Like to hear from those who have installed kitchens with a second sink (prep sink) on an island / peninsula. Is it or was it worth the additional expense and worth the loss of cabinet space and counter top area.
Same question about the kitchen office. Recently read that this really is not worth the expense in terms of cabinetry and area loss.
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Replies
Miroho,
Who's asking for those things? If it's she-who-must-be-obeyed just do it,, If it's a spec house or something then the market will determine it's value..
Many people need such things, most people probably don't. Only those who are directly involved can figure out the true value of them..
It is for my own kitchen remodel and I not sure if I do or don't need the second sink. So I am asking others to see if those who have done it found it to be of value.
what is your lifestyle.a friend of mine has slighlty large U shape kitchen with all of the standard equipment.and the open end of the U there is an island with a table height "bar" on it. and a prep sink.she often has guest preparing salds while the main cooking is being finished. and then the island and bar area is used as a serving buffet..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Similar lifestyle. Large family and boys have team members and friends over for pasta nights. Not unusual to have 12 to 16 people for dinner.
I don't know what your over all arange is.But I have seen kitchen/great room that where like a 15 ft galley kitchen and then in front of it a 15' island with the cooktop in it. It looked like it was more arranged to put on a cooking show then as home kitchen and family room.All of the pots and pans are out on the island. I think that it is a horrible design.My friend kitchen is u-shaped with the stove in the base of the U the main sink on one leg of the U and the reigerator on the other leg.some table wear and plates are in the leg next to the sink and some in the island.That makes those and the refigerator "accessable" to other people and keeps the worse of the mess deep into the kitchen.It makes the kitchen open and connected with the rest of the room, but at the same time set off as a separate function.With the number of people that you sometimes feed I and if you have the room I would use a similar arangement, but make the island even bigger and put in not a full size sink, but one bigger then the tiny "prep" sinks. and put the dw in the island.PS you also want a door to the patio grill near the island..
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Edited 8/5/2007 9:55 pm by BillHartmann
I am tossing around the idea of a bigger second sink w/ the DW near it. But making the peninsula bigger means making the addition bigger also.
The kitchen does not lead to a patio, if it did this would be a much easier project. And I cannot do the U lay out either because that won't work with the traffic pattern / flow.
Instead I am expanding the dinning room and the kitchen of a split level house. Going out the side 5' and seeking a small zoning variance. House is a font / back split level and access to lower level is from the kitchen.
If space for a twin bowl sink is tight then a second bowl might be of use or if there is 2 cooks at the same time then an extra sink is a good idea.
There is room for 36" double basin sink with 24" counter area on left(DW underneath) and a 36" diagonal counter on right side. The prep sink will be directly across from this sink (4') at end of an 8' peninsula which will also have a 42" H counter.
Like to hear from those who have installed kitchens with a second sink (prep sink) on an island / peninsula. Is it or was it worth the additional expense and worth the loss of cabinet space and counter top area.
In the new larger kitchens in many of todays houses the traditional work triangle has evolved into distinct work areas. The larger space allows these to be separated by several feet. The second food prep sink keeps food under preparation, which needs to be kept clean, away from the cleanup mess. Both need garbage disposals to be effective. This sink is not just for pot filling.
Is it necessary? NO! But then nether are home theaters, out-door kitchens or 3 car garages. It depends on your market. For small compact kitchens don't bother.
Same question about the kitchen office. Recently read that this really is not worth the expense in terms of cabinetry and area loss.
If you are like most people the paper & mail that comes in the door ends up on the kitchen counter first. When sufficient space is available the kitchen desk helps remedy that plus providing a place for cook books & shopping list preparation.
Again If your kitchen is so small you are worrying about useable counter space, then don't bother. Otherwise they are a useful feature.
Thanks for the input. Did not think about the food disposal unit in the second sink. Have to give that more thought. Will have the pot filler over the range.
I have found it handy to have one sink for food prep and another for dirty dishes. But it only works if the entire work area supports these tasks. In other words, the food prep sink needs to be near the food supply (refrigerator, pantry) and waste. It would not be good to have to carry dripping scraps across the floor to a garbage can. If all such details are incorporated, it can work out well.
As for a kitchen office, I don't see the point. I like to pay bills in a quiet room with filing space, private area to store my checkbook, and space for a computer. I would not like to do it in the busy area of a kitchen.
You make a good point about nearness of the other things you need. The refrig, sink and trash is 4" away; as is range. So it is centrally located.
Wife is convinced that 2nd sink is not worth the expense since it will be so seldom used and believes it is just one more thing to clean and maintain.
I scrapped the office, it does not belong in the kitchen. I'll put a small bookcase on the wall for her recipe books and such.
Wife is convinced that 2nd sink is not worth the expense since it will be so seldom used and believes it is just one more thing to clean and maintain.
There's your answer. If you don't prepare and cook complex multiple dish meals on a regular basis, there's very little need for a prep sink.
Actually, having the counter space available to stack used pots, pans, and bowls, just an arm's length from the usual double sink is often more valuable than using that space for a prep sink.
It's all about being well organized. The first thing that gets used up is counter space. It is a good idea to have a specific prep area with enough room for a second cook to work. What's enough? I'd like four lateral feet to set up a cutting board with room on both sides for clean food moving across the board.
We just did an addition that included a new kitchen. The old kitchen had two sinks, but we decided that we only needed one. The beneficial tradeoff was that the island (about 84 x 40) is a big flat expanse that is great for food prep and serving and also for two or three people to sit at and chat with the cook(s). We also sit and eat at the island frequently. If we had installed a second sink, much of the island real estate would have been used by the sink and necessary spaces adjacent. We cook fairly elaborate meals just about every night.
We used 42 inches between island and countertop/appliances, so bodily collisions generally only happen intentionally.
We have a corner space that could be used for an office desk, but have decided we really don't need it.
One advantage we had was that we had the old kitchen to use while I built the new cabinets, so I had very little time pressure. It was my first cabinet work. Between start and finish, we changed our minds several times concerning the island size and shape. One thing that was very helpful was to mock up the island in cardboard to show my wife that the trapezoidal island she wanted didn't work, even though it looked OK on the drawings.
I'll put a small bookcase on the wall for her recipe books and such.
That's a good idea.
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Edited 8/7/2007 9:29 am ET by smslaw
Edited 8/7/2007 9:31 am ET by smslaw
If you, your wife or both like to cook and do a quite a bit of cooking it is very nice to have a prep sink for many of the reasons previously stated. If you don't and eat out a lot don't bother. Like as already stated, you need to have a fairly large kitchen and layout the kitchen with distinct areas in lieu or the old triangle arrangement. Also it can be a great resale feature if you think you might be selling anytime soon. I include prep sinks with garbage disposal etc. in all my designs. You might go to the book store and thumb through upscale kitchen design books.
For my money, the extra sink is worth it. As said before, available space and lifestyle are contributing factors.
As far as lost counter space that is a non issue due to the fact that you can make a cutting board to fit over the sink (hole in the center maybe?) and that way you have a dedicated prep area.
You need to widen your margins a bit so your not bumping butts with other cooks-- so available space is important.
You can put all kind of cool items in the kitchen, but if there is only room for 1, duplication is wasted.
The kitchen is a great social area where kids and guests can get involved in meal prep. Some remodels are unable to open up that space to your living areas due to floor plans.
But I would gladly steal from other areas to add to my kitchen.
This is the kitchen floor layout that I have worked up. It means I bump out the west wall 5', which requires a zoning variance. Zoning officer says I should get it because it is a one story addition and the town is fairly receptive to these things.
This will make it clearer as to where the prep sink will be located.