Exploring the Depth of Farmhouse Sinks
Exploring the Depth of Farmhouse Sinks
Kitchen sinks are designed for utility. The sink is essential to cooking and the center of cleaning. It's also the most-used kitchen feature for non-meal-related household activities. The sink fills soup pots, water bottles, and mop buckets alike. It's where you wash or pre-wash dishes. It's where you rinse vegetables and mix lemonade. So having a lot of space in your sink has some definite benefits. Farmhouse sinks are on the rise. We're seeing beautiful fireclay, steel, and hammered copper sinks, but the benefits of these very deep sinks are often understated.
Everyone knows a deep kitchen sink is better for doing dishes and cleaning up. But until you've lived with a farmhouse sink, you don't realize all the often unmentioned benefits of a really deep kitchen sink. A farmhouse sink can do a lot more than stock dishes, that's for sure.
Farmhouse Sink Cooking Perks
Filling Large Soup Pots
If you like to make community-sized pots of soup, gumbo, stew, or chili, then a deep sink is your ideal starting place. You'll need to fit your biggest soup pot under the faucet and - here's the trick - not tip the water out when you pull the pot out of the sink. The deeper your sink, the bigger the pot you can fill.
Thawing Large Quantities of Meat
One of the best ways to quickly thaw frozen meat is to set it in a container and run it under the tap. The moving water will slowly pull the cold out of frozen meats (and non-meat items) restoring it to nearly room-temperature. A few portions of frozen meat can fit into any sink. But if you want thaw a turkey or ham for special occasions or thaw a large quantity of meat for a party, you're going to need a big sink.
Cooling Big Stacks of Cooking Pans
Home chefs often try recipes that require a
Filling with Ice and Beverages
A very deep sink also makes an excellent impromptu or decorative cooler. Fill the deep sink with ice and you can hide a surprising number of canned and bottled beverages in the sink's depths.
Cleaning in a Farmhouse Sink
Quickly Cleaning Up Cooking Mishaps
We've all had a pot boil over from time to time. When cooking gets messy, it can get out of hand fast. A deep sink makes it possible to act fast and minimize the mess without stopping to clear the way. With a farmhouse sink you can, for example, quickly rinse the outside of a boiled-over pot because there is room for the pot to maneuver in the sink's basin. You can wipe up a spill and dump a nearly-explosive food mess into the sink where the depth of sink will prevent the mess from spreading.
Reduced Splashing
In fact, the deep walls of a farmhouse sink are ideal for reducing mess due to the splash containment factor. High walls mean splashes inside the sink are less likely to escape the sink area. Messes dropped in the sink won't spread. At the same time, you're also less likely to make a splashy mess when doing the dishes in your extra-large sink.
Soaking Very Large Pots
In addition to soaking family-sized loads of dishes, you can also soak your extremely large pots comfortably in a farmhouse sink. It can be tough to clean your largest soup pots because filling them to soak is a hassle. With a very deep sink, your soup pot will fit in the basin and you can soak it like an almost normal sized pan.
How Your Farmhouse Sink Can Make Life Easier
Washing Babies and Small Pets
Outside of meal prep and cleanup, the most common use for a deep kitchen sink is bathing. Specifically, the bathing of babies and small pets. The kitchen sink is like a smaller, safer bathtub for creatures who don't need a full-sized space yet. Baby baths in the kitchen sink are a time honored tradition. With a deeper sink, you can bathe your baby safely using a cloth and gentle sprayer without splashing outside the sink (too much).
Small pets also benefit from a deep sink. Little dogs will have a harder time jumping out and may also feel more secure in an enclosed space for bathing. Even birds like to take a faucet shower and the steep walls of a farmhouse sink will keep their feather-shakes from soaking the room.
Tidy Kitchen Science Experiments
Kitchen science is one of the joys of middle childhood. Making putty, playing with food coloring, and building baking soda volcanoes can teach you a lot. A deep sink increases the potential for messy but not mess-making kitchen science experiments. Encourage your kids to try their wacky ideas in the sink and cleanup afterward will be minimal.
DIY Hairdressing
A deep sink also lets you luxuriate in a little at-home hairdressing. Anyone who dyes their hair or applies at-home treatments can appreciate the benefits of a deep and comfortable kitchen sink. With a friend, you can lean back and enjoy a salon-style shampoo and color treatment. Alone, you can maneuver your entire head in the sink without making a splashing mess or bumping the sides.
Farmhouse sink design focuses on a deep, square basin, classic elegant materials, and a comfortable countertop integration. Of course, once you have a very deep sink, you're sure to think of more than a few non-traditional uses. From cooking Thanksgiving dinner to science experiments, a farmhouse sink might just be the perfect addition to your kitchen design. If you've been thinking it's time for a bigger sink, why not go all-out with an apron-mounted farmhouse sink you can really sink your elbows into?
Contact us today for more insights and trends on home fixture design.
