Designer Tips: Considerations when selecting your sink for your IKEA Kitchen

Finding the right sink for your IKEA kitchen is just as important as where to put it

Having the right sink can make it or break it (kitchen design speaking).

We see it all the time: An IKEA kitchen design that was clearly not laid out by a professional designer and includes many design mistakes.

It’s a shame because creating an IKEA kitchen is a time-consuming endeavor for the customer.

Let’s see, you take the time to research kitchen design ideas on HOUZZ or other design Web sites; you decide on a design theme; you select your IKEA cabinetry to combine with IKEA’s SEKTION cabinetry framework and you research kitchen sink types (as well as other appliances, etc.).

When the design is done, however, the IKEA cabinetry looks good but something is not quite right.

Perhaps the kitchen sink is stylistically the wrong type for the design or it’s located in the wrong spot, causing a lack of efficiency.

This can lead to short- and long-term stress and become a real budget-busting issue if you decide to have the work redone properly!

With that in mind, IKD is here to save you some steps (and money) and help you pick the right sink style for your design; understand where to install your sink and how to measure it from the beginning.

So if you’re an IKEA customer currently shopping around for kitchen sinks and looking for suggestions or recommendations, you’ll want to check this out.

Let’s take a look!

IKEA Sink Styles

A main ingredient to a successful IKEA kitchen is to select a proper kitchen sink for the design.

For these purposes we’d like to describe the three main styles of available kitchen sink: The undermount sink, the drop-in (AKA top-mount) sink and the apron front sink (AKA farmhouse sink).

They each have distinct differences.

Undermount kitchen sinks are installed beneath the countertop therefore there is no rim between the countertop and sink. This provides a clean, seamless look and puts the countertops at the forefront.

IKEA has a variety of kitchen sinks available, including undermount sinks, such as the IKEA NORRSJON stainless steel undermount sink.

By comparison, drop-in sinks (also called top mount or self-rimming sinks) are installed on top of the countertop. The lip of the sink rests on top of the countertop and it drops into the countertop cutout, with the lip holding it in place.

An example of this type of kitchen sink is the IKEAVATTUDALEN single bowl, top mount stainless steel sink.

Lastly, apron front sinks, or farmhouse sinks, offer a fair amount of flexibility as they can be installed as under or top mount. The main characteristic of an apron sink is that it protrudes from the front of the cabinet and countertop.

Because of this element, traditional kitchen designs or country kitchen designs will most likely use an apron front sink.

But there are also some apron front sinks that are considered modern, due to the material (stainless steel instead of composite, for example) or the shape of the apron, etc.

The IKEA HAVSEN apron front sink in white and the IKEA BREDSJON apron front double bowl sink under glued stainless steel are two excellent examples of these different style options.

Keep in mind also that installation of an apron front sink requires special considerations due to the height of the apron. For instance, they may need a specific IKEA farmhouse sink base cabinet.

Your IKEA Sink Location

Once you select the kitchen sink to fit your IKEA kitchen you have to make the sink fit.

As certified kitchen designers we can tell you that it’s very important to create a checklist for yourself of how you intend to use your space.

Ask yourself: Will the sink be under a window? Perhaps it will be part of a center island? Will it require a void space behind for plumbing? Or will you need space below for a waste disposal?

One think you need to be wary of is cabinet height above the sink. You definitely don’t want a full-size cabinet in your face every time you’re washing the dishes, for example.

So yes, style is king, but function trumps all.

Therefore, you want your sink to work as well as possible within your layout and particularly with your IKEA cabinetry.

This is especially important if it’s an apron front sink.

Specifically, you need to take into account that the apron protrudes and adjacent cabinets will need a bit more of clearance to open without bumping against the apron.

Just as important is to have countertop space on both sides of the sink and to leave enough (minimum recommended is 24″) space between the sink and the stove.

These are design mistakes that we want to help you avoid.

It will make all the difference in the success of your IKEA kitchen.

Take Specs Into Account

The other important part of your kitchen sink selection is to take the product specifications into account before installing the sink.

So, if, for example you need to replace your sink or are looking to upgrade in the near future, check the basin size versus the overall length and the cabinet width (which means the interior width not the cabinet’s overall external width, by the way).

We always recommend that you finalize your sink selection before we provide you with the final plans during our design process.

This will help ensure that we’ve designed a fully functional IKEA kitchen for you and your family – including everything and the kitchen sink!