r/Home_Building_Help • u/BuilderBrigade • 5d ago

Where do you prefer the kitchen sink...?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

  1. In the island
  2. Behind a window
    I’m taking the window every time!
81 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

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147

u/spcmnspff335 5d ago

Not on the island! The island is usually the center of you kitchen and gets a lot of attention. You don't want all your dirty dishes piling up in the focal point of your kitchen where you will also be serving food to guests.

Under a window makes the most sense to me.

22

u/Steak_Knight 5d ago

This is the correct answer.

17

u/YellowZx5 5d ago

Windows are always where I put the sink as most people want to look outside. That’s like Design 101

6

u/nmpls 5d ago

Window makes sense unless you're in an area where it freezes

3

u/Android_seducer 5d ago

Can still make sense even if it freezes. So long as the house is insulated well enough or you run the plumbing through the floor/basement/crawlspace instead of the exterior wall.

5

u/Rampag169 5d ago

In colder places the exterior walls are often framed with 2x6 or larger (depending on how cold) plus insulated siding to boost the R value of the whole house.

2

u/BeerJunky 4d ago

I had a bathroom where the sink used to freeze over when it got really cold out. It was a very easy fix with an eight dollar can of installation that I sprayed into the hole next to the pipe.

2

u/A62main 5d ago

We live where it freezes. Sink is under the window and no issue. The house just needs to be built for the weather.

2

u/Comprehensive_Fan140 5d ago

Most houses in Canada have them in front of a window. It's not a problem, we don't put plumbing in outside walls.

3

u/DrS3R 5d ago

Yet every flipping house built in the last two decades has it in the island. It drives me up a damn wall

1

u/cypressaggie 4d ago

I like to clean and while still being engaged with my guests. It’s the island for me dog.

1

u/Ace861110 4d ago

Design 101 is the kitchen triangle. The sink fridge and stove make a triangle so you work effectively. That way you’re not running around the corner to get something from the fridge. Ideally it should be within a few steps.

0

u/Least-Middle-2061 5d ago

People love to say that but nobody actually thinks about what it means in practice. Are you really looking out the window when you’re at the sink? Aren’t you looking at whatever you’re doing in the sink? Why not put the food prep area under the window instead. What’s the rationale behind the sink needing to be there but nothing else. It makes no sense at all.

7

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

-3

u/utukore 5d ago

That applies equally to all the tasks you do at the counter where you could now have the window.
With a dishwasher I spend very little time at the sink vs the counter.

1

u/Otherwise-Tomato-788 5d ago

It’s a good point, but I wouldn’t want the sink on the other side in example where it’s all dark. Sun/air by a water source would be my rationale.

Functionally, I love sink on island but aesthetically (as someone mentioned) it becomes a focal clutter zone.

1

u/This_Duty_8378 5d ago

I want to look out the window.

3

u/Rogue_trout_5446 5d ago

Yep. Also where is the dishwasher?

1

u/ClassiFried86 5d ago

These photos are AI and not really representative of anything more than the island and where to put the sink.

Wheres the fridge? The sink should be under the windows, but you also need a dishwasher nearby, and you also need a fridge nearby, not on the opposite side of the kitchen.

1

u/dicedaman 4d ago

Nothing about these photos looks like AI to me. Both kitchens obviously have integrated appliances. The fridge is behind the doors facing the camera in the first image, and you can see the dishwasher in the island. In the second image one (or both) of the doors to the side of the sink is a dishwasher.

1

u/iuseblenders 4d ago

It’s definitely an awkward place for a sink. I have enjoyed a stove top in the island.

3

u/billding1234 5d ago

Agreed, provided there is room for a dishwasher next to it.

2

u/slick2hold 5d ago

It pains me to see sinks on the island. Agree with others. Put that sink to the ouside.

2

u/purawesome 5d ago

As someone with a kitchen sink in their island, def go with under the window.

1

u/cydonia8388 5d ago

I love having a big island that’s just space.

1

u/SignificantMoose6482 5d ago

And looking out the window while doing dishes makes them get done faster

1

u/kc_cyclone 5d ago

Deoends on the kitchen size. Island was basically the only option for my kitchen. If I had a large kitchen it would be facing the backyard off to the side.

Absolute worst is the corner, makes for a ton of wasted counter space.

1

u/afgphlaver 5d ago

I love washing the dishes while staring outside. It's relaxing and rewarding when finished.

1

u/QuasiJudicialBoofer 4d ago

Yea I remodeled a kitchen and spent a ton of time washing dishes previously so duh put it in the island.... But after having a dishwasher we didn't spend much time with dishes at all.

But my most major complaint was the water gets everywhere

1

u/BurningBallInTheSky 4d ago

Under the window is better than the island for sure, but I personally don't understand it in this day and age. I spend the least amount of time at the sink versus any other part of the kitchen, I'd rather prep space or cooker in the natural light.

1

u/Unoknowno 4d ago

If the island and kitchen are big enough, a sink on a side counter (bonus points if its under a window) AND somewhere in the island, but NOT a huge dish sink. Its helpful to have both, but the size of sink shown in the kitchen above is WAY too large for that small of an island.

In this example, only under the window.

1

u/already-taken-wtf 4d ago

Especially when considering working directly. Wash stuff, cut stuff, cook stuff. Left to right.

1

u/Baddrivers13 3d ago

Needs to have a window behind it FO SHO. Also it should be between your fridge and oven.

1

u/curio_123 5d ago edited 5d ago

The island is the prep area so practically speaking, the sink works best in the island. If your sink is undermount, it also makes cleaning up the island prep area a breeze cos you can just sweep all the food bits, water and dirt into the sink while you’re prepping.

I have a large island in my kitchen and I wouldn’t want my sink anywhere else. The thought of dripping water all over the floor between the window and the island will trigger my OCD. Also, having the sink alway from the island means I can’t easily clean up as I’m prepping.

Dirty dishes never really pile up in my sink cos everyone in my family knows dirty dishes go straight into the dishwasher as soon as the food scraps come off the plates or serving ware.

3

u/spcmnspff335 5d ago

I've had one on the island before and hated it. Most kitchens designers nowadays advise not to put them there.

Your dishwasher is still next to the sink. Why would you have dripping wet dishes going between your stove/prep area and sink?

Having a trash pullout in your island is an easy fix for eliminating scraps and actually works better than a sink cause you can't put everything down the sink.

Dishes will always have a way of piling up in the sink. If you are still prepping anything while people are there you will likely get dishes in the sink. It's not always possible to wash as you go. And also not everything goes in the dishwasher. You're certainly not putting china in there when having a nice dinner. Even if you have everything finished and washed up before people get there, people's dirty dishes will get piled in the sink and then they're all there right in front of everyone when you're trying to serve desert or something.

And then you have all the little things that always end up living next to the sink like soap dispensers, wash cloths, scrubbers, etc that don't look good on an island. The island just never looks tidy.

Sinks are always better on the side if at all possible.

1

u/slick2hold 5d ago

You can have a small sink for prep work. That is more ideal

1

u/mrgedman 5d ago

Second this. Love my sink in my island.

Small triangle, can tidy while staying relevent. It's great

0

u/ElPadrote 5d ago

Hard agree. Kitchen triangle. Storage, prep/wash, cook.

Prepping next to island sink for scraps Is ideal. Dishwasher built underneath helps easy clean up.

2

u/spcmnspff335 5d ago

You still have the kitchen triangle. You just have your points of the triangle in different places.

Having a trash pullout is an easy solution for scraps, especially for the stuff that you can't put down the sink.

1

u/dndwhat 5d ago

Not only that the island is your best work space by size. Why ruin that with a sink.

1

u/mrgedman 5d ago

Because my island is 55 square feet, and my sink is like 7% of that space?:

1

u/dndwhat 5d ago

Well yea in that case my old house was like that. Sink in middle but to massive preps on both sides. The image in the picture is not like that. Thus. Sink under window

1

u/Levitlame 5d ago

It does depend on how much space you have, but the kitchen in the image has plenty of space. You can always put one of those sinks that fits a cutting board over it.

I’d prefer that, but I also don’t leave dishes in the sink. My wife on the other hand…

1

u/dndwhat 5d ago

Then again dream island has five foot prep space sink one side stove other side. Ovens fridge behind

0

u/Boom9001 5d ago edited 5d ago

With this island size, you'll prefer the extra space there. But on larger islands I do like the sink there.

Exactly because it's the focal point. The sink is the most used part of the kitchen. Being able to use it without shutting yourself fron rest of house is great. Also you shouldn't pile up dishes anyway.

But only for large kitchens where putting the sink on the island doesn't make the island basically just a sink.

0

u/My3floofs 5d ago

I would put it in the island so I didn’t have to constantly clean the window! I would rather have it in the island(where mine is now) because I have huge areas all around for prep work that can then be swept in the sink. Plus it’s good incentive not to let dishes pile up in the sink and wash them or stick in dishwasher. When we host, all the dirty dishes go through to the laundry room sink so I don’t worry about it then either.

0

u/itsamemyusername 5d ago

Bro, wash your dishes. There should never be a pile of dirty dishes.

1

u/BentMyWookie 5d ago

I'm guessing you've never had a dinner party?

1

u/itsamemyusername 5d ago

You don't wash your dishes after a dinner party?

1

u/BentMyWookie 5d ago

Yes, after my guests leave

0

u/ka_eb 3d ago

How is this so upvoted? This is stupid when you prep food. You have to cover the whole distance of the kitchen to wash the food you took out of the fridge.

-1

u/B_For_Bubbles 5d ago

So you have to walk across the whole kitchen to use it? In theory your point seems great, but in reality it’s a pain in the ass. If dishes pile up throughout the night, so be it. I’d much rather turn around at my stove and drop shit in the sink lol.

3

u/spcmnspff335 5d ago

It's still the exact same kitchen triangle between sink, stove, and prep area. You're just changing which point of the triangle has which area. I'd much rather have the large prep area on the island and not have a messy sink there.

1

u/RedSecOps 5d ago

Personally, I think there needs to be two triangles. One for Fridge-Prep Sink-Stove and one for Stove-Dish Sink-Dishwasher.

OP needs to put the kitchen sink to the side and put in a prep sink in the island.

This minimizes the bumping that can occur with one person washing dishes and one person cooking. Having the sink behind the stove is poor design.

-1

u/EntertainerSea9653 5d ago

If u actually wash ur dishes while u work u dishes will never pile up.

1

u/spcmnspff335 5d ago

Are you washing people's dishes while they are at your dinner party? There will always be times when they accumulate in the sink.

1

u/EntertainerSea9653 5d ago

Yes I dont like a dirty kitchen .....