I am considering a 36" Julien a la carte or the Kohler stages at 44" (part of which is a prep tray area, with a faucet at each end, My kitchen is 7' x 10'6'' and is going to be lengthened to about 13'.

Thanks @ineffablespace! Mine is 7.5x12' but it will get a tiny bit longer and wider (through recessed appliance/narrow depth cabs) in the process. I was worried that I was thinking too big, but I'm glad to see that others put a big sink in a smaller space.

The Ruvati RVH8300 is a great sink, especially if you are looking for a big single bowl sink. The bowl is 10" deep which is the deepest I could find for a sink this size. If you are limited in counter space, the sink has a great functionality: there are tracks on the front and back where you can place a cutting board, or a colander. These are included with the sink. Also, the drain is placed near the back, not center, which means you have more space in the cabinet under the sink: the U-pipe and drain are towards the back. We have had the sink for almost a year and we love it. The sound guard coating is of good quality and the sink has a very strong and heavy duty feel to it. The bottom wire rack that comes with the sink is great: we keep it on all the time. It protects the bowl from scratches and when you have a pile of dishes in the sink, they don't block the drain.

My daughter bought a condo three years ago and put in a new silgranit sink. She absolutely loved it, the dark brown color. It was really easy to keep clean and looked great. She moved this month (military, moves every 3 years) and bought a new home with an undercount SS sink. She says she misses her silgranit sink a lot.

Ditto on the Ruvati RVH8300. We love ours. I always forget to use the colander and cutting board. It is great for big pans and platters. I think the colander is mostly for veggies not pasta.

It is much deeper than it looks in the first picture. Fabricators said Ruvati's template was perfect. They said it was the first one they had ever used from a sink company. Usually they do their own. I comes packed really well. It is even in its own soft fabric bag.

In terms of the color issue, we went with a black swanstone (similar to silgranite) with a light quartz, and it looks great. I wanted a big sink, but wanted something with a little extra something. The swanstone sink has a drainboard sort of step, excellent for when I have just a couple of dishes to wash that need somewhere to hang out. Super functional for smaller spaces as it functions as a large, deep, single bowl sink, or a pseudo double bowl sink. I love it to pieces. And the price was right for our budget kitchen.

Here it is right after counter install, before it was all plumbed in.

I have a Julien stainless apron front in a 30" cabinet. Internal dimensions are 27"x18"x10". I find that I can fit my baking sheets (I believe they are technically considered 1/4 sheet pans) lying flat front to back. Same with my large roasting pan. There is nothing in my cabinets that doesn't fit fully down into my sink for washing or soaking. So, for my needs it is plenty big enough. I do have a prep sink, but I have a much larger and spread out kitchen then you do, and often have multiple cooks/workers.

The Julien website is great. It has very detailed measurements and lists the recommended cabinet size for every sink. They have hundreds of options, literally. If you are interested in a stainless sink, I am sure you can find one there that would fit your needs. Your budget, on the other hand . . . ;)

Instead of taking six inches from one drawer base could you take three from each and still get a bigger sink?

Wish I had something to offer you on the sinks themselves....

Kohler farmhouse single bowl... Best sink ever for us! Small kitchen also.

Chrissyb2411--how is your swanstone sink holding up?

Junco,
So far so good. I have the same issue I have seen posted about silgranite black sinks with white spots. But I find if I wipe it down when I'm done it's not an issue. No scratching or other staining. And man, I love the little shelf!! I had a white acrylic sink last, and stainless before that. The white was awful, constant staining. The stainless was also not a good choice for me. I tend to be a bit scatterbrained sometimes, and had rust spots from cans etc put in a damp sink and forgotten about for a couple hours.

I know a lot of people turn their nose up at swanstone In favor of silgranite, but we had a budget and I couldn't be more pleased with my choice.

Thanks so much everyone! You've all given me more to think about... I've spent half the weekend googling different sinks. Unfortunately I didn't get to much in person - the big showrooms around here are closed on Sundays.

@Dianne47 and @chrissyb2411 - I was totally sold on Silgranit or another similar sink. The raves here on GW are just overwhelming. But I've settled on a light quartz for the countertops, and I have seen enough complaints about the ease of cleaning the lighter Silgranit/composite sinks. @chrissyb2411, I love the contrast between your sink and counter but I'm hesitant given that I have such a small kitchen and the sink will be visible from the entry - I need as much blend as possible.

@peke and @hunchtight - thanks so much for the feedback on the Ruvatis. I really like this sink and the functionality. I'm a little bummed that the cutting board isn't thicker; I really love this look, which is a Kohler Stages:

@sbp49: I still crave the farmhouse thing. I saw a Rohls apron sink today on my short hunt for in person experience, and it was just so amazing. Like a bathtub! But I realize that I'd probably need one of the premium colors for the Whitehaven with my slightly off-white Silestone (Yukon) -- which puts the price north of $1k, beyond my realistic budget.

I think I've figured out I need a stainless undermount; the question is do I do the 32" Ruvati in a 36" cabinet, or another sink? Or even, as @greenhaven wisely suggests, splitting the difference and making them both 33" cabinets....I'll be studying sinks all night long to figure this out! Thanks so much everyone!

I absolutely love my 30 inch Kraus stainless, 14 gauge, 10 inch deep sink from Overstock.com. But too bad, it is way cheap in price-less than $400 three years ago. It is big, high function. I have a Kohler Karbon faucet so I do not get backaches. This combo is a winner for me.

It comes with a grid which I could not be without. And even though the drain is in the center, I have no trouble draining pasta or veggies because of the grid. Big bang for my buck.

I think it is somewhat contemporary looking.

Check it out

"I'm a little bummed that the cutting board isn't thicker; I really love this look, which is a Kohler Stages."

Just a thought - you probably could get a custom cutting board made for the Ruvatis.

Thanks - @purplepansies, that thought occurred to me too! I spent way too long scouring photos, reviews and prices on line for various options. Right now I'm leaning toward the 30" Kraus that @westsider40 recommended (thanks!), and having a nice cutting board custom done (there are plenty of recs for this in the GW archives.)

I love the concept of the Ruvati but since my main goal to have a well-fitted cutting board to give me a little "extra" work space (and to hide any dirty dishes), I think I may be just as well served by the Kraus. Plus with the 30" sink, I could make both the sink and the drawer base 33" cabinets and not feel like I robbed too much space from one for the other. The contractor and KD are coming back this afternoon, once our crazy St Patrick's snow has cleared, and I'll get their take too....

PS, just in case anyone else is reading this thread (as I've been scouring other threads) another option seems to be the Houzer Novus, which has integrated ledges for a cutting board and colander. Doesn't have much feedback on GW, although positive noise elsewhere.