Soapstone counters - which faucet & sink?

14 years ago

Hi everyone,

We are updating and improving our kitchen in our 7 year old traditional home. I have heart pine floors and natural maple cabinets which will be painted (by me) a warm white. Finally made the decision to go with soapstone (hurrah!) counters. Would like the kitchen to look functional but charming, sort of like it evolved (beautifully) over time. I really like Craig Kettles' kitchen designs. I have stainless appliances. Help me, please choose the undermount sink and faucet. I have simple maple knobs on the cabinets now, but thought I would switch them to the bin pulls and knobs from Horton's Brasses in the brushed nickel finish.

I want a large 10" deep sink. Should it be stainless? or should I consider white enameled cast iron?

I am captivated by the bridge faucets, and like the look of the Kohler Parq and Hirise. The highrise seems so graceful. Does anyone have any opinion re either of these? And what finish should I choose? Always thought my finishes should match, however in the design mags lately I am seeing shiny faucets with brushed knobs/pulls. Opinions please. Have been reading about nickel lately and I am drawn to it, I really don't like the blueness of chrome. I actually like a little tarnish in my life. What would look most like an old faucet? Or should I just get the stainless?

Have been reading the forums for a while now and this is my first post. Thanks for reading, looking forward to your ideas.

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Comments (5)

sis2two
14 years ago
Welcome soapstoneshel- I have heart pine floors also with light to medium stained maple upper cabinets and distressed dark green lower cabs with stained maple knobs. My counters are soapstone also. I went with the white undermount cast iron sink by kohler(single bowl) and a brushed nickel grohe bridgeford faucet which is a pull down. I too love the bridge faucets but wanted a pulldown faucet this go round and I really love it! If it would help to see pics I can post them later. Just let me know and good luck!
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soapstoneshel
Original Author
14 years ago
I would LOVE to see pics, thank you!
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We currently have a, now discountinued, cast iron Kohler sink with a drainboard, and we like the drainboard a lot. So, my initial gut thought had been to look for one with a drainboard. Initially we had been planning to reuse this sink but the rethought that thinking we would be fools to invest that much money in countertops to install an odd-sized sink that could not be replaced if something happened to it. The micro-edge does look lovely and we may yet end up with a stainless (even though I am more of the porcelain look person myself) solely because of some other issues we have with size constraints. We too learned many years ago that you get what you pay for, and an initial larger investment upfront pays off in the long run. Perhaps some of those complaints about disgusting looking stainless sinks were from people with the really low end sinks. Even though I know that the top mount sink came later than the era of my house, I too to seem to prefer them aesthetically. Perhaps it is because of the feeling they evoke of kitchens from a earlier era. It's too bad there isn't something similar to the microedge availabe in cast iron. OTOH, I can definitely also see the idea of thinking of my kitchen as not a period piece but as something that has evolved over the decades and has not been static set in one time. I'm sure the housewife who first coccupied it would have been thrilled to be able to upgrade portions of it to the latest technology like micro egde sinks.
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alwaysfixin
14 years ago
You could also consider white fireclay apron front which is classic with soapstone counters. The apron front style is very ergonomic too.

If you don't want a fireclay apron front, several soapstone people on this forum installed Blanco Silgranit sinks in the anthracite color, which is a black/charcoal which looks unbelievably awesome with soapstone. Although I do not have soapstone counters, I've just installed our Silgranit anthracite sink, and I am in love with it. Not just the appearance, but its ease of use, no scratching, no chippping, easy cleanability, no water spots, heat resistant to 536 degrees temperature, isn't noisy when dishes and pots land in it (teenagers). We've just come from a stainless steel sink, with its scratches and water spots, and I will never go back to stainless. Sorry to all you stainless sink fans--just MHO!

The Blanco silgranit sinks come in other colors besides anthracite, like white, beige, brown and gray. But I like the anthracite color best.

As to faucet, there are so many choices! You can stay traditional with a "bridge-type" faucet. If you are still under construction, you can go really traditional with a wall-mount faucet (search this forum for the threads). And there is no reason not to go super modern faucet either. I myself like the ease of a single-handle faucet. I recommend a faucet with spray in the faucet rather than a side spray--they work better, and it is one less hole in your soapstone. There was a long thread recently which I will link where people posted pics of their faucets, and you could look through there to see if something catches your eye.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens Forum Thread with 100+ posts of faucets
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sis2two
14 years ago
soapstoneshell-finally here are my pictures. Hope they help you with your decisions. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck!{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}{{!gwi}}
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sis2two
14 years ago
Sending more photos through your email. All of this is beyond me so my teenager is actually sending the photos.
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Soapstone counters - which faucet & sink?

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Soapstone counters - which faucet & sink?

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