Our kitchen is showing its age and we’re contemplating major surgery to rejuvenate it.
The architect and builder keep telling me I should put the sink on the island facing the living or dining area but I’m not convinced.
In spite of my best intentions to have everything ready and be waiting, impeccably turned out and relaxed, when guests arrive for meals I am almost always still preparing food.
The men argue if the sink is on the island it will be easier to chat as I work.
But that also means the mess from preparation will be right in front of everybody and then there’s the issue of used plates and left over food from one course coming back to beside the sink possibly getting mixed up with the next course going out.
I’d appreciate advice – where’s your sink and does it work well there?
Homepaddock 
I have mine looking out the kitchen window. We have a U shaped kitchen: open bench looking towards our family room, sink on the base of the U looking out the window, stove in hob on the other arm of the U, pantry and wall oven and shelves on the wall facing the open end of the U. It’s quite old now: I suspect it was put in when the house was built in 1988. It’s basic design is very effective, but when we update it, I’ll be swapping to a standalone stove, with an electric oven and a gas hob.
I’m not a fan of big open benches facing a dining area. I much prefer to have an upstand on the bench, so that I can hide all the cooking mess when we sit down to dinner. This is mostly for my benefit: I hate looking forward.
In my ideal kitchen… well, in just a passably good kitchen, I like having two bench areas, one that is just plain bench, and another with the sink. This helps me to organise myself much better.
I’d be telling your architect and builder that they are not the people who will be working and living in this kitchen, and that you are getting it built to suit you, not them.
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Yay! You lucky thing. I would say two things about sink location. If you keep it where it is that is cheaper as relocating means replumbing and that costs more. But having the sink in your island is more modern. It is nice to be able to chat with your guests when you’re in the kitchen and makes the meal a more social event. You might even find you get more help with the dishes at the end 😉 It’s more accessible for guests to just lean over and top up their own glass of water when they feel like it. If you are still worried about mess being ‘exposed’ then you could always go for a scullery 😉 Also good friends don’t care about a mess – I find it reassuring to know my friends can be as disorganised as me!
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Centre with a low breakfast bar on the family side. You can look over and talk and no one can see the bench and meal detritus..Can find you some nice macrocarpa, Elm or Oak if you want to go all wood!
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My sink , double with no wastemaster, is behind a 250mm upstand with underbench dishwasherto the right and moi facing the family area or looking through to lounge / dining so I may observe needs, timing and drinks etc.
Swmbo is in charge of guests.
Pantry is left rear as I face the room, hob(gas) and electric oven(wall), is on wall behind and Fridge on my direct left
“Best” glassware and crockery is in cupboards under Upstand access from family area. All utensils pots, kitchen crockery and everday crockery and linen are in drawers, next time with those fancy controlled closers, spices in a spice drawer and all food storage in walkin pantry.
The island morphs into round table for six attached at table height for additional food prep if the more formal table seating 12 in Lounge through two meter folding doors is employed. Should royalty arrive the formal dining can be accessed by hallway and bifolds left closed but that has not yet eventuated.
Should swmbo come out of “her retirement” and resume no1 status in my kitchen she says the design will remain but the gas hob will be replaced with an induction cooktop and the wall oven with a stand alone electric oven.
I concur with the sentiment as regards plumbing costs but at your stage of life any additional costs should be ignored, your presbyterian upbringing notwithstanding. A view from a sink is not an issue with a dishwasher installed and no time to look out a window, it is usually dark anyway
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We’ve designed two kitchens now and the sink was in the island facing the room for both. Like GD we have a dishwasher in the island as well as the cutlery drawer.
In our current home the kitchen sink is like a command centre and can see the dining room, lounge, office/computer room, hallway (across the terrace through ranchsliders) as well as most of the backyard. Ideal for watching goings on whilst preparing meals.
If I had my time over again I would match what relatives that I flat with every week have done. Their sink is in an island with the dishwasher in the island to the right of the sink. Their plates are in a large drawer to the right of their dishwasher. A long island but it works really well.
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Go with your gut Ele, it has to be facing away, preferably to a nice scenic view, for all the times there aren’t guests to be entertained.
Deborah’s set-up sounds similar to ours, with the added advantage of being able to quietly swear when things go wrong, and no lip-reader can ping you!
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As I recall you have the view that is your blog header from your kitchen window. If I am right why would you want to sacrifice it for a sink in an `island bench’.
from the cowshed said -`Also good friends don’t care about a mess – I find it reassuring to know my friends can be as disorganised as me!’
Is that a case of `like, attracting like’.
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Mine is not unlike Deb’s; on an outside wall; with a double opening slide window above it. In good weather we BBQ just outside the kitchen window, so passing things in and out is a breeze. The outlook from our bench is a mix of rural and suburban (over the other side of the valley), so doing the dishes isn’t too much of a chore either!
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We left our sink facing the window and overlooking the backyard. We put the stove top in the island for the same reasons your men give for the sink. We have found this is also good for serving as pots can be left on the stove to keep warm. The island also has an overhang on one side for the kids to sit at for breakfast.
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With an island view into the house, there would be a lack of ‘rural perspective’, so you’d have to change the HomePaddock blog logo in the header bar. And that would never do.
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Suz is right Hp.
I would go with the view. I presume you have more times at the sink without visitors than with !??
An island bench does have its advantages – but sans sink.
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Thanks for all the feedback. I should have explained that what we plan is a kitchen that’s much longer than deeper and will have space for dining or sitting between the window and kitchen, and in front of the island.
We’ll still have a window to provide the same view – and rural perspective.
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My kitchen seems a little a inadequate judging from the comments. I took my design from my best man who is a chef in Sydney from his home kitchen. Island one side with washing and prep – behind gas hob/ oven and bench either side. Yes GD, 250mm upstand on the island to hide the preparations
Best man not too impressed by my kitchen. Thought that width between the hob and island was too wide. Meaning, I think, there should be a place for one cook. Seeing him prepare a meal in his home, with knives flashing around like a dervish and onto tasting another label of Australia wine, you keep out of his way.
We both agree that “Cooking with Gas ” ad from from the UK is best
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