best kitchen sinks

[Philomytha]

I'm getting a new kitchen (new house, ancient 1970s-chic kitchen in it at the moment), and I want to tap the collective wisdom of Mumsnet to find out what kind of kitchen sink is best. Stainless steel, ceramic, something else? Single bowl, double bowl? Belfast-style or normal? What cleans easily and doesn't stain and doesn't make all your glasses break when you drop them? The worktops are going to be solid wood if that makes a difference. We don't have a dishwasher so it's going to get a lot of use. What do/don't you like?

Hi Philomytha
I would recommend a double stainless steel sink.
Easy to clean and maintain.

i had this one lovely

stainless steel comes up all shiny with flylady

well it is the 120cm one in products at a glance

You are getting a new kitchen but won't have a dishwasher? May i ask why?

Stainless steel double is best sink IMO

we have a white double ceramic sink from ikea. it's big, but I love it.

Thanks y'all. Stainless steel was my first plan, but I was being seduced by the pretty ceramic ones, but I'm worried that if you drop anything in them it'll smash.

ChippyMinton, I just don't like dishwashers, not sure why. It's one of those irrational prejudices. Maybe it's because I quite like washing dishes by hand, it's a good time to meditate and plot the next chapter of my story and sing. But I'm widely acknowledged to be a little crazy

i have a friend like that - reckons it makes the surface of the crockery feel odd .

if you get a ceramic sink, make sure the taps are nowhere near the wooden worksurface. I have never seen this combination last more than a year without the wood part round the taps looking revolting. You can get ceramic sinks with ceramic around the edge and predrilled holes for the taps. Personally I prefer wide shallow sinks to deep ones - then you can use it like a wet prep area.

I've got an Astracast Composite sidnk in black but they do other colours an it's fantastic. Very easy to clean, don't know about washing up in it as we have a dishwasher but everyone who sees it loves it.

We have a Carron Phoenix Granite sink and it is fantastic. You can do anything to it and it won't scratch, stain or anything. You can pour neat bleach in it, give is a scrub with the washing up brush and it looks brand spanking new all over again.
No problems with limescale or scratches like with stainless steel, they even demonstrate with a £1 coin scratching away at the sink and it doesn't do a thing to the sink.
We have solid beech worktops and it looks lovely with the wood - everyone comments on how nice it looks.
Have a look here - you can get them in MFI so they are very widely accessible.
Hope that helps!