The Perfect Sink (Part 2)

Kitchen sinks come in lots of materials other than stainless steel. I love stainless myself, but I do have clients who don’t and want to know which way to go on this extremely important part of their new kitchen.

When I replaced my counter tops (10 years ago??) I chose DuPont Corian for various reasons. (the stuff of another whole blog post) I wanted stainless steel under-mount sinks in my new tops, but was over-ruled by my husband and daughter. The seamed-in Corian sinks I got are cool as there is absolutely nowhere for grime to hide. If you close your eyes and feel the area where the sink and top are joined, you will not be able to feel a seam at all. It is quite hygienic, and for that reason doctors and nurses seem to be especially drawn to that feature. My objection to Corian as a sink material is that it is white (or off white). I don’t know about your house, but the stuff that hits my sink is rarely white. It’s coffee, tomato sauce, grease, berries, meat juices and all sorts of dark staining stuff. A bit of “Soft Scrub” with bleach is all it takes to make it look new again though. I did manage to gouge a spot at the bottom by bringing the barbeque grids in and trying to clean them in the sink. When it’s clean you really can’t tell, thank goodness.
sink 1
Other choices for sink materials exist, and if you don’t want stainless, you owe it to yourself to explore them all. The porcelain cast iron sink is certainly substantial, and does come in some lovely colors. It may take two people to carry it in the house as they are so incredibly heavy. Kohler is the big manufacturer of these and they come in a huge array of shapes and bowl sizes. The surface can be scratched or even chipped, but you’d have to drop a brick on it to make a big mark. The surface is high gloss so cleans
up brilliantly. If you under-mount one of these behemoths, (which you should) be prepared to pay your installer extra to build an armature below it to support the extra weight. These sinks are heavy on their own, but imagine what one will weigh when it’s full of water.


sink 2
The “Americast” by American Standard looks like the porcelain variety, but doesn’t weigh or cost as much. I have seen one chipped, probably from abuse, but keep in mind what can happen in your house. I learned that American Standard is considering discontinuing this product, probably because of durability issues.

Blanco and a few other manufacturers have been making composite sinks for quite some time. They use ground granite (80%), silica and binders to form the sink. The surface is a bit textured rather than glossy. They are tough, but I have heard objections about them being difficult to keep clean. They make a charcoal black one, which I was fairly certain, would not show dirt, but the client who bought it tells me it always looks dingy.
sink 3
Marblex, a great granite fabricator and neighbor of ours has been making sinks out of stone for years. http://www.marblexinc.com/ In their showroom, there is a lovely stone farm sink that matches the countertop. I have a client who saw it and instantly decided on that sink for her new home. It looks fabulous, and I can’t imagine anything hurting it. She paid a large sum for it, but it gets a workout as she has 3 kids.
sink 4
I have seen soap stone farm sinks that look as if they’ve been around for centuries. Smart farmers!
sink 5
All in all, I like stainless steel the best for it’s qualities:

Beautiful
Durable
Heat resistant
Forgiving of dishes and glasses
Ease of cleaning
Tons of shapes and sizes
Easy availability
Cost effective

But if you must have some other material for your sink, be prepared to do
your homework and shopping. You surely don’t want to regret your choice
when your new fabulous kitchen is complete.
-Julie