Sink and draining area for new kitchen ? Under mount sink

[missminimum]

Just looking for opinions about sink for our new kitchen. It seems there are pros and cons for all the different types of sinks, so it is quite confusing.
Our design at the moment includes an 1.5 bowl undermount sink with draining grooves in the quartz worktop. We have no firm opinions about if we want this yet or what material to have for the sink, so would be interested in your experiences. Would the grooves in a quartz work top be hard to keep clean? We live in a very hard water area. Thank you

Think about whether you want a practical sink to actually wash up in or a sink that will just look fab.

Most people I know with an undermount sink have bought a plastic drainer to sit on top of the grooves in the work top

I looked into this a lot when getting our new kitchen.

The conclusion pretty much everywhere was that the grooves are useless for draining and just fill up with gunk (and are hard to clean).

Better to either have a recessed flat area carved into the worktop as a draining area (will need to slope very slightly towards the sink) or have nothing at all carved into the worktop and just use a sit on drainer or a tea towel.

Thanks for your replies. My preference at the moment would be for a normal ceramic sink with drainer set above worktop level, but if an undermount was easier I would consider it. It will get heavy use from all the family, so I can forsee the grooves in the quartz getting dirty. I am thinking ceramic will be easier than stainless steel in a hard water area. Thank you

I am having a double under mount stainless steel sink with the plan to use one sink as the drainer. Slightly more hidden from view. No grooves. Quartz worktop. Also hard water area.

Current going through the same OP. So confusing!

@minipie what did you do in the end- sloped or flat and are you happy with your decision?

We have flat ceramic work top with no grooves & double stainless steel undermount. I use a drainer pad under a plastic drainer & put it away if I want it to look ‘nice’ - but that’s rare.
Works fine & no water everywhere. Plastic drainer goes through dishwasher every fee days or when it looks gunky

Literally just posted this on another thread... Would you consider a cabinet with drying rack? Keeps it all off the worktops!

I have white quartz work top with drainage groves and a double white porcelain butlers sink. Wash up all my knives, cutting boards, pots/pans, wine glasses etc (that I don’t put in dishwasher) and have absolutely no problems with anything in the grooves.

Previously, my kitchen had similar set up but stainless steel sink and black granite, also with grooves. No problem there either

I do, however, wipe down my work surfaces daily with a tea towel after I have put away the dishes.

Interesting I'm having my quartz top fitted this Saturday and he asked me about the grooves as he said he's noticed many customers not wanting them. I hate having anything on top like a draining board so I am having the grooves (undermounted single white granite sink, worktops are calacatta gold).
Boiling water tap a must!

[quote barbosska]@minipie what did you do in the end- sloped or flat and are you happy with your decision?[/quote]
We didn’t do grooves or a slope. Just plain worktop. We use a teatowel on it when we need to drain stuff (never loads as have a dishwasher) . Very happy with the decision!

Grooves don’t work unless you wipe them down after each washing up session. A mottled worktop (Eg granite-looking) helps hide water spots.

I’ve always had under-mount sinks, and always end up with a draining board next to the sink.

I really don’t like those cupboards above the sink. Water drips down to your elbow each time you reach up to put something in it, and it’s always a stretch (for me at least) reaching the second shelf. You also need to make sure there’s enough light entering the sink. Sinks generally don’t have anything above them for this reason and because taps tend to be big/tall.

I have a white speckled quartz top, with grooves for draining which I regret. It doesn't drain properly, so I wipe it down after every load of dishes, but it still ends up discoloured and looking rubbish, and it's tricky to clean completely. I wish I'd gone for a stainless steel draining board.
I recently saw someone post on here about roll top sinks, which cover the full depth of your worktop, which seems a practical solution and looks quite smart... if I was doing it again I would probably try one of those. See image here www.affordablegranite.co.uk/affordable-sinks.html