I looked at a lot of homes and pictures of home last Dec and I will never understand putting a sink in an island. You will be carrying dirty dishes from the table to the island, from the island to the cabinets, just doesn't make sense to me. I think the sink will look out of place, I had rather have an arrangement of flowers or fruit there or place settings.

I have a sink in my island. it is a nice deep sink and I can put dishes inside of it and you can't really tell they are in there even when sitting at the bar stools. But it's a big sink and a big island :)

We just finished our new house about 2.5 months ago. Kitchen is part of a great room like you describe and sink in island. I love it. I don't see how walking your dishes to the island is any different than walking your dishes to a different area of the kitchen where the sink may be.

I wanted to look out into the great room from the sink whether I'm washing up or prepping or whatever. I did plan on a deep sink and a large island (10x5) so that the sink wouldn't be in anybody's face who is seated on the other side of the island. I have seating on 2 sides.

You will find two distinct thoughts here on GW kitchen forum. some love their island sinks and some hate the thought of it. so I think it is personal preference and what works for you and your family. It's not right or wrong. Just make sure you follow all the 'rules' about zones and aisle widths and such.

I have a sink in my island at home. I personally really like it, it's set offset across from the range. My DW is also right next to my sink. I don't think it's a problem, my guest have never complained about the dishes, they kinda pile up on the left side but generally I put them away or clean them in a timely fashion. For parties I don't think anyone really cares, people sit at my island even when there is a big pile of dishes, but however that is almost always after dinner and apps have been served...

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I have my sink in the island because it's the only way my layout works. It's a 10" deep farmhouse sink so any dirty dishes will be well concealed. We do not have seating at the island so guests won't be inches away from soaking pots/pans. I like that I'll be able to interact with visitors/DH while having the barrier of the island between me and them, keeping them out of the work area when I'm prepping or cleaning up.

I'm not sure, but isn't 90% of the time in the kitchen spent at the sink?

My inlaws had their sink in their island, and it was perfect for entertaining because they faced their guests while they talked.

How big is your island? A tiny island with a sink in it might be too small for seating, you're right.

There are other reasons to put the sink in the island besides functional ones. For example, in my house, the nice views out the window can only be seen while standing at the island.

If I were going to do a main sink in an island (i.e. not just a prep sink), I would only do an apron front sink like jgopp has pictured. With an undermount sink you'd have to have a 4" strip of counter in front of the sink, which is fine when the sink is along the wall. But when you have a limited space in the island, I would not forego even those 4" of counter, and so, would install an apron front sink instead. Apron front sinks come in stainless steel like jgopp has, or in fireclay, which is a more difficult installation due to the irregularity of fireclay, or enameled cast iron like the Kohler Whitehaven (the Whitehaven very popular on this forum).

We have a similar setup to jgopp with range behind the sink. I love love love this layout and would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm a clean-as-I-go person and don't like sharing my space, don't like walking across from prep to cleanup zone with drippy bowls, and most importantly I really wanted the secondary sink for a beverage/snack area which allows family and guests to make drinks and snacks outside of my cleanup and prep zones.

So IMO it's all about the type of workflow you want. You need to think about the way you cook, how many people cook at once, and the way you entertain.

I plate our meals so wanted a set of everyday dinner dishes at the range for convenience, which is handy for dishwasher unloading. I do walk a second set of snack disk items across the room at Dw unloading time, but I'm not in a hurry then as I am at plating time.

Plenty of room for hubby to spead out while I'm working at the sink:

Full view with beverage and snack zone:

I think if the island were large enough it wouldn't be too bad. I spend plenty of time next to my sink, either prepping or cleaning up. Actually the two activities seem like one to me. I'm fortunate that my sink is under a window. The only way I'd prefer a sink in an island or peninsula is if the sink has no window. I would hate that.

Thanks all for the opinions and photos - lots of food for thought. The island is good sized so it may work. I do think I've figured out a way to put the sink elsewhere and still be able to look out a window though I then lose some upper cabinet space so now pondering that. I've always had my sink by a window so gotta' have that - even if the window is off in the distance a bit.

It's been nine years since we remodeled our kitchen. Now I'm pondering this kitchen for a potential new build to replace our current weekend lake place. I remember how obsessed I became last time and how I spent all my waking hours on this forum. I hope I don't go down that path again. I think I learned enough last time to make decisions more quickly this time around. Plus my budget is not at the same level for this as the last kitchen so that will limit my choices - which isn't a bad thing with my analysis paralysis tendencies.

Obsessive anguish is unavoidable when on a mission. Love the idea that you will be able to limit that due to budget or other restraints. Good luck and I am sure that it will be beautiful.

The kitchens posted here are just unbelievable, I am deeply in love with all of them.