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cwalen_gw

Talk to me about corner sinks - are they ever OK?

cwalen
11 years ago

I have a small kitchen and am fine tuning draft layout. (see very rough sketch).

It will be a U shaped kitchen, with fridge in an alcove off of the peninsula. Range will stay in its current location. Sink is currently on a wall under the window which is nice, but the DW is in an odd place in my prep area. I'd like to move the sink to the corner, where I can look out to the living room, and then move the DW to the peninsula out of the prep zone.

I've read mostly negative comments about a corner sink. I'd only want a deep single bowl (no batwings). I had one in my last house and I was a fan. Is there any circumstance where they do work?

I like the idea of:

a) moving it to a more social place (where if we are entertaining, I can put stuff in the sink and face people in the LR
b) expanding the counter run of the prep space
c) moving the sink will allow me to move the DW and the trash out of the prep zone.

Comments (19)

  • Fori
    11 years ago

    I did a remodel with a corner sink. Worked great and I would not mind doing it again. BUT. We were younger and childless and didn't have houseguests that liked to cook. If I did a corner sink with my current lifestyle, I'd need a prep sink since it's too hard to share a corner sink.

    And I'm opposed to having a kitchen large enough for a prep sink. =P

  • cathy725
    11 years ago

    I have a similar u-shaped kitchen and seriously considered the corner sink. My friend and neighbor with same kitchen layout remodeled and put the sink in the corner. She likes it and it gives her more prep space as well as some additional cabinet space.

    I opted to go with the sink in the original location (beneath window) and went with a larger sink. While it gives me less base cabinet space (due to larger sinkbase) I decided that I preferred the larger sink which will be a 1 3/4 blanco so I can have some prep sink options in the single sink location.

    My friend does like facing the eat-in area while doing dishes, etc in the kitchen area. One thing to consider is whether your upper cabinets over the sink block your view to the window in eating area. It's nice to be able to look out the window as you are doing dishes, which could be partially blocked with the upper cabinets.

  • live_wire_oak
    11 years ago

    Put the sink on the peninsula entirely. Next to the DW. That will give you room for your cleanup completely separated from the prep. And your prep zone will be looking out the window. If you are a family with two cooks, you might even want to add a corner prep sink in the opposite corner. You would have two decent sized prep zones then.

  • cookncarpenter
    11 years ago

    We have a smallish (10'x10'-8") kitchen with a corner sink facing a corner window. I love it, but it's all we've had for 30 years. We raised two boys with this kitchen, and now we are re-doing it one last time... and of course keeping the corner sink, I am going from a double bowl to a single though.

  • Kathy Rivera
    11 years ago

    I have a corner sink and I really like it - though we are planning a remodel b/c the rest of the layout doesn't work. The biggest positive is the great prep space you'll get to the left.

    I considered a layout much like you are considering. While I like live wire's point about putting the sink in the peninsula, for my family (2 kids) I prefer it in the corner. Then they could use the good expanse of counter on the peninsula to spread out homework while I could use the large prep area on the other side. But that's personal preference I think.

  • Debbi Branka
    11 years ago

    Love my corner sink. My second one in my second kitchen. So I've had one for about 25 years. I'm a double bowl girl though.

  • Mistman
    11 years ago

    Our last home and this temp rental both have corner sinks. I'm not a big fan of the space behind it as it tend to get cluttered with 'things'. If one of the kids goes nuts w/the sprayer it makes a pretty big mess. We have the window too which my wife thinks is great for small plants but again it tends to get messy/cluttered looking 'specially after the above mentioned nuttiness. Reaching behind the sink to clean is a pain.

  • jakuvall
    11 years ago

    They can solve counter issues- I always do recessed corner bases instead of just a straight angled one. Gives better clearance to adjacent cabinets, makes access to wall cabinet and behind sink much easier.
    Pics below- drawing, both the photos show a large single sink (undermounts in laminate) the dark one is a 39" base, the QS oak is a 42" base in progress in the showroom.

  • lucas_tx_gw
    11 years ago

    I have an interior kitchen with a corner sink where the corner is clipped off, so the back wall is just parallel to the cabinet fronts, so I don't have the issues mentioned in the previous post. I just recently did a thread called Ordered Barker Cabinets if you want to see the layout.

    Anyway, I like it a lot. It had a solid wall behind it which I did not like, so one of the main reasons for our remodel was to open the wall above it and now that the demo is done for that, I love being able to see the family room. My other issue was not enough prep space between the sink and the cooktop and we fixed that by moving the range farther away from the sink to increase the counter space between them.

    My house is on a slab and to move the sink would require busting up the slab to move the plumbing and I wasn't willing to go to those lengths to change something that I liked just fine. Plus without major reconfiguration, moving load bearing walls, etc. there really isn't a better place to put it. Per your message, keeping the corner sink was not a popular decision on this forum, but I'd say, if it works for you, go for it. You are the one who is going to live in the house.

  • cwalen
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you all so much for your feedback. I want the large expanse on the peninsula for meals/eventually homework/serving space for parties so I wasn't keen on moving the sink to the far end of the peninsula. So the corner allowed me to see into the family room while preserving the space on the peninsula as well as the expanded space between range and sink.

  • Kathy Rivera
    11 years ago

    You also may want to rethink trash placement. You could put it to the left of the sink, then the DW to the right. Yes you need something between the corner sink and the DW, but it could be as small as a 12" drawer stack for ziplocs/foils and such (Or maybe an 18" recycling pullout?). Then cleanup would be scrap left into trash, rinse center at sink, load right at DW. That way the trash is in the prep space - where you will need it more often. Or put a second small trash pullout somewhere in the prep space.

  • cwalen
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Kathy - how about this compromise -

    trash to left of the corner sink.

  • lyfia
    11 years ago

    your trash looks to be too close to the corner sink. Imagine putting stuff in the trash for example scraping bones off a plate and then rinseor go straight to the dishwasher. Where would you stand?

  • Kathy Rivera
    11 years ago

    We were talking about this thread in another and I didn't realize cwalen had responded again! Sorry!

    lyfia - That's part of what the 12" between sink and DW is for. You step just a bit in front of that 12" drawer stack so you can pull the trash out, scrap, rinse, load. (I just tried it in my corner sink area to be sure!)

    cwalen - I think that placement is fine. Or, you could switch it with the cab next to it so it's a little closer to the range (in case one person is also prepping near the range - a little easier for them to get to). If you did that then you won't need to step to the side for the clearance during cleanup. But as I mentioned - I just tested out the side step and it was pretty insignificant! :)

  • blfenton
    11 years ago

    Both of my sinks would be considered "no-no's" here.

    My prep sink is a corner sink, exactly like cwalen as planned.- in the corner of the peninsula. It is 16" square so not very big but I didn't want to take away prep space for the sink nor did I want to stare at a wall while standing at the sink. My KD had never installed one but I did my research and she came on board. Although I wish I had seen jakuvall's drawing because that idea would have been something to consider.

    My clean-up sink is on a short wall with the DW around the corner and not beside the sink. Like I said - another GW no-no. But they both work for us.

  • cottagewithroses
    11 years ago

    Where are you going to store your dishes? Have you considered moving the sink to the back window wall, with your dishwasher on the left and trash on the right?

    If you can use a downdraft vent, and depending on your local codes, you might be able to place the range under the other window or in your corner. That would give you the peninsula for your prep area and another prep area between the sink and range.

  • dan1888
    11 years ago

    A corner sink on an outside corner with counter space on each leg or with one side an outside corner and one an inside, both these configurations open it to multiple users so more people can work together in one kitchen.

  • lavender_lass
    11 years ago

    I've always liked DreamweaverMAM's kitchen :)
    {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans
    {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link to DreamweaverMAM's kitchen

  • gillycat
    11 years ago

    I just found this and am hoping that the topic is still pertinent
    I love my corner sink but do agree that the space behind is a little wasted.
    I have solved this partially by putting a wire shelf thing that has my brushes and soaps on it and looks quite nice still.BUT ... if I could do it over again I would have turned it 45 degrees and installed the sink so that the drain was to the left or right. ie longer front to back than side to side. If this meant the faucet would be too far back I would have installled the faucet on the side.