8 Tips On Shopping for a Kitchen Sink

I have been dying to bring you some of the final pictures from the kitchen remodel that is going on around here. If you have been following on Instagram, I know you are catching snippets of the remodel. I have friends who have been asking if I have pictures up yet. I don’t have much. I want to do the big reveal when everything is ready. With all remodels, especially when you are dealing with an old, wonky house, there have been some weird setbacks that mean everything isn’t ready yet. That said, there is part of my kitchen that is ready to display, and that’s my dream sink. I want to show you my choice for a new sink but also give you 8 tips on shopping for a kitchen sink, just in case you are currently in the market. After going through the process, I have the tips that you will want to consider as you are moving forward with this important decision.

All products were given to me at no cost. All opinions are my own. I treat my reviews with integrity, unwilling to review any product I do not believe in. I have turned down a number of reviews and sponsored posts for this reason. 

You will never appreciate a kitchen sink more than when you do not have one for a while. Washing dishes in a tiny bathroom sink for a couple months will make you overjoyed when your dream sink is finally ready for your use. A sink is probably what I missed most about having a kitchen. Taking dishes from the living room to the bathroom just wasn’t fun. When my sleek and stylish farmhouse sink was installed, I was thrilled, and I have enjoyed using it ever since. I have no regrets in the choices we made. Kohler has lived up to their name in product quality, design and function.

I want to give you some tools so that you, too, can make choices that will help you function well in the most important room of the house.  

1. Find a Brand You Trust – Kohler was a brand we went to immediately. They have such chic and gorgeous designs. They are a trusted brand that has proven quality over and over again. Their ratings are 4.8 our of 5 stars, so I knew they could be trusted. Based on my experience, I would recommend Kohler as well. Whatever brand you choose, I definitely recommend one that you trust for quality and customer service.
2. Read Reviews – Part of finding a brand you trust is reading reviews. You not only want to read reviews for the brand, but also for the product. All of our choices had ratings between 4 and 5. I always read a handful of reviews in the top, middle and bottom ratings. I consider the overall picture of people’s experiences are with the brand and product.
3. Consider Your Overall Style – Part of buying a sink you love is considering the overall style of your kitchen or home. Are your lines sharp so you want a more streamlined look in your sink? Do you love the look and feel of a curve? Is your home more traditional, rustic, contemporary or modern? Search on places like Houzz or Pinterest for your style and notice what the professionals are installing. Overall, you will know what you fall in love with when looking at sinks. Everyone has a style preference, and you need to look to see what matches YOU. If you are pursuing Kohler sinks like we did, they have options in stainless steel, fireclay, and enameled cast iron with top mount, apron front and under-mount options. We chose the stainless steal to match some of the following elements of our current design: new stainless hood, gas stainless stove, sleek and square drawer pulls, stainless microwave drawer, industrial I-Beam table legs, and an exposed I-Beam for structural support and architectural details. (See pictures below)
4. Consider Function a Top Priority – You don’t want to buy a beautiful sink and yet find that it doesn’t function well. Depth of the sink is important to consider. Deeper sinks reduce splashes, but it can be uncomfortable to reach to the bottom of the sink constantly while doing dishes. According to Consumer Reports, sink depths range from 6-12 inches and under-mount sinks will be 1 1/2 inches lower than top-mounted sinks. We chose a 9 inch depth bowl, which has been comfortable to use. Other things to consider are, will it clean easily? Will it get easily marked up? Will you have a single or double bowl? How easy is it to install? We have loved having the bottom rack that came with our sink. It protects the sink from getting banged up by dishes and makes things easier to keep clean. Will the sink you are choosing fit the sizes of your pots and pans? Function is an important component in loving your sink.
5. Keep Within Your Budget – Whenever doing a kitchen remodel, make a budget, add in a buffer and stick within your means. I always recommend not going into debt. That said, budget appropriately for a high quality sink. For example, there are definitely different gauges for metal sinks. The lower the gauge the thicker the steel. We chose a 18-gauge stainless steel Kohler sink. Some sinks are more prone to denting and vibrating and will not handle the weight of dishes or the added movement of a disposal. Durability is important to consider, so you don’t want to go so low budget that the quality is being sacrificed. Do your research and set a reasonable budget goal for your individual circumstance.
6. Decide on a Material – Do you want a stainless steel sink? Fireclay? Enameled Cast Iron? Metal? Composite Granite? Quartz? Copper? Houzz has a great article that will wonderfully explore the different options with the costs and pros and cons to each. Your decision about material plays in to both the design and the functionality.
7. How do YOU use a sink? When deciding upon a sink it is important to examine your own style of using the sink. I have always had a double bowl sink with two sides. I thought that is what I wanted. It is what I have always known, but my husband convinced me to try a single bowl, and I will never go back. I love, love, love the functionality for my use. This huge sink fits all of my needs. I rarely hand wash a large set of dishes, so having one sink for filling with soap doesn’t fit my washing style. I have a sink brush filled with soap so that I can hand wash pans and knives individually when needed. Having a sink that fits ALL of my pans without trying to tilt them at weird angles while trying to avoid banging at the edges of the sink has been more valuable than I knew it would be. Above you see the largest pan I own, and it has no problem sitting in my sink. That said, my mom and mother-in-law have a sink with two bowls, and I don’t think they would change that. The way they do dishes, filling one side with soap, happens often. Their habits lead them to a different conclusion than my own, so it is a very personal decision. An option similar to my mom’s choice is when you have the larger bowl with a shorter divide, similar to this product. Kohler calls this their “Smart Divide®,” which  “features a lower bowl divider that increases workspace and versatility.” This is an option we considered and is a nice blend of the the open bowl feeling with a divide for certain purposes. It’s a great option for some.
8. Decide on a Faucet Using All the Above Tips – Using all the tips above, you can move forward in choosing a sink. However, the decisions are not over. Go through all of the same tips in helping to choose a faucet and soap dispenser. Our choice of sink and style of kitchen as well as considering brand and function all played into our choice.

Our Sink and Faucet Choices & Reviews

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As mentioned, Kohler was the first place we looked when considering our sink, faucet and soap dispenser options. After looking at other brands, Kohler was where we returned. We love the beautiful and varied design choices available at Kohler. The reviews of both the company and the products were fabulous. Our overall kitchen design was well matched by the clean aesthetics available in Kohler products. I couldn’t be happier with the choices we made.

KOHLER K-3943-NA Vault Undercounter Single Basin Stainless Steel Sink with Shortened Apron-Front for 36-Inch Cabinet – My single basin stainless steel sink was a new concept for me. I had always had a double basin sink. While this functions well for some, I love how large and functional this sink is for me. I was also hesitant to have a rack on the bottom, but this is another feature I have loved. I was afraid that the front of the sink might get a lot of fingerprints. With small children, this tends to be an issue in our home. However, because the front apron has a more brushed look, this hasn’t been a problem. I have also always had a top-mount sink. I love the undercount feature because the edge of the sink doesn’t get all dirty. Crumbs and countertop debris can be easily wiped into the sink, making clean up easier.  Head to Kohler to read more about our sink.

KOHLER K-596-VS Simplice Single-Hole Pull-down Kitchen Faucet, Vibrant Stainless – The kitchen faucet also receives a great review from me. We wanted a very sleek and clean design with little fuss. The 3 function spray head has a new “Sweep” design, which creates a wider, flatter and more forceful spray that really aides in cleaning. This faucet leaves great clearance and yet the head pulls down to be able to more closely clean the dishes or the sink. Head to Kohler to read more about our faucet.

KOHLER K-1895-C-VS Soap or Lotion Dispenser with Contemporary Design (Clam Shell Packed), Vibrant Stainless – In keeping with our clean look, we chose this contemporary soap dispenser design by Kohler. I always like having soap available at the sink, and this dispenser seems to work great. Head to Kohler to read more about our soap dispenser.