Bump - I am in a world of hurry and sure could use some help. In one day last week, my dryer stopped working, the hot water heater quit and the painter who was hired to paint my cabinets, remove wallpaper and paint - sold his company and stopped returning my calls. The kitchen ceiling is already down and I have about 2 weeks to get some things done. Which may drive some decisions...... I started with only a small cosmetic update - and you may identify with me that as we've gotten into it, it's grown. Anyway, IF I can decide on a farmhouse sink and could get delivery in about 2 weeks, I would love to have one. I have been reading this website for a couple of yrs and I know about lead times, but I'm just hoping someone could answer one question at least today. If I have my laminate countertop cut for a 33 x 22" sink which I have now, can I swap it for another sink later? I will have to live with top mount - no other choice at this late date. Any guidance would be seriously appreciated. By the way - here's what happened last week... - the kitchen designer showed up and found me a painter inside of 20 minutes who came over an hour later and bid $600 less on the job than the first guy, the hot water heater had the vacuum hose knocked off from a kid standing a piece of wood next to it and falling over - so fixed in literally 1 minute and the heating Co didn't charge me for stopping by, and mysteriously, the dryer is still limping along which is good because I really don't have time for it right now. I felt like I had the Divine Hand handling it all because I didn't even freak with 4 different trucks in the driveway and total chaos.

Our fireclay apron sink has been indestructible, and we do a lot of clumsy swinging of cast-iron skillets. Others, however, have not been so fortunate with their fireclay, so perhaps it's a model/brand/size issue (I've got the 30" Whitehaus model). Copper's great but it will speckle and patina over time and some folks strongly dislike that aspect of it. Porcelain over cast-iron is wonderful, but it can chip. Silgranite seems pretty durable but being a rather new material, the word is not yet in on how stain-resistant it is over the years, and some object to its plasticky feel. Stainless steel is probably as indestructible as it comes.

As far as I can tell, the nig bummer is that its meant to be a partial overmount with a flatish lip that goes over the counter. Unless you caulk well while installing, its moldville under that lip. I like that it's easy to clean and it always looks white. We got a third party grid that helps to keep pot marks away. The LACK of depth is a relief, I like the sink around 8 inches deep. If she uses 1/2 sheet pans frequently, she needs a different sink as this one will not fit those size things. I have a two burner pancake griddle - the cheap non-stick, for home use kind - and it won't fit that. It can sit on the top, and the front and back handles will rest on the sides - so I can still clean the pan. It will fit a regular roasting pan. The other two things that I don't like about the sink is the faucet is very far back (23" or so) in comparison to 19-21" for most undermounts. It acts funny if its filled with ice - just like a glass of iced tea, it will form condensate on the underside of the sink. I imagine that varies with where you live. I will get you a trash pullout picture soon.

beck, I also had a situation in which the apron-fronted sink would be off center. I looked at a lot of pictures and in the end decided it would look better if it were far off center than a few inches off center. But it depends on the overall design of you kitchen, too. If there are other things that have to line up along an axis it would be more important to center it than otherwise. Have you looked at the FKB? You'll probably find examples of something that look applicable to your situation. finished kitchens blog