Another contender for Interior Design Magazine’s 2008 Best of the Year (BOY) Awards in the category of Kitchen: Plumbing Fixtures, the Elkay Avado Accent Sinks respond to two industry trends: ” people’s increased craving for organization, as time is at a premium, and homeowners’ growing desire to create a more personalized, one-of-kind space at home.” The Avado marries sleek design with practical culinary and organizational concerns, having available many sink sizes and configurations, as well as clever accessories.

Avado Accent Sink. Manufactured by Elkay.

The four new Avado sinks come in various options: large single bowl, symmetrical double bowl, double bowl with back trough bowl, and double bowl with food prep or bar sink option. Of these four models, the more unusual double bowl option deserves elucidation. The idea behind this sink, wherein a four-inch deep smaller trough bowl sits behind the large rectangular 11-inch deep single bowl, is to cater to at-home chefs. Quite cleverly, this Avado allows one to soak or defrost items in the back bowl while using the larger front bowl to continue food prep and clean-up. My mother, for one, would find this practical design obviously long overdue, since her solution has always been to have at least two sinks, one of which (you guessed it) serves the purpose of the Avado’s trough.

Each of the modern, geometrical Avado sinks is made from 16 gauge stainless steel in a polished satin finish with zero-radius square corners. They are truly industrial grade, while being modern enough to satisfy most modern kitchen designs. Accessories include strainers, rinsing baskets, drain trays, cutting boards, and bottom grids (and gates, which I find truly awesome in a Hoover Dam/American technological sublime sort of way). The best part of the Avado is its response to how we really work in the kitchen-let’s face it, the sink is more than a place to wash dishes, especially for those of us who watch Julia Childs shows while trying to follow along (dressing chickens, deveining shrimp, tearing our hair out, etc.). Elkay states that the Avado :”allows the homeowner to use the sink from food prep to clean-up-simplifying any task.” No argument here. And the Avado is good-looking. I particularly like it decked out with troughs and drain trays, a sort of geometrical sink puzzle. This is good, because we all know that every party ends up in the kitchen, where guests can finally fawn over your sink.