Choosing the Best Kitchen Sink

Size

The first thing to do when selecting a kitchen sink is to measure the size of the sink you will buy. If you are remodeling your kitchen completely, you may be able to change the size according to which sink you wish to purchase. Otherwise, you will need to purchase a sink to fit the existing hole.

Material

Whereas sinks used to be primarily iron or stainless steel, sinks are now made from many different types of materials. Stainless steel sinks can range in price, and vary in thickness and quality. Stainless steel is durable. With respect to stainless steel sinks with mirrored finishes, keep in mind these look beautiful when clean, but are extremely difficult to keep clean. Enameled cast-iron sinks come in various colors, and are durable and easy to maintain. Sinks made from composite material are attractive because they can match your countertop, but they can be difficult to maintain. Metals such as copper or nickel are beautiful and easy to maintain, but very expensive.

Appearance

Determine how you want your sink mounted. Traditionally, sinks were installed to sit on top of the countertop, with a small lip overlapping onto the countertop. Sinks that are mounted flush with the top of the counters or even mounted underneath are attractive and becoming more and more common.

Kitchen sinks come in various configurations. Most sinks have two basins of equal size, one of which contains the garbage disposal. A single deep basin is convenient if you often handle large items such as pots, but can be troublesome when you want to use the garbage disposal at the same time. Some kitchen sinks offer one large basin and a small basin containing the garbage disposal. There are even some kitchen sinks that have a space between the two basins, which is convenient for drying items.