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132 Comments

  1. Savanna Hancey
    April 9, 2016 @ 1:54 am

    Thanks for the post! I love farmhouse sinks and have been researching for our kitchen remodel. I have a couple of questions… How is your farmhouse sink holding up? Are you glad you went with a 30 inch sink vs. 32 inch sink?

    Reply

  2. Amber
    April 9, 2016 @ 9:37 am

    I found your blog today and have laughed to tears — I’m pretty sure we are two parts of the same soul. My husband read the post about the Kingdom mirror and is convinced I wrote it about he and I but changed the names. Ha! Love finding another kindred spirit!

    Reply

  3. Gen
    April 9, 2016 @ 10:27 am

    Thank you for sharing your experience and all these details. This is very informative and has probably prevented me from a disaster with my future tiny house kitchen!

    Reply

  4. Jenny
    April 23, 2016 @ 10:04 pm

    Wow, thanks for the tip! My husband and I are starting a kitchen renovation and everyone was talking about fireclay sinks and how amazing they are. I think I’ll go with the Kohler.

    Reply

  5. Pam
    September 16, 2016 @ 5:15 pm

    I have the 30″ Rohl undermount fireclay sink. No apronfront, I didn’t have the money for a new cabinet so I had to get a sink that fit in the old cabinet. Love the sink though, 13 years later it still looks great. I have a couple of tiny chips, mainly from careless teenagers and my preference for cast iron cookware, but they do not affect function at all. I use Barkeepers Friend to clean it. I love it because I can stuff a few days worth of dirty dishes in it and no one can see, lol, or I can bath small children in it. It is HUGE!

    Just discovered your blog and am enjoying reading it, especially your CL luck. CL in my area is mainly filled with dealers hawking cheap furniture and bedding. I did have one good CL find, a mahogony chippendale highboy (repro, but gets the job done). Found a mahogony Federal dresser on the side of the road once. I have yet to finish that project, so you are a kindred spirit!

    Reply

  6. Myrna Schkolne
    September 29, 2016 @ 11:03 am

    I researched sinks thoroughly and bought the Kohler Whitehaven because it seemed to beautiful and rugged. Within four months of installation, it had crazed. Kohler replaced it, but the expense and hassle of installing the replacement (undermount) was enormous. Four months later, the replacement has crazed too. Kohler will replace, but that’s not the issue!! Will I be calling every four months for a new sink?

    Don’t touch this sink. You are looking for problems, and Kohler knows it. I am the only person who uses my kitchen sink. I am careful, and nothing I did could have caused this. By the time the first sink was taken out, it looked like it had been in a barn for 100 years. Disgusting!

    Reply

  7. Carmen
    October 1, 2016 @ 10:20 pm

    This post is the answer to my prayers! Thank you!!

    Reply

  8. Nikki
    November 26, 2016 @ 4:58 pm

    i could’ve written this exact blog. Can you tell me if you’ve had trouble with yellowing with the sink you finally chose?

    Reply

  9. Ruben
    April 23, 2017 @ 10:12 am

    In 2017… I’d take a look at Blanco’s Ikon apron sinks…have the apron sink look but made out of silgranite and a variety of colours. We found it lighter and less issues than the fire clay or iron. Silgranite has been good to us in drop in applications so we thought we’d try out the Ikon and we are very happy.

    Price was reasonable also about Cdn $700.

    Also they are the same size as each other so in the rare occasion you need to replace, you can get the exact same size back again.

    Reply

  10. Sharon Gunther
    May 20, 2017 @ 7:58 am

    Here’s my handy tip for the day 🙂 As a kitchen designer, I have fireclay sinks sent directly to the company building the kitchen cabinets, and they cut the rough opening to fit the sink. Even my professional installers recommend this. Also they must be supported from underneath with 2x4s. They probably shouldn’t be installed by , let’s just say, my husband. He’s better at fixing my laptop. Good luck! It’s going to be beautiful!

    Reply

  11. Jackie
    May 23, 2017 @ 5:38 pm

    Are you still happy with your choice? I am doing a kitchen remodel and have hit the “ack! What sink am I getting” stage.
    Your posts are always helpful and hilarious. 😀

    Reply

  12. Meredith
    June 2, 2017 @ 11:27 am

    This is my first time on your blog. What a breath of fresh air. I have been dreaming of cabinets and farmhouse sinks in my sleep! I’ve definitely had so many browsers open doing research that I had to restart my computer! Why is every decision so difficult? Thank you for helping me not feel like a crazy person in my constant quest for knowledge. Obsessive much? My husband keeps telling me we aren’t trying to re-build Noah’s Arc… just pick something! I think after all of my research and lost sleep, I’m going with the Kohler Strive Undermount 30 inch in stainless steel. It is also self-trimming, which research tells me is the best. Only problem is that I have only found that Kohler offers a self-trimming which is pricey $$$$. Thank you for easing my mind!

    Reply

  13. Heidi
    July 10, 2017 @ 11:49 pm

    Hilarious post. I was reading it aloud to my husband and we laughed out loud! Getting through a kitchen renovation definitely requires a little humor – THANK YOU! Great advice, too, by the way. 🙂

    Reply

  14. liz
    August 16, 2017 @ 10:49 am

    Thank you a thousand times over for this post – you are truly a marriage & lifesaver!!!!

    Reply

  15. Flip Breskin
    August 26, 2017 @ 2:53 pm

    I LOVE your blog!!!
    I’ve attached a couple photos. Have you considered one of these?
    I have a high-back wall-mount kitchen sink from about 100 years ago. With built-in DRAINBOARDS! On both sides. There is No Place for grey slime to accumulate. They’re not as deep as contemporary base cabinets so we placed it out from the wall and added a wrap around shelf behind it and routed the spray attachment and soap dispenser up there. Marble would look fabulous. This is not a good photo, but you can see what I’m getting at: https://www.houzz.com/photos/57799/Flp-Breskin-eclectic-kitchen-seattle
    Later I found this faucet, which is the frosting on the cake:
    https://www.houzz.com/photos/614484/kitchen-sink-2012-008JPG
    The rack above the sink drains dishes onto the drainboards, which I can just wipe clean & dry. Best set-up I’ve ever found. Totally easy to keep clean. Cast-iron weighs a ton, but once it’s in, it’s in. Get four strong people to lift it into place…

    Reply

    • ann
      June 16, 2022 @ 3:08 pm

      I love that sink! Wish I could find one. Your house looks like one I knew in Asheville, NC

      Reply

  16. Sweetbriar7
    September 1, 2017 @ 4:14 pm

    Wait, what? The Kohler can be retrofitted? Oh, Elizabeth, you may get me into trouble yet.

    Reply

  17. Donna Smith
    September 20, 2017 @ 11:42 am

    Do I know you? Are we related? My husband has been making fun – in a nice way, of course – of all my tabs (37 currently in ONE of my open windows, my charts, and the considerations due to my ocd (overly critical disposition), as imperfections make me fixate…and are totally incapable of lending character. I read your post aloud to my husband, and he asked me if I’d written it.
    Your post had me re-rethinking my Fireclay choice for which I was about to push the BUY button! I’d been having all the same concerns as you, but I didn’t want an undermount, as I don’t like that seam to catch dirt and water. However, I decided the negative for that to me, was less than the possibility of chipping or breaking the Fireclay that would have been mounted just above the edge of the sink, or the unevenness of the Fireclay edges for the installer (though my installer has probably done a number of them).
    I got the Kohler Winterhaven white tall apron in 24″ for my new tiny seaside kitchen! This really ends up being the best choice for me. I always wanted it to be cast iron from the start, just not an undermount. I have given in to the undermount, and now, I have submitted my order… I am closing tabs. And my husband is happy. Thanks for the nudge!!

    Reply

    • Donna Smith
      September 21, 2017 @ 10:19 am

      Whitehaven… duh…Winter…White…what’s the difference?

      Reply

  18. Les Nightingill
    September 25, 2017 @ 2:23 pm

    Stumbled across your post as I started to solo install my very heavy fireclay sink, and began to wonder if the internet had a secret tip for how to just slide this baby into place! No such luck! Just your article listing all the reasons not to buy a fireclay sink. Where were you 3 months ago when I selected this monster? Future googlers: read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the wisdom here.

    Reply

  19. Haley
    December 12, 2017 @ 4:59 pm

    I love IT ALL! Please do tell the name of the paint shade you chose for your cabinets?! Its perfect! Is it a slightly grayish-white? I love the slight contrast but oh so subtle:-) Exactly what I’m trying to achieve without success:-/

    Reply

  20. Monica
    January 13, 2018 @ 2:42 pm

    I love my Rohl farmhouse sink. They’ve been around for a very long time and are the real deal. I’m a crazy perfectionist and I love my sink!

    Reply

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