Why You Shouldn't Put a Sink in Your Kitchen Island
by Valentina Lostalo
Kitchens are the heart of the home. Parents (and if you are lucky to have a chef child) spend a big percentage of their time there prepping meals for everyone. Parents cook, help a child do their homework, kids eat breakfast, parents sign school papers, couples cook also discuss their day, and so much more. Don’t even get me started on holidays.
If your home has an “open concept”, meaning your kitchen opens to the living/dining room. Further, this means that you can always see the kitchen from different rooms of the house. Your family also probably uses the kitchen island as a catch-all place where backpacks, half-way done crafts, random papers, chargers (SO MANY CHARGERS!) are full time residents.
Now let’s analyze this: if your kitchen island is already clutter-prone, do we want to add to it the sink mess and the surroundings implications? Do we want to have breakfast left over the aftermath on top of the pile of papers we don’t know where to put?
I am a mom with an open concept kitchen in my home. I try to keep my kitchen clean, but I know life in a real home is busier and messier than the social gathering photos that make it on Instagram. And there is ALWAYS something on that island and even more so in the sink. However, because my sink is not in my island, they are not mixed. My island is just an island, and my sink is on the counter by the window.
In my personal opinion, sinks on islands are not ideal and if you can avoid it – I would. There are beautiful concepts and designs around them. Don’t get me wrong: I am not saying they are not pretty. I am saying they are not practical. Reality of a home life is not always picture worthy but it is not supposed to be. I like to design for real life.
What are your thoughts on the matter?