The Great Kitchen Sink in the Island Debate

📸 Reviewing a few remodel and new build projects where the space determined the island was the optimal placement for the sink. Interesting to note, in my own house, my sink is beneath a window. But that’s because the floor plan allowed it. After testing every possible layout in that space (yes, I’m that person), it was the only configuration that truly worked. In the other five houses I own? The sink is in the island. But here’s the reality: not every floor plan is that fortunate. Especially in smaller homes…and especially in today’s kitchens where the vent hood wall is the star of the show. When the hood becomes the focal point—and let’s be honest, it usually should—that perimeter wall is no longer the right home for the sink. Because function wins. The workflow wins. The ergonomics win. And in tighter kitchens, the island often becomes the only logical place where the “work triangle” can actually exist. So yes—put the sink under the window when the floor plan gives you that moment. But the island works too…