My kitchen sink and faucet

A few years ago, when we were building our house and designing our kitchen, I wrote a post on the kitchen sink decision.  It is a detailed post with lots of beautiful images and over 100 helpful and interesting comments from readers.  In this post, I discussed options I was thinking about for the sink itself, the location of the sink, and the style of faucet.

Many people are finding this post through google searches, and every week I receive questions about my kitchen.  A lot of people must have started kitchen renovations in January, because I have received dozens of emails over the past month asking for input and guidance on kitchen decisions, whether it be countertops, cabinets, appliances, or kitchen sinks. 

Lately I have been receiving quite a few emails asking what kitchen sink and faucet I selected for my kitchen, so I thought I would write a blog post on the topic. 

Here are the decisions that my wonderful kitchen designer Cynthia Ziegler and I made for my own kitchen, and how I feel about the decisions now that I have lived in the house for a few years. 

Sink:

In my old house (which I did not build), I inherited a double bowl sink that had a smaller raised section above the disposal. I hated this sink, and when researching the topic of kitchen sinks, realized that I really don’t like double section sinks. I felt certain that I would prefer having a big sink with a single bowl.  I have been very happy with this decision. 

My kitchen designer recommended a Franke 30”x18”x9” sink because they have worked well for her on past projects.  The sink is stainless steel, and I have also been happy with the material. It looks great with the style of the kitchen, and can take a real beating. If it ever gets discolored I simply wipe it with a Mr. Clean magic eraser, which is one of the most indispensible items in my cleaning closet.

We have two sinks in the kitchen, and both have the same Franke sink.

Faucet style and location of the sinks:

We decided to have two sinks in the kitchen that each have their own function, and selected similar but somewhat different faucets at each of the sinks based on location and space constraints.

For the kitchen island sink, we used the Perrin & Rowe deck mount bridge faucet with high C spout faucet in polished nickel, with matching sidespray. My architect gave me a heads up that polished nickel gets water spots, but this has not bothered me at all and they polish right out with the Cape Cod metal polishing cloths (more about that later).  We picked this faucet because it is so beautiful, and the island is so visible in the kitchen – and therefore the faucet is very visible.  It’s a beautiful faucet, and quite sculptural.  Note – I had not polished the faucet yet when I took this picture, so this shows two years of water spots. The polishing made it look like new!

I was worried that I would not like having a separate lever for hot and cold, and a separate sprayer. However, I quickly got used to it and I love the faucet we selected.  I use the cold much of the time, and simply add a bit of hot when I want hot or warm water. I also enjoy having a lever devoted to hot water when I am filling up a pot for cooking or washing pots and pans (the island sink is where I do most of the cooking prep and clean up, as it is opposite the stove and range).

The little button to the left of the faucet is an air switch that controls the disposal, also in polished nickel.

As mentioned above, the kitchen island sink is where most of the cooking prep and clean up occurs.

We decided to place our second sink on a wall in the kitchen.   It was a bit of a design challenge but it made sense based on the kitchen layout. We used the same Franke sink as the one in the island, and a similar Perrin & Rowe faucet with a sidespray (in polished nickel), but a single hole style.  

When the counter was installed, and the sink was mounted, it was time to install the faucet. We realized that we had another design dilemma – we couldn’t install the faucet as it was designed, with the single lever on the right. If  we mounted this way, there would not be enough room behind the sink for the faucet handle to go all of the way back for the cold water setting – it would be prevented from moving in the full range of motion by the marble backsplash. So, we installed it with the handle in the front, allowing full range of motion side to side, and decided if it really bothered us we would find a replacement faucet.  Luckily, we got used to it very quickly, although guests often can’t figure out how to use this faucet.

This second sink is used for a variety of purposes, but it was designed to be the ‘scullery’ sink – the sink where all of the dishes are cleared to and washed up after meals.  My kitchen designer is very thoughtful about the processes in a kitchen and designing a kitchen so that everything has a work flow, and I have been really amazed at how beautifully our kitchen works and how it really works exactly as she had in mind from the time it was first sketched on paper.

I have also used this sink as a wine cooler/bar area during parties, filling it with ice and beverages.  Note how there are drainage grooves cut into the marble to the left of the sink. I got this idea from a friend, and I love how it looks – but in reality, I tend to wash my pots and pans in my island sink, and dry them on the range.

As I was writing this post, and looking at the pictures, I remembered a gift my sister gave me soon after we moved in – Cape Cod metal polishing cloths.  She said that her old designer swore by them for cleaning metals – including polished nickel – and making them look brand new. I pulled them out this weekend and polished my kitchen and bathroom faucets, and sure enough they worked beautifully – they got all of the water spots off and made the polished nickel look beautiful. I highly recommend them! I think they have a gentle cleaning substance on the polishing cloths, and the process is to polish with the pink cloth then buff with the white buffing cloth.

According to the side of the can:

Polish all your fine metals without the harsh chemical smell! Achieve a fast, fabulous shine on aluminum, brass, bronze, copper, gold, nickel, pewter, silver - just about any metal - with these easy to use, reusable soft polishing cloths. Due to the exclusive anti-tarnish formula, these unique pre-moistened cleaning cloths deliver an incredible shine that lasts! That means you clean less often - and they have a pleasant vanilla scent! The beautiful re-usable tin contains 12 individually wrapped 4" x 6" polishing cloths, one buffing cloth and one pair of re-usable gloves. Also available: re-closable foil pouch with two 4" x 6" cloths.

They can be purchased on Amazon here.

I hope this post helps anyone looking into kitchen sinks and faucets.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Another question I get all of the time is about my marble, and what I think about marble countertops after living with them for a few years. I am working on that post!

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Kitchen Sinks on Walls

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Earlier this month, I wrote a post on wall mounted faucets. What is on my mind this week are sinks that are on walls (which often have wall mounted faucets!). Most of my pictures from the wall mounted faucet post were from powder rooms; in a kitchen, it is far more common to place a sink under a window or on an island, both for the view and to achieve some open space over the faucet.

In my new kitchen, we are going to have two sinks: one on the kitchen island, which will have a nice view across the kitchen to a wall of windows, and will be used for prep and pot washing (because it will be across from the range, and convenient to the fridge). For a variety of reasons, we will also have a sink that is on a wall, and this sink will be used mainly for clean up; we have started calling it the ‘scullery sink’. It will be convenient to the kitchen table, for easy dish clearing and washing.

At our last architecture and design meeting, we talked about how to handle the cabinets that will be over the wall sink. These will be the only overhead cabinets in the kitchen, so they are important. Luckily, I had already started saving images for this post, so I was very prepared and could visualize the options!

This is one of my favorite pictures of a sink on a wall. I love the glass front cabinets and how the back of the cabinets are painted in a contrasting color. Note how the cabinet above the sink is raised to allow more ‘breathing room’ for the faucet. Image via House Beautiful.

I really like a stone cut-out above a sink if it is on a wall. Given the small closed space in this area, the place above the sink has somewhat limited use, with only room for a few shelves and display cabinets. Image via Cote de Texas.

Another sink on a wall, this time with a wall mounted faucet. There is some nice open shelving above the sink, and the back is painted in a contrasting color. I wish I could see the whole wall (see update below)! Via Cote de Texas.

Revised: Two wonderful readers emailed me links to the entire kitchen - and it is beautiful. This is actually quite similar to the layout that we are thinking about for our plan, but our kitchen will be wider - there will be two floor to ceiling hutch like cabinets on either side of the windows. One will house the microwave and other items, the other will be the dish cabinet.

I was really struck by this kitchen when I first saw it on Limestone & Boxwoods, in part because of the unique window over the sink on the wall. It is an interesting way to treat the space – to use an interior window. I am not sure how I feel about it, though. What do you think?

This great kitchen, by Bear-Hill Interiors, uses open shelving above the sink on the wall. To me, this works because it relieves the heaviness of a cabinet above the sink, and is also practical because there is not a solid mass to bump your head on (which could be a problem with a cabinet over the sink). Also, it appears as if the shelves are high – higher than the standard 18” above the counter which is typical for cabinets. I truly appreciate the style of this kitchen, but I am not a fan of open shelving for myself.

Another beautiful kitchen by Bear-Hill Interiors employs both open shelving as well as a bump up for the area above the sink. I actually really like the idea of cookbooks in this area.

I am not sure where I got this kitchen picture (maybe a real estate listing?), but it is interesting to see how the sink wall was handled. The shelf on the sink is not exactly on the same plane as the side cabinets, but close; it is not as deep, which removes the issue with bumping the head. I am not sure how I feel about display shelves, though.

This picture is very well known in the blog world, but did you ever notice that there is a sink on the wall? I remembered the plate rack on the wall, but did not notice that there was a sink there too until I went back and scrutinized the picture. Image via Cote de Texas.

Revised: I had to add this picture, from the new post from This Photographer's Life on a historic Neel Reid house. Photo credit: Blayne Beacham. Click here to see more pictures of the incredible house! I really like how this sink is handled on the wall of the kitchen. It doesn't feel crowded, perhaps because of the light colors and the expanse of space on the wall.

This is a secondary kitchen (in a former garage space) designed by Suzanne Kasler, as seen in Veranda. Suzanne loved open shelves in this kitchens, and said it worked well in this because it is not the main kitchen in the house.

This is from Martha Stewart’s old home in Connecticut. The cabinets go across the wall, but notice how high they are – certainly above the standard 18” above the counter. This may look good and work well for secondary cabinets, but I don’t think it would work well for cabinets that are used every day (especially for a short person like me).

One of my favorite sink pictures – how many times have a posted this on my blog? At least a dozen. I see new things every time I look at it, though. The cabinets go all the way over the sink, but wouldn’t this be annoying to use on a daily basis – it seems like a tall person or even a not so tall person would bump their head on the cabinets when trying to wash the dishes.

Los Angeles based architect Steve Giannetti is truly masterful at kitchen design. This is an example of a sink on a wall in a home he designed; he said that whenever he incorporates wall sinks, he usually bumps up the cabinetry above the sink.

In this kitchen the area above the sink is free and clear, which allows for a great view of the beautiful tile. But, it somehow it doesn’t look quite finished. I think it would look better if the shelf was lower, or if there were multiple shelves. My architect noted the importance of making some sort of connection between two banks of cabinets when they are separated.

This is an interesting use of the space above the sink – it is raised, and there is cabinetry and a small shelf.

Have you ever seen a sink on a wall in a kitchen? What solution do you like the best out of these pictures, or do you have a good picture to send to me? I love the idea of a sink on a wall in our kitchen plans, because it is a practical and convenient place to put a sink. However, it is not totally straightforward coming up with a good cabinet arrangement on this wall. These are going to be much used cabinets, which makes the configuration even more important. I would love your observations and insights!

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