Apron-front, farmhouse sink options… and why I decided AGAINST FIRECLAY.
I thought there was one kitchen decision that was finished… But then I remembered that if you think something is not a problem, it is most likely because you have not yet determined the extent to which it is actually a huge problem.
This is what I want in a sink:
single bowl.
apron front.
offset drain.
undermount.
white.
I had originally wanted the 36” Rohl Shaw farmhouse sink… the larger size is visually appealing to me. But I’ve scaled back to the 30” sink because I’m not planning to bathe in the kitchen, and we don’t have a huge amount of space.
However. Over the last week, I’ve gotten my PhD in fireclay… I ended up in the quagmire of 500-open-tabs, trying to convince myself that a sink that gets half 5-stars and half 1-star doesn’t equal a possible problem.
The review here pretty much sums up everything I read about installation issues: it will be amazing to look at, but you your husband might abandon the project halfway through.
What I already knew:
Ooooh pretty.
$$$$$$$$$.
Heavy.
What I did not know:
–fireclay can crack.
–or discolor.
–or craze.
–it can develop pitting.
–the sink measurements vary by as much as +/- 2%, across ALL PLANES.
–sometimes people have issues with drainage: if the pitch is off slightly, the water can pool in a shallow area away from the drain.
Basically, fireclay is a natural material; AND the sinks are handmade… which means, depending on your personality, EITHER:
Perfection is in the imperfection.
Or it will make you crazy.
I usually skew towards crazy… especially in the service of something shiny, but I think this is going to be a rare practical exception.
PLUS, I have to consider that my sink-installation-guy is brand new to the process.
I can guess how he will feel about me supervising the job; clutching my pearls, playing YouTube installation videos, and reading aloud instructions, (via bullhorn) that explain how YOU MUST BE CAREFUL WHEN TIGHTENING THE FLANGE.
I gave Paul a brief overview of this potential in-home circus, and he said getting it level wasn’t even his biggest concern… he was worried about the issue of how a true farmhouse sink shows the face of the cabinet’s rough opening.
And how for someone who has done this 500 times, no big deal… but for a guy who is married to the customer, and ALREADY perceives the customer as being “difficult,” there is the concern of mis-cutting / not-NASA-level-alignment / +/- 2% variation / and the extreme unlikelyhood of the lady of the house being satisfied with “we’ll just fill that space with caulk.”
This review details (with photos,) how a woman bumped her fireclay sink with a crockpot and a huge chunk fell off the front… This was sort of the deciding factor for me because regardless of whether this is a miniscule possibility:
A– I am a risk-adverse person who likes to control all factors.
B–my installation guy is NOT going to want to replace the sink… ESPECIALLY if it involves mathematical sorcery and removing the countertop.
So I started looking at other sinks… I really like a wall-mounted sink with an integrated backsplash.
I revisited the vintage option. I do really love an old sink, and they can be had for next to no money… but ultimately I think I’m addicted to the practicality of an undermount/being able to wipe the counter directly into the sink.
Below is my dream sink amalgamation. If I were a foot shorter, I’d do this… those are old utility sinks, and they are DEEP. But already I feel hunched over washing dishes, I can’t imagine reaching down another foot.
I see this version on craigslist from time to time or at the salvage yard and they look amazing in person– super thick and solid. Although you’d have to retrofit the drain to fit a garbage disposal. Most vintage sink drains aren’t large enough.
Considering everything– that I like the look of a farmhouse sink, I want to undermount, and it needs to be apron front because I’m 6’, Paul taller, and I’m hoping that installing the sink closer to my body is going to be a big improvement.
So I think what I’ve ended up with is the Kohler Whitehaven… these are sort of a faux farmhouse. They have a self-trimming face that covers the rough opening of the cabinet. So it LOOKS like you cut the cabinet to fit the front of the sink, but the lip of the sink is actually covering it.
October 15, 2015 @ 12:55 pm
I have one of the old double sink ones and had it re-porcelained. So you can pick up a used one and it will look brand new! I highly recommend them.
October 15, 2015 @ 12:59 pm
So many inspiring kitchen photos!
Two recommended purchases for your new sink:
the stainless steel rack — when you have to pour out that swamp water you just found in a vase of last week’s flowers, it’s nice not to have it make contact with those teacups waiting to be washed
a plastic mat — a little insurance to put down when you are washing crystal
Also I thought of you when I read Catherine’s post on A Country Farmhouse (In the Fields) the other day:
http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/search?q=about&max-results=20&by-date=true
October 15, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
Thanks for the research!
October 15, 2015 @ 1:12 pm
I gasped out loud when I read about the crockpot!! If I were to do remodel my kitchen, being 5′ 10″ I would raise the counter just a few inches. I plan on raising my counter in the master bathroom when I remodel next year.
October 15, 2015 @ 1:17 pm
What a wonderful choice!!! It’s already been 10 years since my last kitchen remodel- where does the time go? It’s interesting what our ‘must haves’ are. For me it was a deep stainless sink and a Koehler k-6330 gooseneck faucet. And no- I couldn’t just order it and be done. Oh no- I bid on them on Ebay for SIX WEEKS before I won an auction, and practically tackled the UPS guy when he delivered it. I then rushed it to the granite guy so they could measure/drill hole placements. I was so pleased with the finished kitchen and I know you will be, too.
October 15, 2015 @ 1:30 pm
Ooh, I approve of your choice! At 5’11, I, too, loathe bunching over the sink to do dishes. There’s nothing *wrong* with our stainless steel, deep & divided undermount sink (except everything but the undermount part!). If we ever get to do a kitchen remodel, you chose just the sink I’d adore.
Meanwhile, I’ve conned hubby into doing most of the dishes (hey, I do the laundry, and that includes 1 toddler’s – which somehow triples the amount). After about 37 years, hubby will have accidentally chipped away our entire granite counter (whole kitchen was essentially new but not my taste so we are keeping it a while) we will be forced to replace the counters, and only then can I replace the sink.
Don’t even get me started on how annoying it is to see the chunks of granite he’s already accidentally knocked off the counter.
But … hmmm, perhaps a judicious hammer wielded might hurry along the demise of the black granite …!
Baby steps. I rarely comment but adore your blog. The struggle is real for a magical kitchen within reality’s parameters!
Also, very sorry about Elvis. Lost my beloved Chester Cheetah (aka Drawers, or Chicken) last year due to pancreatic kitty cancer.
October 15, 2015 @ 1:31 pm
*hunched*! Stupid auto-correct.
October 15, 2015 @ 1:46 pm
LOVE it, and from one tall girl to another, PLEASE raise your countertop height! You and Paul will not believe the difference. (I am 5′ 10, my husband is 6’5)
October 15, 2015 @ 2:20 pm
Hi your blog makes me laugh, I love it! I was going to suggest Kohler then figured you would have explored that option before I would get to the end. 🙂 Our Kohler (husband installed) is a cast iron with speckled grey enamel over it. Still love it 8 years later.
waiting patiently for your next kitchen installment. (no pun intended). 🙂
Lisa
October 15, 2015 @ 2:24 pm
That’s what we went with in our kitchen renovations {the kohler winterhaven}….a year later I’m still pleased with it. My husband is not at all gentle with our sink…he uses cast iron and huge 10 gallon pots for brewing beer. I’m much more gentle with it. I do have to occasionally scrub it out to deal with whatever scum has adhered to the sides, but it’s nothing that liquid bar keepers friend and a cello scrubby can’t handle.
http://www.lifeinthewhitehouse.com/2014/11/the-big-kitchen-reveal.html
October 15, 2015 @ 2:54 pm
I just installed the same sink and love it! It is the first thing everyone comments on.
October 15, 2015 @ 4:06 pm
Beautiful! I obsessed over sinks for awhile. We actually went with a stainless farm sink and I am pretty happy with it. Sometimes it sounds a little loud and I have been told there is a way to insulate the underside for sound but I haven’t done that yet. I love the look of a white farm sink though!
Shelley
October 15, 2015 @ 5:40 pm
I bought the 30″ fireclay sink from Lowe’s for around $300 bucks. I. LOVE. that. sink. My husband does all the cooking and uses every Calphalon and cast iron pan we have in the house to do it and they all get piled high in the sink! I’ve never had any problems with it chipping, marring, staining, or cracking. The depth of it is perfection! The guy who installed it had never even seen a farm sink before, but came up with the brilliant idea of using a jack. You can see it here: http://thebackyardbungalow.com/?p=2040 Never ran across your sink choice when I was looking online.
October 15, 2015 @ 5:56 pm
We installed a fireclay farm sink last year and were shipped 4 sinks before finally receiving one that was not defective in one way or another (held up our kitchen project for four months…big pain doing dishes in the back yard with the hose!!!). So far so good on any other problems with same (keeping fingers crossed)…I LOVE the appearance of it and have been very happy with it thus far.
Mary K
October 15, 2015 @ 6:25 pm
Good choice, Victoria, I installed a Rohl farmhouse sink about ten years ago and am sooooooo
Sorry that I did. It is pretty, or was, and pits, discolors, and does not drain. The reviews are spot on! Mary
October 15, 2015 @ 6:33 pm
I bought this same sink when I re- did my kitchen this summer. I wish I had gone with the drain in the center. I think “stuff” would rinse away better with the drain in the center… If you go with the off-set drain, I’d love to know what you think later.
October 15, 2015 @ 8:08 pm
You have to go with what you love and works for you only. I had the “original” farmhouse kitchen when I lived for 16 years in a farmhouse built sometime before 1900 when the records were fist kept. My sink there was the wall mounted with integrated backsplash and drain board on either side. The thing was HUGE, and great for washing large pots and roasters, even bathing the baby. But I hated when I had to wash smaller items and I was ALWAYS cleaning the surface to keep it pristeen. Now I live in a faux Tudor style home and when I redid my kitchen it was designed for a 36 inch farmhouse sink…and I took it out, added in a stainless steel double sink with low divider bar to wash pans and such. I have granite counters and I live the bottom mount. So for me it works. I just wish I still owned that farmhouse, and wish all the developments went away, but I have to admit, that FarmHouse was work!
October 15, 2015 @ 8:52 pm
That paper towel holder!
October 15, 2015 @ 10:10 pm
I made the same decision you did, for all the same reasons. It’s been two years, and I love the Kohler. I got the 36″ and people always comment on it. The offset drain is fabulous, and I’m mystified why more sinks don’t have them. One thing that has made a huge difference is the sink rack. I had to wait months for it to come, but it makes the sink heaps more useful. I can wash dishes and let them drain on the rack, and I don’t have to worry about pots and pans banging the sink. And it makes the bottom of the sink a little higher. Those babies are DEEP, and at 5’5″ with long arms (monkey arms, as we say in my family) even I was hunching before the rack arrived. When you order the rack, be sure to order extra rubber feet at the same time. The sink does weigh a ton, and Paul might want some help handling the weight, especially if you get the 36″, which you should do if you possibly can. It’s the sink of my dreams.
October 16, 2015 @ 12:16 am
Good choice. Oddly enough though when I read your posts I feel like I am talking to myself. Kinda spooky. LOL