating thanks to the resin. Much like ceramic, however, these composites can be expensive.

Resin composites, such as Corian, differ slightly from their granite composite cousins. Rather than stone, these composites use natural materials and bind them with a resin to produce a substance similar to plastic but much tougher. This allows resin sinks to be a single uninterrupted piece that is scratch, stain, and heat resistant.

That being said, resin sinks have one major drawback. The resin used is naturally waterproof, but should the resin get damaged, and water gets inside, it can affect the integrity of the sink. This damage is very difficult to repair, meaning you need to be careful to avoid damaging them.

When you buy kitchen sink accessories, your mind might not even consider the addition of a waste disposal unit. Applicable if you have more than one bowl, these grinders are integrated into your smaller sink’s plug hole and are activated by flicking a switch.

To grind up waste food, you simply pour water in alongside the waste, which is ground into fine particles without the use of knives or blades, before being deposited in the wastewater pipe. A waste disposal unit is great for convenience and hygiene.

Obviously, the other major sink accessory you’ll need to think about is your choice of kitchen taps. There are many types of kitchen taps available, too many to go through here, but you can read all about them in our tap buyer’s guide.