Buyer’s guide
Kitchen sinks
HOW TO CHOOSE
Have you bought everything bar the kitchen sink? Then use our handy buyer’s guide, covering everything from ceramic to composite granite, to find the perfect match for your kitchen
by Rebecca Foster
GLAZED FINISH
Priced from £622 at Shaws of Darwen, the Bowland sink is handcrafted featuring a durable, anti-bacterial glaze finish.
Even though most modern kitchens come with a dishwasher to handle the bulk of the washing up, the kitchen sink is still a vital feature of every culinary zone. It’s used for washing vegetables, scrubbing pots and sometimes as a waste disposal unit, so it’s important to select a model that caters to your lifestyle, as well as looking good.
“The sink will be the most used component of your kitchen, so take the time to find one that meets your needs and that you’ll enjoy using,” says Andy Hampson, director of operations at Shaws of Darwen. “Sinks and taps are categories where investing in high quality is always worthwhile.”
Assessing how you use your current sink on a day-to-day basis is a sensible starting point. If you don’t cook a lot and rely on your dishwasher for most clean-up operations, it may be that a single bowl offers the perfect level of functionality. At the other end of the scale, busy family kitchens or those that belong to keen cooks might benefit from a more versatile setup that incorporates an additional bowl, waste disposal function and hot water tap. Materials, maintenance and installation are all key considerations, too.
MATERIAL OPTIONS
STEEL This practical choice is durable, long-lasting and easy to keep clean. “Having dominated the sink market for many years, stainless steel sinks offer the broadest range of choice from different styles, shapes and mounting types, so you’ll be sure to find a design to match the needs of your individual kitchen,” says Elina Enqvist-Twomey, category manager at Grohe.