I have a Ruvati, curved front stainless steel apron sink. LOVE it. One GIANT 36" bowl, it's super thick stainless, nice sharp corners (zero degree radius...I know some people find them hard to keep clean, but our sink is more decorative...the dishes go in the dishwasher, we have a laundry sink for the dirty stuff like clothes and plants, and really, it's for filling pots and washing veggies and such. Love it. Cutting board and strainer that mount right in, nice lining underneath to keep the sound down, and came with a strainer to keep us from banging the bottom of the sink. Just gorgeous; granite installers thought it was lovely. It's SO huge most people call it a small bathtub, and I'm pretty sure we'll bathe our children in it until they're 4 lol

I do have the rounded front copper sink and love it. It's best if you can plan to have it pushed forward to show off the the sides. The front of the sink at the top of the curve is 29" from the wall and the sides are about 3" from the cabinet face. The sides curve around full height and stop about 3.5" back so you can support it from the underside. You will need to build a frame before installing the countertops. If you have an island or narrow kitchen make sure you have room for the curve. The deck at the back of the sink is 9" deep. I posted one picture on your other thread, but I'll add some detail photos here. Mine is 10" deep, I did consider the 8" but ended up going with the deeper and will use shorter doors from a bathroom vanity to replace the original ones which were in bad shape. This one is undermounted, but you will probably need to flush mount an 8" deep sink with the counter if you are trying to limit modifications to the existing sink cabinet. The sink and cabinet before Yuck, glad it's gone! The modified cabinet with 2x4 frame for the sink. We did have to cut a 1/2" off the face frame to fit the sink. Test fitting the sink around midnight before the new counters arrived in the morning. The flange of the sink needs to fit over the top of the 2x4 frame along with the sides slipping back enough to hide the edges so you have to plan the placement of the screws not to interfere with the sink. Detail of the granite rounded to show the top of the sink. This required a lot of thought and negotiating with the granite crew because if the granite goes straight you would have an odd shaped gap there. The installed sink and faucet --Yay! There's a lot more to do to finish the cabinet, but I'm really pleased with the result so far.

A few suggestions: To jstell2008 - use wax on your sinks and spotting will not be an issue - this from someone who has lived with several copper sinks for years. They are incredibly easy to clean and maintain if you do an occassional waxing. To carolyn20 - I have never heard of a plumber who will not put in what you want. ...this is your house. Especially right now in this economic climate I would think you would have a bit more leverage. Do not settle for a 16 gauge copper sink or you will not be happy. As for a smooth interior, I think this means the sink is from India. I would definatley be wary of that type of sink for two reasons - the welds and the smooth finish. The smooth finish will look great for about two weeks... Copper is much softer than other metals and without the hammering that strengthens the surface (as well as the much beefier 14 gauge thickness) regular use will eventually dent and scratch the surface... Get a 14 gauge hand hammered sink made in Mexico from a reputable retailer and you will be glad you did. We did a lot of research before buying our sink and we love it! These sinks are hand made so they are all different and it's really important you pick the right one. They are expensive and you want to be happy long-term. I have put a link to an article that I highly recommend you read. Here is a link that might be useful: Copper Sink Buying Guide

@C. First of all, if you are 5'10" and have really bad back pain, then a 38" countertop height might still be too low for you. I'm barely 5'7" when when standing up as straight as I can, and a 38 3/4" countertop height is very comfortable for me. At 5'10", you could easily go up to a 40" countertop height. It is uncommon for kitchen designers to specify countertops much higher than 40" for anyone except a frequent kitchen user who is taller than 6 feet in order to retain the general usability for varying heights of potential users, but you may always do what you find best for yourself. I would encourage you to do a mockup of a 40" countertop height and try different tasks like chopping on a cutting board and stirring in mixing bowls to see how you like it. Remember that you should allow 1/2" for cabinetry leveling, so find your perfect height, and then subtract 1/2" (from the total of cabinetry plus countertop) when placing your order. The minimum possible front countertop ledge width is determined by factors which contribute to the risk of a break. I will guarantee you that ledge width in your picture is probably wider in person than it may appear here. Few fabricators will cut a continuous ledge (meaning without seams) less than 2 1/2" to 3" wide, and some fabricators will even burden you with a 4" or greater ledge, though that is excessive. The Galley issues guidelines for cutting the sink hole with no seams around the hole, but this technique complicates the handling and transport of the piece because that area is so delicate once it is cut. If I understand, correctly your countertop will only be 1/2" thick which may mean that you are using porcelain or something of that nature, and in that case, the substrate will dictate that you will need a seam for a narrow front ledge rather than having the sink cut from the middle. Porcelain is already fragile, and it won't survive the handling, transport, and installation with a pre-cut, narrow, continuous sink ledge. Be cautious of any fabricator who wants to install steel rods to help stabilize a front sink ledge. Those rods can get wet and swell and cause future breakage. The best policy is to avoid rod reinforcement. In terms of ergonomics, the height of your countertop and the height of your sink is relatively more important than how far forward you stand to the sink, but if you have really bad back pain and want to give your best effort to eliminating that in your kitchen, then an apron-front sink still needs to be on your list for consideration. I regularly operate within the full confines of the apron front which brings dishes and other tasks such as cleaning the sink very close to my body and allows me to stand mostly upright. It is the leaning forward at a sink that strains your back, and you will lose at least a hand width's advantage with a non-apron-front sink of your ability to work closer to your body to minimize leaning. For many people this is not an issue, and due to the fact that non-apron-front sinks are usually less expensive and more plentiful in terms of brands and styles, plus more aesthetically pleasing in many instances, the majority of kitchen remodelers are not using apron-fronts. Both Rachiele and Havens offer texturing for their stainless steel sinks, and if you look at their portfolios, you'll see that a hammered or otherwise textured finish is actually very pretty for an apron front sink. I have a textured finish, and it hides water spots and scratches and it looks as new today as it did several years ago when I had it installed. My only caution is that the interior of the sink should preferably be smooth to aid with cleaning. I believe that texturing can be applied only to the forward-facing and top ledge part of the apron front if you like that look. Spillage over the apron front is not a problem for me. Every now and then, I might get a small drip down the apron front, maybe after loading the dishwasher with something wet, but nothing more than you would sometimes get from a sink with a ledge that gets water on the front ledge and drips down occasionally. I would be hard pressed to say if I even have to wipe drips of water off the apron front even once per week. It just really is not a problem for me. It sounds like you are on the right track to helping with your ergonomics. As I mentioned earlier, your first step is to see if you can raise those countertops up to 40". If you do a lot of bread kneading or something where you need your arms straight down, you might consider doing dual levels somewhere in the kitchen. Generally, 41" to 42" is the upper stretch of a modified countertop height, and that would be for someone taller than 6 feet. The reason that we don't like to raise the countertop much more than that is because then they become unusable for people who are shorter. However, at a height of 5'10" with back problems, 40" is not at all out of reason. Be aware that if you wear shoes with thick soles when you are working in the kitchen or if you intend to put down a comfort mat on the floor that has substantial thickness, those factors could alter how you feel about your cabinetry height. Mocking up a height and doing various tasks is the most reliable way to determine what is best for you.