While I don't have a farmhouse/apron style sink, I did get my trogh style sink from overstock.com and would recommend them for quality of product and value for the money. There customer service is very good. Do not confuse them with overstockdeals.com which is a shady website. I purchased a faucet from them that was defective and previously installed (full of water), returned it over a month ago and haven't gotten a penny returned and have tried contacting them via email and phone to no avail. They screen there calls and just ignore me and unfortuneately my c.c. company has been very little help.

Double bowl sinks are for those that can't give up handwashing their dishes, and even then they can often be retrained to a single bowl without issues. 99% of everything you use in a kitchen can be put into a DW, and it will use a LOT less water than hand washing. Perhaps you might experiment with trying that now in your current kitchen before deciding.

A $500 quality sink of any kind will be difficult to find, but a $500 farmhouse sink in stainless will be virtually impossible. I would expect to pay $1000 to $1500 for a sale price on one. Don't forget that the $1000 will be the cheapest part of the sink and install equation. Farm sinks take a lot more finessing by your installer, and the labor charges are commensurate with that.

thank you ptamom! Of course I am familiar with Overstock...but didn't really think to look there recently. Well, I did just now and found a few options! I guess I just want someone on GW to say they bought a ____ and love it. I did see a few choices that I like, so thanks for the reminder.

Green-pots and pans and china and wine glasses...in the dishwasher? I don't have a specialty dishwasher, so really, I can put these in the dishwasher? I would be scared to, I really would. I don't think I want to be retrained, anyway. Consider me an old dog, no new tricks for me, thanks! LOL. All that said...what do you think of this choice? Look at the price...$599 and includes the faucet, soap dispenser, grid, drains...the brand is Kraus, I think that is a good name, but not sure? Anyway, you might want to check overstock.com, because I think there are a few in this price range.

My husband is doing the install, so his labor charges are pretty reasonable, lol. Before any naysayers jump in, he installed my parents' farmhouse sink last year so I am confidant in his abilities.

Here is a link that might be useful: kraus

I agree with GreenDesigns' first paragraph, but disagree strongly (and respectfully) with GreenDesigns' second paragraph. There are gorgeous stainless apron front sinks available at under or around $500 by Ticor and by Kraus (check out galaxytoolsupply, overstock and expressdecor dot com). Another bonus is that those websites offer free sink grids, which can be very expensive from other brands. Furthmore, while fireclay farmhouse sinks are a more difficult installation due to their irregular dimensions and heavy weight, stainless apron front sinks do not have those problems.

I wish the OP would state what size sink she needs, because that size would influence the choice between one bowl or two bowl configuration. I do prefer a single bowl sink in an apron front style. If you must have a double bowl, then you should get the 36" size sink. If you go smaller than 36", neither of your bowls will be big enough to lay down large pans or not bang against the sides.

The OP referenced a thread, but did not link it. I will link a few that may be of interest to the OP.

Thread about Farmhouse Sinks

Thread about Kraus Farmhouse Sinks

Kraus 36-inch Double Bowl Stainless Farmhouse Sink at Expressdecor, currently offering 15% discount

Dirtymartini - my post above crossed with yours. But anyway, expressdecor beats the overstock price for that sink-faucet combo because they are currently offering 15% off for the same thing (15% of $599 = $90!). We bought our Kraus faucet from expressdecor, and were very pleased with the delivery time and packaging. Our only complaint was that the Kraus faucet's included instructions were terribly written. Neverthelesss, DH and I installed the faucet ourselves, and we managed to figure it out, and install it fairly quickly.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kraus 36-inch farmhouse sink combo with faucet

Hi! I saw one at Expressdecor, as well and I think that is where I ordered mine from about 2 years ago. (Kraus) Mine is an undermount double and I wanted it to accommodate a disposal on one side and still be able to use the other side. We do not have a prep sink in our kitchen. They shipped it to Canada USPS. Cheaper that way for us here! Took about 2 weeks to arrive and the packaging was great. Mine is still holding up fine. I liked that the grids and strainers came with it. You can phone toll free and talk to somebody there if you need to. Here is mine....

Your sink and faucet are the most used appliances in the room. Even people who don't cook will use them on a daily basis. While it is true that you may be able to buy 3 sinks from a Chinese source to the one sink from an American one, you are taking a chance that the one sink you purchase will be of the same quality level and be as long lasting as the known past history of quality American produced one.

I (and others) have had poor experiences with Chinese sourced and produced stainless products. I have had items that are "supposed" to be 18/0 or 18/8 rusting without any of the usual suspect causes. No contact with a regular iron skillet, no use of a Brillo. No prolonged contact with bleach solutions. The one thing that these various bar sinks, knives, saucepans, and silverware have had was that they were Chinese manufactured. My latest experience involves a Cuisinart knife set that arrived rusted in the plastic protective sheaths straight from the manufacturer. I wrongly assumed that Cuisanart would not be made in China.

Our local discount building material retailer used to import the cheap 2 bowl stainless sinks directly from China at an incredibly cheap price. They had too many issues with them just sitting there on pallets in their overhead and rusting. They went to a different Chinese manufacturer and have had no problems with the new line.

But the whole point of the issue is that it is a bit of a crapshoot. You may luck out and and get a quality product, but if it is Chinese in origin, your odds are much worse to receive a defective product. An undermount sink is one of the most difficult items to ever replace in your kitchen. A farmhouse one is especially problematic to be able to replace if there is a problem. For a topmount sink, I would be more willing to gamble, due to it's ease of replacement.

I'd rather not have to gamble though. I'd prefer to install something that has a larger chance of not having problems down the road. To me, that is a domestically made product backed by decades of positive past experience. Kohler. American Standard. Even some Euro brands are acceptible. Just not Chinese ones.

And, Chinese sourced faucets are even worse when it comes to a problematic history. I would run as far from those as I possibly could. A flooded home is only one of the problems that past friends and customers have had with Chinese sourced faucets. One customer went through 4 of some Italian sounding house brand faucet before she quit trying to "save" money and bought a Hansgrohe.

Unfortunately, many sinks by Kohler, Blanco, Franke and other brands are also made in China. You can call the companies' customer service numbers and ask them about specific models' country of origin, or you can look on the sink's box, where it will say where the sink came from. But GreenDesigns is incorrect that just buying from Kohler for example will assure you an american-made sink. Furthermore, sometimes the sink is made in America, but the stainless steel is sourced from china anyway, and it will be very difficult to find that out.

I think it is more beneficial to look at actual multiple users' reviews on this forum or on websites like overstock.com than to rely on one poster's hearsay. If you can find online reviews from people who own Kraus and Ticor sinks and faucets who have been having problems, fine. But I have been seeing positive reviews on the Kitchens Forum for several years of Ticor and Kraus products. If you are truly concerned, then spend the $350-1000+ on the German faucet, which has working parts and is more complex than a sink, but still save the $1000 or so and buy the Kraus or Ticor sink which does not have working parts, and which you cannot be sure that Kohler, Franke etc. isn't the exact same thing anyway but at 2x or 3x the cost.

Greendesign-I wish I had your budget, I really do. You are blessed to be able to afford such nice things. We are not doing a simple cosmetic renovation. We purchased out fixer upper 2 1/2 years ago, I have been living with rotted formica cabinets that are original to our 1970s house for over 2 years. They have no doors on them, I made some pitiful curtains to put on the outside just so you cannot see the gross interiors. I don't even use them for storage of any items, they are *that* gross. My refrigerator does not have an ice maker, only 3 of my stove's burners work. We need ALL new appliances. I would love to have Viking and Wolf and Thermador, but alas, it is not to be. I am fine with it, though. We picked up our dream home that just 5 years ago sold for double what we paid. I have actually made some beautiful meals here in this pitiful kitchen, so I know that having the best of everything does not mean the food tastes better. Soooo...there **is** an answer to my original question, and thanks to other posters I have found sinks that meet my requirements. I understand that they are not up to par with your standards, but I wasn't asking about that.

akchicago-That is a good idea, possibly upgrading the faucet. When we had to replace our shower head, my DH told me to go to Home Depot and only buy one made in the USA. I could not find one! Not one! We "get" that made in USA is better (usually) but it does seem increasingly difficult to find, and the companies are so sneaky about it! If all I was buying was one item, I would search out made in USA along with my other requirements. At this point, I am overwhelmed by the scope of the project, as well as overwhelmed financially. We have been doing craigslist shopping and plan to go to some scratch and dent sales. Seems like sinks are the one thing we are not finding used or at many outlet locations.

alwaysfixin-thank you thank you thank you! Going to show that link to DH right now! Now, in agreeing with green...do you mean you put all your pots and pans and china and wine glasses in your dishwasher? Green did not answer that part of my question, so just curious as to what others do. And the Kraus that I like is 35.9". Yes, I definitely want the bowls to be big. My double bowl sink right now is 33" and I knew I wanted a wee bit bigger. I kind of agree that the *point* of a FH sink is to be single bowl...wouldn't you say? If DH and I both prefer double bowl, and we are both in our 40s, I am sorry, we just don't feel like *trying* to get used to something new at this point! But again, I think it is kind of "cheating" and getting the look of a FH sink without being a TRUE FH sink. Thank you for those links, so far I just clicked on the Kraus link and it appears most people are happy with it.

door1-verrry pretty and so glad to hear you are happy with it!

Dirtymartini - you're welcome! We did our kitchen mostly DIY, and were on a tight budget too. So I was so happy to find the expressdecor website, and it gets good reviews. In answer to your question, to clarify when I said I agreed with GreenDesigns on his/her first paragraph - I meant I like a single bowl sink, and find I put most stuff in the dishwasher. And, for my handwashable pots and dishes, I like the room of the single bowl so that I don't bang into a divider, and so that I can lay things down to soak. We have had many "converts" post on the Kitchens forum who have gone from double to single bowl and are happy. But you know, there are very many double-bowl fans too, so buy what YOU like and are comfortable with. Also, we didn't have the space for a 36" sink (would have loved that). If you have the space for a 36" sink, then the double bowl will suit your needs and preferences.

And yes, I've gone to Home Depot too, and seen the Kohler sinks in their cartons on the high-up shelves, and you can see the "made in China" written on the boxes. Even the ones that cost $500+. Even American Standard will talk at length about their Made in America toilets and vitreous-china sinks, but are silent as to the origins of their stainless steel products. One really great american manufacturer of faucets is Newport Brass, but expect to pay $$$, and also have a long lead time till you get your faucet, since it's a small shop.

Sorry, HAVE to go OT to respond to "When we had to replace our shower head, my DH told me to go to Home Depot and only buy one made in the USA. I could not find one!". I want to recommend the Speakman showerhead which I bought for my mother, and it was so great I then bought one for myself. Speakmans are made in the USA, and their showerheads are in the White House! Be careful to get the Speakmans that are solid brass construction, cause some of the models aren't. Anyway, for my mom I got the S-2251 (an 8-jet cause her shower is larger), and for myself the 6-jet S-2252-PC. The water pressure is great, and it looks good too. Solid and heavy.

OK, back to our "regular programming"...

Here is a link that might be useful: Speakman S-2252-PC 6-jet Showerhead

akchicago-thank you!!! I will look into that brand. My DH will be happy to hear about it. See...when we replace stuff a little at a time, we will splurge and get the best we can afford. Our DW finally pooped out, and we got a really nice SS one, a fridgidaire pro, and paid an extra $150 to have an SS interior. That SS interior makes me smile when I see it. We paid close to $700 for that DW, and while I know that is not a lot, and it is not really an upscale brand, I am glad that we got it when we did or we would be looking for super duper cheapos right now!

alwaysfixin-my present sink (that came with the house) is a double bowl and it is 8" deep and both bowls are 14" across. So, with the Kraus, one of the bowls is 19" and the other is 13" so I am getting a much bigger bowl than I have been used to. BTW, I have my credit card out right now, I am ordering the sink...yay! One thing Green mentioned that really stuck with me, and I discussed with my DH and he agreed, is that we should probably pay for a better faucet than the Kraus that comes with the sink.Thank you for making that point, Green!

Sooooo....for about $400 I am getting the Kraus! Thank you so much for the link Alwaysfixin, and everyone else's input. I am so glad I posted here! I am finally seeing my white shaker style cabs, butcher block counter and farmhouse sink with a cute little burlap curtain underneath coming together!!! I will be on these boards a LOT over the next few weeks.

That is great to hear, dirtymartini! Their farmhouse sinks look pretty nice. Be sure to post when your DH installs it. We all do what we can, when we can and it sure would be nice to have an unlimited budget, but that is not always the case. I have seen some small budget kitchens on this forum that are absolutely beautiful! There are some very talented and resourceful people here!

Thanks door!!

I like the first link post with the 60/40 bowls. I had one in my last kit and did a large single in this kit. I miss always having a clean side to wash veggies/fruits. Now I have to wash out the sink first. Yes I drained my good knives, wooden bowls and cast iron but everything else goes in the DW from broiler pan to Lenox China.