Apron-front kitchen sinks like this one are popular today especially in farmhouse-style kitchens. These are best incorporated during new construction. Installing them afterward will require some retrofitting. Ala2017bn|Dreamstime (Courtesy photo)
As he was about to close the deal to buy Twitter, Elon Musk walked into the company’s headquarters carrying, of all things, a kitchen sink. The moment, captured on video, prompted the world to wonder why. Ceiling Top Shower
Me, I wanted to know whether the sink had a single or double basin. That was the subject of a raging debate at my house. My husband, DC, and I ─ now in the too-late-to-turn-back stage of a kitchen remodel ─ had drawn the lines.
I wanted a kitchen sink with one big basin. He wanted a sink split in two. This difference had devolved into an arms-crossed, nose-in-air, leave-the-room kind of dispute. We were a house divided over a divider.
Our current 20-year-old stainless steel kitchen sink, which came with the house, has two basins, a small one on the left with a disposal, and a larger one on the right. DC likes that arrangement. He can scrape and rinse on one side, wash in the other. I’d rather one big tub that can fit a turkey roaster or a small dog.
“Look,” I argue, “even the richest, smartest man in the world has a single-basin sink.” The video clip indeed showed the quirky Chief Twit, as Musk calls himself, carrying a single-basin sink around the San Francisco headquarters, saying, “Let that sink in!”
“I’m sure Elon Musk doesn’t wash dishes,” DC said, alluding to the fact that though I cook, he does most of the dishes. So there’s that. Kind of pulls the plug on my argument.
Nonetheless, I seek out second opinions. I ask, without bias, the designer I am working with, the stone countertop installer, and two plumbing supply salespeople, who collectively have installed a bajillion kitchens, what they recommend. The result: 4-0 in favor of one basin.
Then I turn to Facebook and take a straw poll, which quickly reveals that folks feel veeeerrrry strongly about their sinks. The single vs. double basin debate is right up there with the toilet paper over or under debate, another domestic detail DC and I disagree on. The result: Two out of three voters favored a single-basin kitchen sink, though both camps had passionate defenders. Here’s a sampling:
I share my findings with DC. No matter. He still wants two basins. “I’m the one who does the dishes,” he said. “I like a split sink. If you want a single basin, you can start doing the dishes.”
I let that sink in.
Because choosing a kitchen sink involves more than deciding whether to have one basin or two, DC and I decide to agree on what we can agree on, and temporarily table the basin debate, secretly hoping the other party will stop caring.
Dennis Twomey, owner of Millenia Bath, in Longwood, has been selling sinks and faucets for over 30 years. He walked me through the factors to consider when choosing the most used sink in the house:
Shower Fittings Marni Jameson is the author of six home and lifestyle books, including What to Do With Everything You Own to Leave the Legacy You Want, Downsizing the Family Home – What to Save, What to Let Go, and Downsizing the Blended Home – When Two Households Become One. You may reach her at www.marnijameson.com.