Greenlee Gazette: Behind the Blogger: Why on Earth do People Install Tiny Kitchen Sinks? (UPDATED)

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Behind the Blogger: Why on Earth do People Install Tiny Kitchen Sinks? (UPDATED)

UPDATED 09/05/14, 09/13/14

I may have written about this subject before, but if I have, it is my insatiable curiosity for why so many people apparently intentionally hobble their kitchens! I do a lot of looking at houses online, both out of curiosity, and because I'm planning for the future. There's a strong possibility that we'll be moving to a different state in the next couple of years, and I'm trying to get a feel for what's out there.

See what I mean?

At the same time, we've recently done some home renovations, so I am familiar with the decision making process when doing so. Picking countertops, faucets and sinks--for instance--takes a lot of research, comparison shopping, compromises, and weighing pros and cons. We were stuck between a 60/40 split kitchen sink, and a large single-basin for our kitchen. We settled on the 60/40, with the large side for doing dishes, and the small side to hold a dish drainer. We love it, it works for us. But our friends opted for a large single basin that could hold their cookie sheets, and roasting pans, etc. For the record, our large basin holds almost everything we use (including a turkey roaster), but we're not gourmet cooks, just your usual workaday types.

Looks a little wider, but still. . . At least it does
have a tall faucet.

A large single basin was our second choice, but for the way we do things, we would have had to store a dish rack on the counter, or make room under the sink. Ditto for a rubber wash tub, because you wouldn't want to be filling that huge sink up every time you do dishes, right? Oh, and by the way, we do have a dishwasher, but there are several items we don't put in there, and some things the dishwasher just doesn't clean well. Anyway. . .

To get to the meat of my irritation, whenever I look at houses on Zillow, particularly in Baltimore (but also in other cities), it is the kitchens that are the make-or-break the property for me. Having just completed our counter/sink/faucet/fridge/microwave overhaul, I just can't go back. Not unless the rest of the property just knocks me out. But in even 90% of the houses with great or passable kitchens, I am sure to find a single basin sink. A tiny, single-basin sink. They might be deep, they might be shallow, but they're like 20" wide, over a cabinet space that will hold a 30"-35" wide sink.

The "before" sink in our house, used for about
15 years.

My question: Why on EARTH would you intentionally hobble your kitchen in this way? And why are so many people doing it? Was there a fad or hot kitchen trend for tiny sinks? Was there a surplus? I can't stand it, I want to know! Is there a water shortage in Baltimore and surrounding areas? Do none of these people cook or do dishes?

And while we're at it, here's another question. Tiny sink or not, why would you redo your kitchen counters, and drop in a top-mount, ugly, tinny, $75-range, Home Depot sink? And then, put one of those hideous, 4"-arched, 70s-era faucets? And I'll go further!!! Those tiny, 4" nubbin-sized, crystal-plastic-knobbed bathroom faucets? Okay, okay, YES, we did too, before the renovation. Though after, I marveled that we kept them for so long. Faucets aren't that expensive. Who decided that the standard sizes would be little, cramped things with no utility? Arrgghh. But, I'm getting off on a tangent. The core question, somebody please explain to me: Why did little, tiny, single-basin sinks in kitchens become a thing?

Whether it's a double like ours, or a single, why go small?

UPDATED 09/05/14: I still haven't found anything online, or gotten any responses for my central question. Why do people do this? What's the deal?

Why does it bother me? Because I get daily alerts via email from Zillow.com, and I keep running across great houses with gorgeous kitchens and tiny, stupid sinks, that's why! Scroll down, I'm gonna keep adding pictures to this post every so often until I get an answer!