I rumaged through the attic of GW to find this thread about sinks. This was such a hard choice for me. I have had a Corian sink for 14 years that I have loved. It does get stained but it comes out and we are not hard on sinks really. We have the 70/30 split which I have really enjoyed. Sort of the best of both worlds. I don't often have cookie sheets, pans that are gargantuan or need to wash babies or dogs in the sink. I thought since I liked the split so much I would just go with another one. Was willing to go full out for something new like the Silgranite and they have a split one but I need a left small and right big bowl and they only have the opposite configuration. So, I moved on to look at stainless and I just couldn't make the change to stainless for some reason. In the end not wanting to finance a major plumbing redo to accommodate a new style of sink I ended up with the Kohler Lakefield. It was the only one I could find configured just like our old integrated Corian. I haven't had it installed yet as we haven't made an install date for the granite. The Lakefield sink is quite a bit deeper than my Corian and it weighs a ton. I hope the extra depth won't be a negative. I am nervous about liking it! I got the drain board thing for the bottom in white. It looks pretty in the pictures but I haven't ever seen one in person. I never knew sinks were such a big decision!!!

I had a Kohler, navy blue cast iron sink for many years and it was great. The finish became dull in some places but I could always give it a good scrubbing and then rub a little olive oil on it to restore the shine. I just replaced it with a fire clay white sink and I'm still somewhat afraid of it. The porcelain coating on the cast iron could chip, but I'm afraid the clay sink could actually break. They are both heavy. Delivery and installation was a tense time. Kohler's website has cleaning instructions for both kinds. According to them- the clay seems easier to clean. My friend, a carpenter, said he's been seeing a lot of clay sinks in new installations lately. These decisions seem so important and un-important at the same time don't they? I'm telling myself that eventually I'll get used to whatever I wind up doing.

The Homeperfect site is working today. If you think you didn't get what you paid for and you are concerned about durability, then I'd return it. The number on their website is 1-888-850-3999. (That might be a sales line; they should be able to give you a customer service number. Also there should be a number in the paperwork you got with your order.) If the description on their website didn't specify whether it's the I or II model then that wouldn't necessarily be a reason to return it (in their minds) but you also have the issue with the scuff mark that you could use as a reason. If the description did have a model number that's different than the model number on the box you received, that's certainly a valid reason for a return. I'd also call Blanco's customer service rather than waiting for an email response. Then you can have a live conversation about your concerns.

rhome, I'm starting to gravitate toward the fireclay sinks. People who have them say they feel like china and are easy to keep looking clean, and that's very appealing to me. Are you able to do a farmhouse style sink since you can't do an undermount? solferino, that is a gorgeous sink! And guess what! I love the blue. I'm planning some blue accents in my kitchen, but that blue may be too dark. But maybe not! I also saw 2 other sinks on that Whitehaus site that I really liked: the concave and the raised panel. I think that extra detail on the front gives it a bit more elegant, less country look. I just wish they were a little bigger ... they're only 27 inches wide inside. Herbeau has a similar sink that's larger but also quite a bit more expensive. Thanks so much for the suggestions! Erika