The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guide

The sink. Looking for one can be draining for some, so tapping into your creative side is very important. So in around 1000 words (and less sink puns for your sake), I’ll guide you through the kitchen-igma that is sink buying. Price point? Material? Style? All shall be discussed plus more in this mega-blog that will dive into this subject, from the sink shrinks themselves.

Find Your Style

Next time you look at your kitchen, ask yourself what the general style of the space surrounding the existing sink is. Traditional? Modern? Rustic? If you are building a new kitchen from scratch you have the benefit of designing the entire space around a theme or style, but for those of you looking to simply replace, it is key you buy something that flows with the rest of the room.

Measure Up

Similar to style, working a sink into a design for a new kitchen is a much easier experience as the measurements in the kitchen aren't set in stone so you have a lot more creative control. However if you are looking to replace, you will need to measure up on your existing sink and see what space you have to play around with.

Plan

Looking to swap a single bowl for a 1.5 with drainage? You’ll need to plan how you are going to find that extra space. See how lenient you can be with surrounding cabinets as the drainage board doesn't take up too much room.

Order

So you’ve found the style, colour and dimension of the sink to fit into your kitchen. Now is the fun part, shopping! Because you know the dimensions of what you need, thankfully you can do all the ordering online. You just find the sink you like and ta-da! It’ll come your way.



Material

Choosing a material for your sink is very dependent on how it matches with the rest of the kitchen. Stainless steel is the most durable of the 3 different materials and definitely holds onto its looks the longest.

However granite and ceramic stylistically look a lot better, but even though they aren’t prone to scratches, they have a higher chance than the stainless steel alternative. More modern looking kitchens tend to go for granite or a coloured steel whereas a classic style would move towards ceramic or stainless steel. Matching finishes always works well when designing a kitchen. For example, a chrome finished tap with a stainless steel sink would look best, whereas a matt black tap would match a granite sink a lot better.

Style

A lot like the material, the style of the sink very much depends on the kitchen that surrounds it! There are many choices to choose from when it comes to sink styles. Firstly the sink I would consider more of a wildcard in the sink world, the belfast style.

The belfast places into the worktop with one side exposed for a really nice traditional and country look and definitely grabs the attention when walking into a kitchen. Another option to choose from is the drop in sink, which is very much the DIY sink to choose from. Very easy to fit as a consumer and looks great once put in! Another style to choose from would be an undermount which requires a little more time to install if you do it yourself. They look very good in a minimalistic kitchen as all the seals are hidden underneath the surface which looks very smart!

Price

How much would you like to spend on your sink? That at the end of the day is the big factor in buying sinks (or buying in general I guess) so that’s what will sway you either side on your decision.

Low end doesn’t always mean poor quality, as many of the lower end sinks are made with materials that require less craftsmanship and use materials that are cheaper to produce with. The price isn’t always based on the quality. The best way to buy based on price is to make sure the brand supplying is high quality, as a good quality £80 sink is a lot more attractive than a bad quality £250 sink. Thankfully for your sake, Enhance my Kitchen works with only the best brands to ensure a quality standard all year round.



Accessories

I wish I could say that a sink is all you need for your kitchen for it all to function properly. Sadly that isn’t the case, as you’ll definitely need to also have a look into the world of taps and also perhaps look into other accessories such as waste dispensers and splashbacks.

Like I said earlier, matching your sink and tap is key to making that area of the kitchen stand out and look classy. The last thing you’ll want as a homeowner is to think that your kitchen doesn’t suit the whole aesthetic or that the kitchen looks all over the place stylistically.

First let us discuss the art (tap-estry if you’d like) of the different taps that are on offer at enhancemykitchen.co.uk, which all offer different functions and technologies. Our most popular tap is the boiling water taps, which provide hot and cold water as well as instant boiling water which means there’s not much to do when you fancy a brew. Another style would be the mixer tap, the most common style, which offers hot and cold water in one piece of apparatus. Sensor taps are a recent addition that offers a germ free alternative to the usual design of the tap.


Final Thoughts

There are plenty of options to choose from when deciding on a sink. My personal stance is to make sure you keep it all uniform. But the most important thing for you to take away from this is to choose something you love! Sounds weird, but we want you to purchase something you won’t want to change. We want you to be happy with your sink, and we want you to be happy with our service.

Still looking for some advice?