Posted on: December 31, 2007

Sink Strategies

Extend the comfortable accessibility of your living room to the new hub of the home. Let your kitchen sink entice helpers, visitors and taste tasters to stick around

By CTW Features

Americans are learning to make themselves at home in the kitchen. What was once the domain of a solitary cook and a place children were shooed away from, has become the hub of the home, the social spot and an active gathering room for food, fun and conversation. At the center of it all is the most used fixture in the kitchen, which is not, as you might expect, the stove or refrigerator. It is the sink.

As the role of the kitchen shifts, industrial and interior designers have responded with innovative kitchen sink product lines suitable for the kitchen’s recently redefined role. For starters, they have extended offerings of size, shape and material. Sinks are widely available in a mind-boggling array of materials to match any décor or utility need, from cast iron and stainless steel to acrylic polymer solid surfaces that integrate seamlessly with countertop materials. And designers, with an acute understanding of the way we are using the kitchen now, are creating product lines that resonate with cooks who demand a greater degree of sophistication. Understanding how and why attitudes and kitchen use have changed is key to comprehending the theory behind some of the most compelling sink design innovations.

Join Me in the Kitchen

“In today’s kitchen there are never too many cooks. The whole idea is to integrate cooking and socializing,” says Diana Schrage, an interior designer at the Kohler Design Center, Kohler Co. The “social kitchen” is a hot trend. Design prognosticators point to the growing influence of other cultures that often embrace the culinary participation of family and friends. Another factor: Working couples have busy schedules, which necessitates asking for help in the kitchen when hosting a dinner party. And for many consumers, time in the kitchen is time for multi-tasking – spending time with the kids or spouse while cooking dinner.

Regardless, it’s not unpleasant to sit around a sink nestled in the kitchen island to peel carrots or assemble a crudités platter with the host while sipping a glass of wine.

The kitchen space and, most importantly, the kitchen sink have at last been reconsidered to accommodate social cooking. Easy and comfortable to use, the social kitchen with the prep sink at its center welcomes everyone to participate.

Boston interior designer Mari Woods of Dalia Kitchen Design sees an increasing number of clients requesting multiple sink stations, which allow couples to cook together or several people to share in prep work. One sink is located in a space that is easy to share, such as an island or peninsula; Woods refers to these sinks as “friendly” sinks. They are not used for dirty dishes or disposing of food waste but for cleaning and prep work, “disconnected from the messy work,” as Woods says. The “dirty” sink, which is delegated for clean up and disposal functions, is located away from the prep area, usually convenient to storage and cooking spaces.

The New Gourmet

The trend toward serious cooking and an increasing need for manageable home-keeping has fueled the demand for professional-grade kitchen appliances and fixtures, including the sink. The professional kitchen is a scaled-down model of a commercial kitchen replete with the necessary tools for the active gourmand. And, like the kitchen of a professional chef, it is exquisitely efficient and designed for multiple cooks. Someone can be chopping and rinsing while another is cooking on the stovetop. The purpose of this flexibility is to create an elegant and functional working space and eliminate what Schrage refers to as the “refrigerator-range-sink ‘triangle’ that requires a busy homemaker to rush back and forth to prepare a meal.”

Stainless steel is the dominant manufacturing material for the commercially modeled kitchen sink because of its professional, stylish look and resilience. When choosing a stainless-steel sink, look for thickness of gauge of the steel for higher dent and scratch resistance. The lower the number of the gauge, the thicker the steel. Some manufacturers offer stainless steel with sound-deadening technology that reduces the noise of dish clatter and running water, and helps maintain water temperature in the basin.

What does this newfound love of gathering around the kitchen sink say about us? Woods sees it as a positive trend toward a lifestyle that includes sharing responsibilities, cooking with family and friends, eating healthier meals at home and spending time in what has replaced the living room as the heart of the home.

Copyright © CTW Features