It’s a kitchen design question as old as time: Double sink or single sink, which is better? Some readers recently started commenting back and forth on the question, and it occurred to me that we’d never discussed and debated this topic in a story. (We did discuss the classic toilet paper over or under question, though!) Above: Illustration of American-Standard kitchen cabinets and sinks from a 1953 catalog.
Of course, each design has its pros and cons. [Above: Illustration from 1953 Crane kitchen catalog.]
Double sink pros and cons:
- Double sinks make it easier to wash on one side, stack to dry on the other.
- Or procrastinators can wash on one side, pile dirties on the other, and get to finishing up when you can. [I plead guilty, but you could guess that already, couldn’t you?]
- On the flip side, double sinks typically are smaller, so you sometimes cannot get a big pot or tray completely into one of the bowls. Jamming a large tray into one side of a double sink kinda runs the risk of scratching or dinging it.
- In the same vein, they can take up more room.
Single sink pros and con:
- Single sinks can be sized larger, so they can fit large pots and pans and trays. [My husband is in the single sink camp for this reason.]
- I guess you could say: They encourage you to clean as you go, because there is no second bowl to pile in the dirties.
- Overall, they likely take up less room, so there is more counter space for prep.
Frieda says
I definitely prefer a double sink with big, deep sinks. My mom had a sink just like the one that is in the first picture with the huge drainboards. I love it and wish I had it. My brother lives in my parents house now and I hope if he ever decides to remodel he will give it to me!
Julia Torcellini says
I hand dish wash in a single stainless sink. I only cook on cast iron or enameled cast iron and porcelain sinks get chipped too easily. Lesson learned in previous mid-century kitchen. I cook for 5, 2 are teenage boys and I always cook double batches so we don’t have to have bread for lunch next day (gluten free planning)…so the pots are big and I love the big sink for that. HOWEVER, we have a farm and process our own poultry. I love a double sink for that. The dirty chicken waits in one bowl while I can finish cleaning another chicken in the other bowl. It really makes things run more smoothly. We also keep a spare double bowl porcelain sink, one shallow and one deep bowl that gets used with plant watering and egg washing. It’s perfect for that! So the moral of the story is that it depends on what you do in the kitchen!
Becky says
I like the double sink best for washing dishes. We have a 60″ double sink with double drain boards, and it is very deep so I can fit large pots and cookie sheets. But I have the best of both worlds. We also have a single sink with double drain boards over our dishwasher. The single sink is a little deeper. Mostly I love them both and it is wonderful having an extra sink with the great drain boards.
Chuck says
We hand wash here so the double sink wins. Wash on one side, rinse on the other.
Ours is larger and deeper than many I have seen, so all but the largest pans fit.
Carla says
MUST have double – one to wash in, one to rinse in.
Mary Elizabeth says
My friend Carol had a hard time explaining to the kitchen designer that she needs a large single-bowl sink because “I cook in my sink.” What she means is that a deep sink is the perfect place for putting a large bowl when you are doing something messy, such as tossing a salad or mashing potatoes. But I told her she could do the same thing in a double sink if it were deep enough.
Mary Elizabeth says
I didn’t see a comment from anyone about sinks in tiny houses and camp trailers. I always had a single sink in every apartment and house I lived in. Then I got a 1982 camp trailer with a double sink–the bowls were small but just large enough to put a small drying rack on one side, which got it off the counter. There was also a cutting board that fit over one of the sides, so you got extra prep space when you needed it. So when I moved into my next house, I wanted a double sink, but one in which the bowls are larger and deeper in that one.
Kris Christian says
My 1964 house built by a Ukrainian architect-engineer onto a steep hillside in NY had a wonderful double cast iron sink with Hudee ring. I LOVED it! I washed my daughter in it until she started kindergarten. The standard sink size now (including the Delafield mentioned in the original post) is about 4″ less wide than the double sinks in the 1960s. Wish I could have brought that sink with me to my “new” 1930s house on the other side of the county!
Roseana Auten says
Without a doubt, double. My sink is custom, though, integral with the stainless steel countertops we had made about 15 years ago. The two bowls are really large, and really deep, much bigger than any sink you could buy from Ferguson’s or anywhere. I have a clean side, and a dirty side, and I would not want to have it any other way.
Maureen says
Since I do not have a d/w, a double sink is in my home. My son who has a MCM home ,built in 1953, has put a large black single in his black and white kitchen. It looks great with the white tile counter.
My personal choice is a single sink.