My sister had one in her last house and loved it.

You didn't specify the size. The size makes all the difference. It's a bunch of stuff on your sink - cutting board, colander, various bowls. If your sink is 30" wide or so, you won't have access to the use of the sink itself without having to put that stuff elsewhere. But if you get one of the Kohler workstation sinks that are 45" wide, you will have more space. If you don't have that width, then I'd skip the workstation sink.

I would also consider how you cook. If you are a tidy cook, and manage well on one cutting board and don't spread out much, I think they'd be great (especially in smaller kitchens without sufficient counter space). I spread out like crazy when I cook (cutting board surrounded by prep bowls & such), so I think I would feel limited by a workstation sink, but I can't know for sure, not having had one before. Plus the other people I live with tend to collect dirty dishes around the sink, so I'd probably feel the need to clean up before I start cooking. Obviously, YMMV.

I think it depends.... we just got rid of the prep sink during our renovation. Our kitchen is on the smaller side & it didn't make sense - the main sink was only a few steps away. In the 8 years we've been in our house, we barely used it, I don't think we'll miss it.

As others have posted, it depends on the size of the sink.

If you are talking about the ones that are massively large like 5 feet, I think that is overkill in a residential kitchen.

I remodeled recently and installed a sink with a "ledge" so that accessories can fit on top of it. I have a grid which I generally keep on it all the time. I have a cutting board as well as a cutting board with a hole that holds the stainless bowl (that was a gift from the fabricator). I also have a small thing that holds sponges and other wet items.

I have a small kitchen and prior to my remodel I had a gerryrigged cutting board with metal extensions which fit over the sink. This provided me with more counter space for prepping.

I currently have a 36" farmhouse sink with the ledge and I love it. I would NEVER have been able to get this size sink in my small kitchen if it weren't a workstation. Since I leave the grid in place most of the time, it effectively is an extension of my counter but so much better. Any washed or damp stuff goes on there. If I have anything crumbly the crumbs go directly into the sink.

Prepping anything over the sink with the cutting board is so much easier and cleaner because you don't have to clean the counter. Everything gets swept into the sink and if there are large vegetable or other stuff that shouldn't go into the garbage disposal, it is still cleaner to have them in the sink and then transfer to the trash.

Also my work station style sink enabled me to have a drain in the left rear which means that I have room for a garbage disposal AND under the cabinet pull out trash. This is important to me as I have no good place for a free standing garbage container.

I really can't think of any negative except possibly it is more expensive than a standard style. On the other hand, it is money that is being spent to really improve function and that is always money well spent.

It's going to be in a fairly large kitchen. My husband wants a 45 inch workstation sink. There is plenty of room for it and we will have a second prep sink in the island. But we have read that some people don't like them because you can't keep your work as close to you and you have to bend over more to use it. We are both tall. Or they don't like having the ledges to clean.

Thank you so much @emilymch! Your pictures were so helpful! I love the way you custom made everything to work the way you want it. We definitely want one with two ledges. By the way, I love your pink KitchenAid mixer!

I have a Kraus 45” and LOVE it! I have a ton of counters space so it’s not a space saver reason for me... I love being able to cut fruits and veggies and be able to push the peels into a bowl for easy disposal and the cut food into another bowl for cooking. Plus, no longer do I need to worry about juices getting onto my countertop. Best thing ever.

@adettwiler I don't understand why you think the workstation sink would be further away or require more bending.

I have a farm kitchen style and so it is actually a bit closer to work but I don't notice any difference between my old very traditional Kohler cast iron sink which was top mounted and my new farmhouse style that functions as a work station.

In terms of being tall, my sink had the option of having different depths as it was a custom order from Havens Metal. I had discussed it with Alex since I am relatively short and so I had read that very deep sinks (e.g. 10" or even 9") were theoretically not as ergonomically good for shorter people. So I have what I think is a standard 8" depth which is more than deep enough for me. That it has the ledge realy doesn't make it much deeper. So I don't really understand why a work station would be harder ergonomically for a tall person - it's just a sink with a ledge around it so that you can work on top of the sink.

The depth of the sink has nothing to do with it being a work station and that would impact someone who is washing a lot of dishes because your arms would have to reach to the bottom of the sink. But I think in actual use, it's a non-issue.

But perhaps I am not understanding your husband's ergonomic concerns.

Two other things I love:

- that flexible roll-up metal drain rack thing is THE BEST. I use it all the time! Some great things about it other than as a drying rack - I will set my salad spinner on it directly under the faucet to fill it and rinse lettuce. When I need to dump the water, I just tip it over while it is still on the rack. Or, when scrubbing out my heavy cast iron pans, I set them on the metal rack so that I'm scrubbing at countertop level rather than down at the bottom of the sink. Less bending makes it so much easier! I can rinse them while they're on the rack at counter level and the water goes into the sink.

- the huge capacity of the sink means I can move dirty items under the cutting boards that I'm currently using and deal with them later. Or put items that I don't need yet in a bowl and slide the bowl under the cutting board I'm using - effectively doubling my counter space.

I find that cleaning the ledges takes a quick swipe with a sponge. One thing I wish was different is that the pull out for my faucet doesn't quite reach the front edge, so I have to rinse the front ledges carefully so I don't spray water outside of the sink. I probably could have paid closer attention to the faucet measurements and the length of the house, but I didn't do so during the planning stage. (I also keep meaning to check to see if the counterweight location can be adjusted at all to give a tad more useable length to the hose - I really should get around to that!)

It wouldn't work for the way we use our kitchen and sinks. I prefer to have 2 separate zones-clean up zone and prep zone. We have a prep sink on our island where all prep takes place. We also clean up as we go so dedicating a sink that is for clean up and prep would not work for us. I would not want to be cleaning dirty dishes while cutting boards for prepping and colander type accessories are sitting on the sink. Suds fly regardless of how careful you are.

Some of the things people are mentioning as positives for work staton sinks can also be done with a separate prep sink. You easily swipe things into the sink. I use a garbage bowl which I put in the prep sink for peeling veggies and fruits. Anything that misses the bowl goes down the garbage disposal. I cut lettuce on a cutting board and scrape it right into the salad spinner which is in the prep sink and easily rinse it.

I guess I'm pretty spoiled - in addition to our huge workstation sink, we have a separate cleanup sink on the opposite side of the kitchen. The workstation stays clear of all dirty dishes - the only things I wash there are the oversized prep items like big mixing bowls, sheet pans, etc. that get dirty while I'm cooking. Dishwasher items get put in the cleanup sink. The things I stash under the cutting boards are just dirtied prep items to deal with after I'm finished what I'm doing. Depending on the meal I'm making, I often clean as I go.

Does anyone have a workstation type setup with two sink bowls or a drainboard? We don't have room for a separate prep sink.

All these responses are so helpful! I, too, am considering a ~45" workstaiton sink. My biggest question, now, is which one? The main problems I've seen in my friends "Kohler" and "Ruvati" have been difficulty cleaning the bottom of the sink and getting food to the drain. I'm looking at the "Kraus" and "Create Good Sinks" since they have a side drains, but a bit overwhelmed with the choices and price differences. emilymch, which sink did you get? Thanks, all!

I'm not a fan. But some people are.

Merridee, I looked at all the same sinks and I was leaning towards the Create Good Sinks sinks. However, because I got stainless steel countertops fabricated, I ended up having them make the sink to the specs I gave them. There were several fabricators in the area and I went with a pretty reasonably priced (relatively, I guess!) one. After looking at tons of photos of the Rachiele sinks, I know the welds on mine aren't as neat as theirs, but I'm happy with what I got for the price I paid!

We have a Kraus Kore and have been very happy with it.

Meridee, that's where we are now too. We are definitely getting a workstation sink now and have decided on the 45 inch, but can't decide which one. We have it down to the Krause and the Create Good Sinks. We like the ledges better on the Krause and the radius of the corners (easier to clean) on the "Create Good Sinks". But we like the drain and the fact that you can get double basins on the Create Good Sinks. But are those features worth paying twice as much for? $900 for the Krause vs $1800 for the Create Good Sinks. The photos are to show the difference in the radius of the corners. First one is the Krause, second one Create Good Sinks.

I have a Kraus and love it, that side drain is amazing, as is the roll-out drainboard. We upgraded from a double sink that couldn't hold a pan, so the single bowl makes all the difference. I also liked that the kraus was over or under-mount. We currently have it as an over, but do plan to upgrade the countertops at some point and it will then turn it into an under-mount. I don't use it much as a "prep sink" because we don't have a garbage disposal, but still worth it.

My brother had one at his electrical workstation and found it shocking.

(thought I would throw that out there)

Yes asettwiler! Twice the price! Is it worth it! emilymch, soulnds like a great sink, hadn't heard of it, but looking at it, it, too, has a higher price-but to be expected in a custom sink-very cool option! Ok... well good input from wiscokid and others likeing the kraus- Anyone have a ruvati side drain workstation sink?

I purchased a Moen 5923 with my Kraus 45” and have no problems cleaning it. I bought this one because the reach is 10” and the hose is very long. Large chunks is food may get trapped under the grates but that would happen with any grate. I also bought Hopes Perfect Sink cleaner and use it once a month. If you need the 2 bowls, get the more expensive one; otherwise the Kraus is fantastic.

@Merridee McNelly which sink did you end up getting? any issues? love it? @Liz H @kaitie09 do you still like the Kraus? any issues? does it scratch easily? any regrets?

I have no scratches after 15 months. I still love it.

HU-426144764 I love, no scratches and it's huge. The roll out drain rack is amazing too.

@adettwiler which one did you end up getting and are you happy with your decision? Any issues?

HI-426144764, we got the Krause 57 inch workstation sink but it is still in the box because we have had delay after delay with our new house build. Note to self, never build a house during a pandemic!