Utility Sink Design Options
I generally have a plan before I share pictures with you but today I’m asking you to help me figure out the plan. I’m stuck. I can’t decide what to do in the area where I’m putting my utility sink. My crafting supplies have been stored away for so long that I can’t visualize how I might want to use a utility sink area.
The main focus is function. What are all the tasks that one might perform in a craft room utility sink area? I have thought of these: Washing hands, paint brushes, and stamps. That is as far as my imagination takes me. Because I don’t have a firm grasp of all the ways I might ever want to use this area I don’t know the best way to set it up. That’s where you come in.
The sink is 30″ wide and I don’t have a ton of space left for countertop. Visually I like the sink centered.
But if I push the sink over to the side it gives me more counter space.
If the sink is on one side I visually like it on the right because it offsets the slanted ceiling.
I have 14″ of space that I can use on the adjoining wall to the right. I think the best use of that space is closed storage.
I could build lower cabinets and have a 14″ deep countertop. What would be the benefit? Might I need more counter space in that area?
I’m not worried about the wall above the sink for now though I’ll probably just do a simple open shelf. Or will I want a way to hang drying fabric? Perhaps I want to dye fabric or make my own paper?
This is why I’m asking for your help. All you active crafters out there:
- What would you do in this space?
- What is the most functional layout?
- How do you (or would you want to) use a utility sink in your crafting space?
The one thing I don’t want to do is look back in a year or two and “wish I had thought of that” and built the space differently. I like to think about all the ways I might ever use a space before I build it so give me your best and most “out there” ideas. I’m ready to build so let’s get this figured out! 😀
I’m going to go against the grain and chose the sink on the right. Granted I am a left-handed person so that is where I would set my things down. If you are right handed I would chose the sink on the left. I need a larger counter space for things like washing brushes, paint trays, screen printing screens, skeins of yarn that have been dyed and yarn items that need to be finished and blocked. If you chose centered I like the L shape countertop to maximize space on both sides.
As far as the rest of the space, I vote for good lights with a peg board/shelf above the sink for small bits and pieces unless you plan on using drawer space. A pegboard can hold drying items like the paintbrushes. On the right some closed cabinets.
OK, I’m drawing outside the lines. Put the sink in the corner, at an angle. Allow maximum counter on both sides. Put some sort of open or gridded shelving above the sink with hooks and clips for brushes, paper, fabrics, sponges to dry. Impervious surface on the counter AND walls for the inevitable splashes. Or, own the crafty and put a surface that will collect the history of your creativity.
Maybe closed storage below. But, when your hands are a gooey mess, you don’t want to open cabinets. You want to grab what you need. I would have buckets, cups, big sponges, maybe drying silkscreens, various tools, pottery wheel trimming pans, garbage can, mop, hanging paintbrushes, liquid soaps, hand lotion, paint trays, dish towels, scrapers, maybe a spot for a rollout stool when you have a lot to do at the sink.
Center sink looks great; maybe the faucet off set? I think the counter on the right will give you place for things to dry, etc. I like the idea of open paper towel roll over to left of sink and under cabinet pull out trash storage. You could incorporate a drying rack in the upper cabinets or lower ones. Lots of light and maybe tile on back wall? Can’t wait to see your design. It all looks good.
I’m going to swim upstream a bit from the other commenters and suggest that if you do move the sink to one side, move it to the right. When you have a handful of messy whatever to take to the sink it is easier to have the extra space to just plop it on the counter on the left. As it gets washed/rinsed, it’s more organized and takes up less room on the right. And for the sink itself, depth is WAY more important to me (surface design and painted fabric is my craft) than width. Our 24″x24″x14″ has handled everything we’ve ever thrown at it and I am in a studio with 5 artists, all different media.
If you do decide to put shelves above the sink put them a tad higher than you normally would because you will probably be leaning closely into the sink to wash brushes, make sure stuff is completely clean, and scrape that last little fleck of paint off the stencil and you want to be able to do that without whacking your head. The deeper sink contains the splashes, is deep enough to put paint containers in to rinse them out and sort of corrals your fabrics when rinsing them out. Ours has a push-button stream/spray pull out high rise faucet that works beautifully for a variety of uses.
You can add hooks, racks, shelves, towel bars, whatever you need for your particular work, on the walls around the sink. The extra counter space would be nice but not necessary unless you are actually doing the work at the sink. The same with extra storage. Cleaning supplies, rags, soap, that sort of thing is all that’s necessary to have room for unless you are doing the actual work at the sink. No sense in walking all the way across the room to get supplies you will then take back to the work station. Put things within reach of the area where they will actually be used.
I like my sink centered so that I have elbow room to scrub things if necessary. My current utility sink has wire shelving over it. I thought that was tacky at first, but it’s been very helpful when drying things, even paint brushes.