The Hardest-Working Thing in Your Kitchen
You'll use your kitchen sink more than any other single item in the room — more than the oven, more than the hob, more than the fridge door. Yet it's usually specified in about thirty seconds, somewhere near the end of a kitchen plan, on the basis of what looks nice in the brochure.
It deserves a bit more thought than that, because a sink has to fit three things at once: your base unit, your worktop, and the way you actually wash up. Get any one of those wrong and you live with it for years.
Here's how to get it right.
Undermount or Inset? Your Worktop Decides
This is the first question, and it's usually answered by your worktop material rather than your preference.
Undermount sinks are fixed underneath the worktop, so the worktop edge runs straight into the bowl with no visible rim. You can sweep crumbs and water straight off the surface into the sink, which is why they're so popular. The catch: they need a solid worktop — granite, quartz, solid surface or solid timber — because the cut edge is exposed and has to be sealed and polished. You cannot undermount into standard laminate.
Inset sinks (also called top-mount or drop-in) sit into a cut-out with a rim resting on the worktop surface. They work with any worktop, including laminate, they're cheaper to fit, and they're far more forgiving of a slightly imperfect cut-out. The rim collects a little grime, and you can't sweep straight in — that's the trade-off.
Belfast and butler sinks sit exposed at the front, supported by the cabinetry, and need a purpose-built base unit. Beautiful in a country kitchen, but they must be planned in from the start, not retrofitted.
Our advice: if you're having granite or quartz, undermount every time. If you're having laminate, go inset and spend the difference on a better tap.
How Many Bowls Do You Need?
More bowl area is not automatically better. What matters is the balance between one large usable bowl and somewhere to put things down.
Single bowl gives you the largest uninterrupted space, which matters if you wash roasting tins, oven shelves or a large stockpot. If you have a dishwasher, a single bowl is often the smartest choice — the dishwasher handles volume, so the sink only needs to handle awkward items. Our CDA curved single bowl undermount at £89 is a good example, and the round single bowl at £69 suits smaller kitchens and island prep points.
One and a half bowls gives you a main bowl plus a small half bowl, usually for rinsing, draining vegetables or parking a dirty pan. This is the most popular configuration in UK kitchens and the safest default if you're not sure. See the CDA 1.5 bowl with drainer at around £112, or the larger KA52SS at £170.
Three-quarter bowl is a single bowl slightly reduced in width to fit a narrower cabinet without losing usable depth. A genuinely useful option in smaller kitchens, and often overlooked — the CDA three-quarter bowl undermount is £95.
Double bowls (two equal bowls) are less common in the UK than in the US. Unless you have a very wide run of units, two half-sized bowls usually means neither is big enough for a baking tray.
Sizing It to Your Base Unit
This is where most mistakes happen. A sink is sized to the cabinet it sits over, not to the gap in your worktop.
- A 600mm base unit is the UK standard and takes most single and three-quarter bowls, plus many compact 1.5 bowl sinks with a drainer.
- A 800mm or 900mm base unit is needed for larger 1.5 bowl sinks with a full drainer.
- Always leave at least 25-30mm of worktop between the sink cut-out and the front and back edges. Less than that and the worktop is structurally weak, especially in stone.
Check the bowl depth too. Deeper bowls (200mm and over) hide washing up better and take taller items, but they cut into the cupboard space below — which matters if that's where your waste bin or water filter lives.
Our measuring guide covers how to record all of this properly before you order anything.
Materials: What Actually Lasts
Stainless steel remains the most practical choice, which is why it's what we stock. It won't chip, won't stain, handles heat straight from the hob, and costs less than the alternatives. Two things to look for: the gauge (thickness — lower gauge numbers mean thicker steel and less drumming noise) and whether the underside is sound-deadened with pads or coating. A cheap thin sink announces every dropped teaspoon.
Brushed and satin finishes hide water marks and scratches far better than mirror-polished steel. In a family kitchen, brushed is the sensible finish.
Composite granite sinks are quieter and available in colours, but can scorch and are harder to repair. Ceramic looks superb and is very hard-wearing, but it's heavy, needs proper support, and will chip a dropped wine glass rather than the other way round.
Which Side Should the Drainer Be On?
A question people only think about once it's fitted the wrong way.
The drainer should sit on the side with the most free worktop, and generally on your dominant hand side — you wash with one hand and place items down with the other. If your sink sits in a corner or next to a wall, the drainer goes on the open side, whatever your handedness.
Many stainless sinks are reversible, meaning the same unit can be installed with the drainer on either side. Check this before you buy if your layout might change.
Choosing the Tap
The tap is where a modest sink budget pays off, and there's one thing to check before anything else.
Water pressure. If you have a combi boiler or an unvented cylinder, you have mains pressure and can fit almost any tap. If you have a hot water tank in the airing cupboard and a cold tank in the loft, you have a gravity-fed low-pressure system, and you must buy a tap rated for low pressure — typically 0.2 bar or below. Fitting a high-pressure tap to a gravity system gives you a disappointing trickle, and it's not fixable afterwards.
Beyond that:
- Monobloc taps mix hot and cold through a single spout and single hole — the modern standard.
- Pull-out spray heads are genuinely useful for rinsing bowls and filling pans on the worktop.
- Boiling water taps need a chilled or boiling unit under the sink, which competes for the same cupboard space as your bin and your sink bowl depth. Plan that space before committing.
- Check the spout height and reach against your bowl. A tall spout over a shallow bowl splashes.
Waste, Overflow and Fitting
A few practical points that catch people out:
- Sink wastes are usually sold separately. A 1.5 bowl sink needs a twin waste kit, not two single ones.
- If you're connecting a dishwasher or washing machine, you need a waste trap with a spigot for the appliance hose.
- Undermount sinks need the worktop template cut by your worktop supplier, so order the sink before the worktop is templated. This is the single most common sequencing mistake in a kitchen fit.
- Silicone, not sealant tape, around an inset rim — and let it cure fully before running water.
Our Sink Range at a Glance
- CDA round single bowl — £69. Compact, neat, good for islands and small kitchens.
- CDA curved single bowl undermount — £89. Clean lines under a stone worktop.
- CDA three-quarter bowl undermount — £95. Full depth in a narrower cabinet.
- CDA single bowl with mini drainer — £106. Draining space without losing bowl size.
- CDA 1.5 bowl with drainer — £112. The default choice for most UK kitchens.
- CDA 1.5 bowl with drainer, larger — £170. For 800mm units and up.
Browse the full sinks range. If you tell us your base unit width, your worktop material and whether you have a dishwasher, we can tell you exactly which of these fits — get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size sink fits a 600mm base unit?
Most single bowls, three-quarter bowls and compact 1.5 bowl sinks are designed for a 600mm unit. Larger 1.5 bowl sinks with a full drainer usually need an 800mm or 900mm unit. Always check the manufacturer's minimum cabinet width rather than measuring the worktop.
Can I fit an undermount sink to a laminate worktop?
No. The cut edge of a laminate worktop isn't sealed or finished, so water reaches the chipboard core and the worktop swells. Undermount sinks need granite, quartz, solid surface or solid timber. With laminate, choose an inset sink.
Is a 1.5 bowl sink better than a single bowl?
It depends on whether you have a dishwasher. With one, a single bowl gives you more usable space for the awkward items you wash by hand. Without one, the half bowl is genuinely useful for rinsing and draining.
How deep should a kitchen sink be?
Around 180-200mm suits most kitchens. Deeper bowls hide washing up and take taller items but eat into the cupboard below, which matters if that's where your bin lives.
Do I need a special tap for low water pressure?
Yes, if you have a gravity-fed system — a hot water tank upstairs and a cold tank in the loft. Look for a tap rated to work at 0.2 bar or lower. Combi boilers and unvented cylinders give mains pressure and work with almost any tap.
Should I buy the sink before the worktop?
Always, if you're having a solid worktop. The worktop supplier needs the actual sink or its template to cut the aperture, and templating usually happens before installation.
