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Anybody buy a nonfarmhouse white sink? What material?

12 years ago

About to buy our sink. I want white singlebowl undermount. Thought we'd go with Kohler cast-iron 27-inch Bakersfield, but I'm worried that it won't fit comfortably in our 30-inch sink cabinet base.

Willing to consider other materials. Anyone out there have a singlebowl white sink you'd recommend? Any manufacturer, any material: Fireclay, granite, silgranite, whatever . . .

The plumbing supply saleslady was very enthusiastic about the Franke Fireclay, but I'd rather have a simple shape, not the artful kidney-ish look.

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Comments (7)

jalsy6
12 years ago
I have the undermount kohler in white...it might be bakersfield, can't remember. But we have a 33" sink base, so I think it's a 30" sink. I LOVE this sink. I seriously considered the Blanco silgranit, as I read so many good reviews, but in the end, I'm a cast iron/porcelain girl, and I'm so happy I sprung for it (it wasn't cheap...like around $500.00 at HD). I'll try and post a pic later when the dishes aren't yucking it up! I have soapstone counters, and the combo works great for us, although the soapstone edge is slightly more vulnerable.
melissastar
12 years ago
I have the Kohler Cape Dory in white crackle finish...larger version of the Bakersfield, but not the undermount. Mine is a drop in. So far, I love it...sturdy, classic and easy to clean.

While I don't have a fireclay sink and others with them might disagree, I would steer clear unless it is specifically a look you love. Seems as if we're always hearing stories about having to take great care at installation and worry about disposal installation, etc.

I'm all for them, if it's a look your heart is set on. If it's not, seems like there might be easier options.
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I also bought a white Kohler (Iron Tones Smart Divide). I'm worried about chips and (more so) scratches. Going to put sink grids in the bottom to hopefully minimize scratching. I hate using stainless sinks, couldn't find a "live" example of a white silgranit (plus I think they feel weird), couldn't justify the fireclay nor find a configuration I loved. My dirty little secret - you know what kind of sink I really love? Acrylic. I know it is soooo low rent. But when I remodeled the kitchen in my first house (on a serious budget) I picked what was probably the cheapest sink available at Home Depot. But I looooved it. It felt like metal with some sort of plasticy coating. Wasn't TKO-enough at the time to care about the technical details. In hindsight, it probably was acrylic. Loved, loved, loved it. Hmmm, maybe there's still time to reconsider....
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Somanyquestions -- I like the contrast of a white sink with black soapstone and frankly I just like the old-fashioned look of a drop in cast iron sink. I like that big roll of white enamel that's hard to clean over! The silgranit sinks are beautiful, I will admit, and probably a lot easier to keep looking clean. As for the radon issue, I know quite a bit about both radon and radiation. In fact, I recently installed a pretty significant radon mitigation system in my house. And I would be concerned about adding something (e.g., a "hot" granite) that would add to radon levels. But frankly I doubt that a sink made up of ground up granite and plastic (my idea of what silgranit is!) is going to be any kind of problem. And, I doubt much of the granite is either. Of course, the fact that say over 99 percent of granite is not a problem does not prove that the other remaining percentage is also not a problem. The world is not black or white; it's more complicated. I'm banking on the idea that most granite is not a problem and that the silgranit sinks are made of some sort of run-of-the-mill stone. Of course, time and time again we find out that corporations have not considered the health impacts of various materials that are used in our houses and put into our food. I'm not sure why most people on this forum either fall into "the sky is falling" category of worrying that all granite is dangerous OR the people who are just nasty and think that worrying about radon is stupid. If you don't think that smoking is good for your health because statistically speaking a large portion of cigarette smokers will get lung cancer, you wouldn't want to expose yourself to radon either. On the other hand, if you think that "nobody has ever proved" that an individual person contracted lung cancer from smoking or any kind of cancer from any kind of radiation (nuclear weapons testing, nuclear power emissions, medical) because you refuse to look at the epidemiological (population-based) evidence then you're just a hopeless anti-science person. Why the anti-science people have to be so nasty is really beyond me to understand.
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Farm sink? Yes, it's undermount, but the style is definitely not modern if it's in traditional materials (fireclay, soapstone, etc.) BTW...if you want the soapstone look, why not go with soapstone? It's impervious to so many things that affect granite, quartz, laminate, etc. and it looks great in a farmhouse setting! The only drawbacks are oiling (at least initially) and cost...but doesn't Vermont have a soapstone quarry? It may be less expensive since it's in NE as well (assuming you live in NE...which I was assuming based on your description.) HTH!
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Thanks for the replies. I should have mentioned that my current sink is 8" deep and it fits fine. It's the 9.5" and 10" deep sinks that are pushing it. Also, I am looking at box store type sinks. My entire condo costs what many of the kitchen remodels here cost and I don't want to over-improve it. townlakecakes, I don't know what the valve for the dishwasher is called, but my last place had one and my parents have one, too.
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natal
12 years ago
I have a Rohl Allia, 2 bowl, undermount, fireclay sink. I debated whether to go stainless having had an old cast iron sink for years. You do have to be a little more careful with heavy objects like pans, but it's a look I prefer. No disposal, so I don't know what that's about.
formerlyflorantha
12 years ago
two white overmounts: Kohler Brookfield and Kohler Mayfield
bkinsey
12 years ago
I have the drop in white Kohler cast iron sink, I opted for the drop in because we have soapstone counters and they are vulnerable to chips around the sink. I really love the sink and am glad that we chose it.
artemis78
12 years ago
We have the Kohler Cape Dory as an undermount---I really like it. I also got the accessories---sink rack is handy, and the cutting board adds a little extra space. Looked at the Franke fireclay undermount too (Oceania, which is probably too big for you), but read too many iffy stories about fireclay generally that it didn't seem wise (plus it was a lot more expensive---the Kohler cast iron options are relatively cheap as sinks go). Ours is in a 36" sink base and I doubt it would have fit in much less than that, though.
sabjimata
12 years ago
If you are using an apron front sink, then you can have your sink match the cabinet width. It makes it very easy to cut the cabinet because then you are just doing a straight horizontal cut. I've had this done with a fireclay and with a soapstone sink.

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