I have seen other brands of apron sinks fully enclosed, but not the shaw's (e.g. jgarner enclosed a Franke farm sink). You could do it, of course, but I guess it seems a shame to spend athe extra money for the pretty sink and then hide it. One consideration with the shaw's vs other brands is that the lips of the shaw's are rounded. Also, the Shaw's is handmade, so the edges aren't level. So it might be trickier to fully enclose that particular brand. If you want to go that route, I would suggest a more "square" and even brand.

What about apron sinks in stainless steel? I think those are really cool looking! And then you also avoid the pitfalls of damage to fireclay. (I love my fireclay sink, but every morning I hold my breath and look for pits!)

Hope that helps a bit!

Francy

There are lots of outfits that will custom fabricate a sink for you in any dimension that you'd like. Look in your Yellow Pages for "Metal Fabricators". Custom sinks are very common in restaurants and commercial kitchens. It's also very likely that going this route could be less costly that going for a name-brand designer sink.

You can also search on the internet for companies doing custom metal work. The link below will take you to one such company. They make a standard model undermount sink in a 33" interior width, but they'll make a sink in any dimension on a special order basis. You simply need to contact them for a quote.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hand Crafted Metal Co.

Are you talking about actually hiding the entire sink under the counter with cabinetry in front? I think is really unnecessary for two reasons:

First, as James points out, you can get a metal manufacturer to make you a custom sink to the size and depth you want.

Second, I have seen white fireclay sinks in very contemporary kitchens in books and magazines, and they look terrific. Some classic kitchen designs, like these sinks, and Agas and Lacanches, just lend themselves to fitting in quite nicely in utterly contemporary settings. If you ask me, it would give a dash of added interest to your modern kitchen.

Ivette

Here's a link to the sink gallery. There's a lot of good pictures here.

My 36" Shaw's. is undermounted with a slight positive reveal, the front is open. It's a wonderful sink, I love it.

Good luck.

I undermounted a Whitehaus fireclay sink because I wanted a fireclay sink, didn't want the apron front, and liked the sizes available in the Whitehaus product line. (None of the true undermount fireclay sinks quite fit my size requirements). I have a wall mount faucet, so didn't need space for a deck mounted faucet behind the sink--so the deeper (front to back) aspect of an apron front sink worked well for me to maximize the size of sink I could fit in my small kitchen. If you plan on a deck mounted faucet, though, you'll probably need to have countertops deeper than 24" to allow space for the faucet--check the sink measurements.

Installing the sink didn't seem to be a big deal for the installers--they just added a support structure inside the sink cabinet and set it in. The countertop (Paperstone) installers templated for the sink, and added some shims to make the sink fit snug against the countertops. No problems so far, and I don't regret not going with the apron front. In my small kitchen, I think the continuous run of cabinets/countertops looks a BIT more expansive than it would have looked with an apron front sink. While there are lots of nice examples of apron front sinks in modern kitchens, I think I agree with you that a regular undermount sink will have cleaner lines in a modern kitchen.

If you aren't terribly attached to the Shaw's sinks, you might want to look at Whitehaus or other brands (like Franke). You really pay a premium for the gorgeous curves on the Shaw's apron-- but if they won't be visible, might be able to get a better deal on a different model. (I got a great price on my Whitehaus 501 model online from Home and Stone)

Here are a couple of pictures... hope this helps! (oh---and ignore my index card backsplash!)
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KLB,

Beautiful installation! I'm always surprised that so few people choose a wall-mounted faucet. Having all the fixtures up above the counter makes cleaning around the sink so much easier.

Anyway, your kitchen is splendid!

KLB, I agree with jamesk! I love your kitchen.

Metal, have you looked at other fireclay sink brands? That might be a way to save a few bucks. However, I love the size and offset drain of the Shaw's 36", so I totally understand why you would do that particular one. There are some irregularities with the handmade sinks, but nothing a little silcone can't manage (and you will need that-even for a perfect fit-anyway).

And getting the least expensive alternative for every item isn't always necessary either.

I love a bargain, but sometimes I forget that I have to live with the tight pants hanging in my closet for the next 8 years until I give up and let someone else try them out....Sometimes getting what you want the first time costs less in the long run.

Aw, thanks James and Claybabe! Now if I could just get that darned backsplash installed I could finally call this project 'done'...! (Soon, I promise!)

And I totally agree--love the wall mount faucet---all so clean and tidy!

klb, have you decided how you are going to do your backsplash? (I recall the discussion.) I need to get my backsplash done also. Once the kitchen is working it's so hard to get the last parts done.

Metal, how about you? any more thoughts on the sink?

claybabe--I HAVE decided how to do the backsplash, but I just haven't had the puppy installed yet! Basically I decided to do the liner like in the picture above, bumped down around the window. I also decided to go with white quarter round (instead of black quarter round or just white bullnose) along the edges--which required a visit from the plumber to reinstall the wall mount faucet so it'll sit out off the wall far enough to accommodate the extra depth of the tile installation (the faucet reinstallation was no big deal).

I'm also working on a little bathroom project that involves a bit of tiling, so the scheduling for the kitchen has gotten tied up with delays on the bathroom project...... but, it'll all end one day! I'm horrified at how long this last little bit of my project has taken! (especially with such a relatively easy choice of white subway tiles! I don't know how I would ever decide if I thought ALL tile options--tumbled stone, glass, etc, etc -- were open to me!)

klb, it's like football in the red zone: The closer you are to the endzone the more defenders there are, and you just can't always get the job done like you planned.

Humph. My team isn't playing in the super bowl. Maybe next year.

In the mean time, I'm glad you have decided, it sounds cool, and I can't wait to see it. I like what you've done and just want to see it IRL.

Soon, right?!!