Sinks

Single bowl, double bowl or drainer

A single bowl gives you the most usable space for large pots and trays and suits smaller kitchens where bench is tight. A double bowl lets you separate washing and rinsing, or keep one side free while the other soaks. A sink with an integrated drainer saves you a dish rack on the bench, which is worth a lot in a kitchen without a dishwasher.

Match the sink to the cabinet, not just the opening

Measure the cabinet width below, not only the gap in the benchtop. A sink needs the base cabinet to carry it, and the bowl depth has to clear the drawer or bin runners underneath. Check the manufacturer cut-out dimensions against your benchtop before it is fabricated, because stone and laminate tops are cut once.

Laundry troughs: choose by litres, not by looks

Laundry sinks are sold by capacity for a reason. A 22L trough suits a small laundry used for hand washing and mops. 45L to 50L is the practical everyday size for a family. 70L is for soaking, buckets and genuinely heavy use. Deeper bowls splash less under a running tap, which matters more in a laundry than a kitchen.

Leave room for the mixer and the waste

Check the tap hole position and whether the sink is drilled, undrilled or takes a wall-mounted mixer. The spout needs enough height and reach to clear the bowl, and a pull-out or gooseneck mixer makes a deep or double bowl far easier to rinse. Confirm the waste and trap position with your plumber before cabinetry is finalised, since bowl depth affects what fits below.