I have two Blanco silgranit sinks, color - anthracite... I love both of them. I previously had stainless. I like that these sinks hide any imperfections (if there are any...) and are very durable. 8 months into using them and I haven't regretted the decision once. They haven't had any problems.

My faucets are Grohe, so they were a splurge. The couple different plumbers that have been here have both had great things to say about Grohe products... The Grohe Bridgeford pull down is lovely.... very easy to use, nice flow, etc. I have the bridge faucet in that line too. It is beautiful, but it's not as easy to use or discreet (I knew this buying it.... just wouldn't be for everyone. It is my kitchen's necklace, I guess.)

I too have a Blanco silgranit sink in anthracite. It's been in use for about 9 months and I love it. Our faucet is a Brizo-the model is called "Venuto" and is a pull-down. I love it as well. No problems with either and I would recommend both.

Very happy with our Julien 0-radius sink (90) and happy with our Grohe Ladylux Cafe faucet. Didn't/don't particularly love the look of our faucet, but knew we wanted a Grohe (quality) and the spray head is very ergonomic, so it's fine and works very well.

I'm another Blanco Silgranit sink owner. I have the super single in anthracite, and I love, love love it. I despised my former stainless double sink. I have a Delta Ashton pulldown faucet which I also like very much.

I heartily recommend my KWC Systema pulldown andthe Julien classic 32-inch, 10-inch deep stainless sink has grown on me (though I feel it's too expensive and a Ticor would be fine). The size and depth, plus the convenience of the sink grid, has been wonderful.

It also might be helpful to see the poll of users and the faucets they chose over a five year period.

Here is a link that might be useful: Top Kitchen Faucets

I have a Ticor 60/40 SS sink. I love the size. I've never had a SS sink before, but so far (2 months) I'm finding it easy to keep clean by wiping with a soapy sponge and rinsing with my lovely Grohe Bridgeford faucet. This was a splurge for me and has taken me a bit of getting used to the side on/off rather than the top-mounted lever I've had forever. But I'm glad I bought a high quality faucet, and I hope it lasts for a long time.

I'm afraid you're going to get as many suggestions as there are sinks. Can you tell us if you want undermount, farm, SS, drop in? FWIW, I have a Lavello 36" curved apron front sink and Blanco Elan pull out faucet. LOVE THEM!

so we got the blanco zerox U2 sink. We have a 30" cabinet so we were limited by size. It's stainless and has the 0 radius sharp edges. While I do love it, it scratches like WOA. I mean I didn't even realize but just putting a fork in there scratched it. I think it's because it's a shiny, non brushed finish. It's also only 18 gauge...I dunno if that's got anything to do with it. I do love how big it is, how deep, the look, etc, but the scratches are kind of ridiculous and unexpected. (ours is undermounted)

I went with the blanco alta pullout faucet in stainless and I loooooove it. so much. It's very understated, modern, solid...love it. Would pick it all over again.

plumberry, i think that faucet choice is determined by the space you have: its ambience, its dimensions. It has nothing to do with the sink which could be made of any material, be any shape and be any depth.

most people say they are happy with their faucet. It appears that they don't demand much from it. A very small number of participants in GW can comment clearly about the better control they have over their water flow with an expensive faucet. But, this does not seem to be a strong need.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grohe Lady Lux or Grohe Bridgeford

LOved my Grohe ladylux cafe in past house, love the Grohe Bridgeford pull-down here. Chief difference between it and other high-quality pull downs are that these two Grohe models (and perhaps others) require you to keep the button pushed down to convert from stream to spray. Some folks prefer to push once and have it stay on spray.

I also have a Brizo Floriana pull-down...not so crazy about it. It requires a twist of the head to go from stream to spray and it's a bit awkward to do.

Love my HUGE Silgranite sink and Hamat pullout faucet.

Loooove both my sink and faucet. Sink - Kraus single 32" and Faucet - Hansgrohe Allegra E

My sink is stainless, custom made--love it enough to recommend a giant stainless sink. Details are unimportant.

I also have the Hansgrohe Allegro Gourmet, same line as Laur. (Not sure if hers is the giant "Gourmet" or a smaller model--I needed the big one because my back hurts if I don't have a good spout reach.) It looks like the death ray machine from "War of the Worlds" but friendly and I love it.

Pretty much any faucet will flow water and pretty much any sink will catch it. The choice depends on lots of factors, some functional and objective, but mostly aesthetic and subjective. Are you going for a particular look or era or style or vibe in your kitchen - maybe best to start there. What are you trying to achieve?

Faucets come with a one or two handles. With one handle, you have the convenience of controlling water temperature and volume with just one hand. Two-handled faucets offer more styles and spout designs. Look for a long-lasting, low maintenance finish to complement your decor.

Here is a link that might be useful: caluco patio furniture

Oh I so recall that overwhelmed faucet feeling. I punted and went on a business trip and told my husband that I gave up and it was his call. I gave him paramaters such as no Tim Taylor toolman man faucets, the main sink should be high arch to "fill" that space and the island had to be low to not be so "look at me". Spray/locking spray were not a concern. I don't use spray over stream all that much. We are in CA so I care about not wasting water so things had to be low flow/easy to set on tiny/small stream. And I wanted only 1 hole in the granite for the faucet.

So being the engineer/shopper he is, he researched to death and went for what seemed the best quality for the price. He despises plastic that tries to pass itself off as metal (he is annoyed at the Grohe I chose for the master bath, thinks the Toto in the other bath feels more real/metal). Stainless steel is preferred over anything plated that wants to be SS (like brushed nickel). We also have a lot of nickel allergies in the family so nickel is kind of a dirty word here. So now we have KWC Ono.

The arched one I like because the slinky always goes back in easily and I use this on the big sink mainly to rinse big pots and things (everything here goes DW except pots/pans). I can easily turn this sucker to point upward into a big upsidedown pot to rinse with minimal water use.

Main sink (against wall, no window)

The prep sink. The pressure on this thing is huge. Has locking spray. If I had only 1 sink, I'd buy this.

No knowing your style its hard to say, but I am happy with my choices. Shaw farm sink 3018 (about $750) and Delta Leland single hole faucet with the magnetic head (about $175). I also have this faucet on my prep sink, another Rohl fireclay sink.

I too have the Delta Leland single hole and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Love the magnetic head. Love that the stream stays stream until I press to change it. And it stays spray until I set it back.

For the sink we went with a D-shaped Kraus. It came with a sink grid and drain (even though we have a disposal and didn't use the drain, it was by far the nicest and cheapest at $175...16 gauge). The sink grid is the best part. It acts to protect the bottom of the sink from damage, and it raises stuff up enough that I use it like a drain board. We only have a 30" sink base cabinet...and this sink is HUGE!

Forgot to add the link to the sink...great shipping, and service from e-faucets. Sink came wrapped in a felt bag (sort of like those nice pocket books I like to have), and packed very nicely.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kraus sink...

I had settled on stainless but when I read about disappointment in ugly spotting and scratching I question my decision. Then I hear about splashing and I worry that I'll choose the wrong sink and faucet combination which is why I asked for tried and true/recommended combinations sink faucet. I'm so under-educated so apologize for that.
I appreciate the replies - hearing some of the same companies recommended over and over again helps to limit the choices. For sinks: Kraus, Julien, Ticor, Blanco. Faucets Brizo, Grohe, KwC.
Our style is more on the contemporary/modern side.
Thank you!

Just because some people get water spots is no reason to assume you will! It depends on your local water supply, pretty much. Get a stainless mixing bowl, splatter it, let it dry, and see how it works.

Feel the faucets on display, preferably where they're hooked up. If they aren't hooked up and they feel floopy, check underneath--many displays don't bother putting the weights on the hoses which leads to terrible performance.

Is there anything you like or hate about your faucet and sink now? Go off that. If you bust your coffee maker's carafe monthly, I recommend stainless (or copper) no matter how splotchy it gets.

If you like a traditional no-frills faucet, by the way, do look at Chicago Faucets. Those will be running long after KWC is buried in futuristic rubble.

We have the Franke Orca sink with the shelf on the right side. I'd never had a single bowl sink before and love it. The shelf is a fantastic feature. Our faucet is a Grohe Ladylux. You can't go wrong with Grohe.

We've got a Blanco Stellar sink and Blanco Max Faucet. We love them both. Especially the pull down sprayer. The sink is 9" deep but with the undermount it is effectively 10 1/4". Happily we get no splashback.

I wanted eveything to be a bit understated. So I purposefully chose a very simple clean line smaller faucet and not a big arched faucet. I also did not want any unnecessary ornamentation in the design.

If I wanted to go with a large arched dramatic faucet, I would have chose Ono highflex. I still would have gravitated toward simplicity without ornamentation.

So I used KWC Ono faucet and the matching soap dispenser. The filtered water dispenser is Newport, I think.

Now that I finally have my Shaw 3018 farm sink installed, I can say that I really do like it so far. I had a double bowl before and this is so much better. I can put the watering can with the long spout in it. It is low enough that last night I pulled up a stool when I was paring potatoes and could sit and work at the sink.

I also like the Perrin & Rowe bridge faucet. I had a pulldown before so I am now getting re-used to using a sprayer. It is definitely not as convenient as the pull down but I like the look and feel of the faucet so much that it is worth it. This was definitely a form over function tradeoff though.

You didn't ask about the air switch, but I do love that!

As far as how stainless steel holds up, I have a 50-year-old stainless double sink (like our moms probably had). The water here is moderately hard. I wash my dog in this sink. It has not been babied. It is scratched - but so much so that the scratches just blend into the original finish. I prefer to think of it as patina. It really doesn't look bad, IMO, and I can scrub it out or polish it easily. I think silgranit and porcelain sinks are gorgeous, but don't be afraid of having to baby stainless, if that's what you want or can afford. I think the new mirror finishes would probably be fussier, but the regular finish can take a lot of abuse.