All About: Double Bowl Sinks

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
updated Jun 5, 2019
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Are you thinking about renovating your kitchen? If so, then our Sink Spotlight series will help you. Today we take a look at double bowl sinks.

Sink Style: Double Bowl

Distinctive Features: A rectangular sink with two side-by-side bowls or basins separated by a partition; bowls may be the same size or one may be smaller than the other. Common dimensions include 13″x18′ for the smaller bowl and 30″x20″ for the larger bowl.

Pros: Enables multi-tasking. One bowl can be used for food preparation and clean up, the other for washing and rinsing dishes, or wash dishes on one side, rinse on the other; very useful when there are multiple cooks in the kitchen.

Cons: Takes up more counter space; not ideal for small kitchens; often difficult to wash large pots and pans, as each bowl is smaller as a single unit than as one big partition-less whole.

Installation: Double bowl sinks often have standard-to-shallow depth but are (obviously) wider than single-bowl sinks, so installation may require some custom fitting.

Price range: Very basic stainless steel double bowl sinks start around $100 and increase to upwards of $800+ depending on size, material, and special features (like a drain board, for example).

Kitchn Reader Reviews:

Love, love, love, LOVE our apron front double sink. It’s 36″ wide, and I don’t mind not having a dishwasher when I have all that room to wash and dry. – cashew

My old house kitchen was tiny, but the biggest agony it caused me had nothing to do with the size of space. It had a standard double bowl sink, and washing 1/2 sheet pans, stock pots and large cutting boards in that stupid sink used to make me CRAZY beyond words. Dumb, because I know a lot of people have single bowl sinks and wish for a double. – splatgirl

My current single basin is the first I’ve ever had, and I love it. Before, with a double sink, one was for washing and one basin was for the drying rack. Such a waste! The large basin is big enough to get entire pots and pans (or small dogs) into, without getting soaked. I put a drying rack on the counter when I need one, or use the (again, new to me) dishwasher as a big drying rack. – embryoconcepts

Related Kitchn Posts:

• All About: Undermount Kitchen Sinks
• All About: Drop-In Kitchen Sinks
• All About: Farmhouse Kitchen Sinks

Readers, share your experiences with double bowl sinks!

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