We have the Dickinson and have been very happy with it. But, Johnliu really did say it best. After drooling over the Rohl I realized I didn't want to shred my nerves over a sink or anything else anymore. I've seen 30 year old cast iron sinks that lived in households with 5 kids and they looked fine. DH all by himself can be the equivalent of 5 kids in the kitchen so I figured I was okay with the Dickinson. Bottom line, I guess, is "know thyself" (as well as the habits of others who will use the sink) and choose accordingly.

We have a stainless apron front sink: as long as I have breath in my body I shall not have a fireclay sink. (About this my husband is just as vehement as I.) In our previous house we had one and HATED it. The scratches and marks -- what a pain. For us, it's stainless or nothing (okay, so I exaggerate, because of course we'd rather have a sink than nothing!). For myriad reasons I wanted an apron front, the most important reason being I like its back comfort (because the front of the sink isn't separated by countertop, so not as much leaning over and in). I also like the way it looks (an apron front sink of any material). Unlike bluekitobsessed, to me apron front stainless sinks don't look as if they're trying to be cottage-y -- I think they look modern. When I think of the stainless apron front sinks I've seen posted here to a one they appear sleek and modern to me, which is what I like! Our kitchen is a v. "classic" white kitchen (painted white cabs, white marble countertops), and I love the pop of the more modern stainless to remind us we're in the twenty-first century That being said, maybe fireclay would be best for your kitchen if what you're after is a cottage look .... Your choices sound lovely and I look forward to watching your progress!

We have a 30" Shaw's for over 2 years. I love it. I love having the sink so close to me. I bought it local so I could bring marbles with me to see how it drains. I rejected the 1st two. It's still not perfect but much better than the others. No scratches but we have the grid. My DH curses it (since he's the one that cleans it all the time) but I love it. The grid is great - it also gives me another drying rack for dishes.

We have a farmhouse clean-up sink and undermount stainless prep sink. While our kitchen is still under construction, it seems to work visually -- the idea being that the farmhouse sink really draws your attention, while the undermount sink all but disappears (although of course it will be more obvious once there's a faucet). I'd post a picture, but when I shrink the image for posting, Photobucket crops out the farm sink so you can't see the two together.