I had one in my previous house and loved it. I always have my dish drainer out and use it constantly. If you are the type who does not use a dish drainer regularly, you might not appreciate it as much. I am planning a reno on my current kitchen and have already purchased another one... this time on craigÂs list for $125 vs the $1250 new 10 years ago! Which brings to mind the one con I can think of ----price! Although in my previous house, I had granite counters with the drain board sink, I feel that this type of sink opens up the option of a wood counter around the sink; an option that I might otherwise be hesitant to consider.

Our stainless counter portion of the kitchen is comprised of two pieces. One simple 12x28 deep piece on the left of the stove (with a six inch backsplash in stainless as well) and then the larger piece which is roughly 8' to the corner and four foot to the edge (a little L shape). Again with the six inch backsplash. We will have an integrated sink mimicing the very expensive franke sink I purchased that won't fit the corner application. (We're using that in another house). They would have used the franke sink and made it seemless to the countertop, but given that we now need custom, they'll do a similar sink with some chopped corners in front for me at an additional cost of about $400 (16 gauge SS with a pattern....basically swirls of scratches all over it). It will also have an integrated drain board to the sink (sloped). Total cost is around $2500 with sink. And yes, we're doing a marine edge. That's half the joy of SS to me (since my DH is a slob cook...fabulous...but slob). We see this portion of the kitchen as the work horse and we want it to be easy to clean. I am doing a bit of a modified marine edge (a little less of an edge than you really need on a boat, but basically marine). Would I pay the extra money for the sink...oh ya. That whole countertop should be seamless in my opinion. Mostly for looks...but also for ease in cleaning. A good fabricator shouldn't have any problems with that. We also used the same fabricator to build our hood housing so I expect a great job (the hood is gorgeous if you can call a 58" hunk of steel gorgeous LOL). Anyhoo, do the marine edge...but if the high edge is a turn off, they can do a bit of a lower one easily.

Do you mean "Ticor"? I have a Ticor SS undermount sink. It's the S405D and has two bowls. Satin/brushed Stainless Steel. 16-gauge bowls, 15-gauge rim. Grids are included in the price (1 grid/bowl) Strainers are also included in the price (1 strainer/bowl) I paid $239.99 + $25 shipping in January 2008. The sink is wonderful and I would buy it again if I had it to do over! (Ditto on the faucet, soap dispenser, air switch, disposer flange, and DuoStrainer.) Here is a link that might be useful: Galaxy Tool Supply: S405D Ticor Undermount Sink

The Stages is a very cool sink, but you don't need its design to have the same function. For the reef area, you can do it the old fashioned way, with a upturned stainless pan inside your sink, as a platform for cleaning meats. Easy to work on, easy to sanitize. You can make cuttingboards that will fit into any sink area, though if there's no ledge they won't be flush. You can get the ledge by having a positive reveal on any standard sink (that is, there's a bit of the top edge of the sink which is not covered by the countertop). It doesn't have to be built into the sink. Some of the sink companies make cuttingboards, baskets, trays, etc., that fit other sinks, but you can also find things that are already out there at the dollar store that will work. You can also find prep bowls that will fit your trays. I've always put my regular, old cutting board across my sink for many prep tasks. I never knew it was "special", and I can't see how the integrated one on the Stages would be more special. What is special is how they've designed it to have a gigantic sink in a smaller kitchen by having the rack underneath to hold your boards, prep bowls, etc., and making them so that the sink opening will function as counter. Again, something I've always done. Small kitchens aren't a new invention! Figure out how important the look is to you. Perhaps the smaller Stages sink is a good choice because it still looks cool. Perhaps a similarly made single bowl stainless sink with the upended steel pan will do the job better for your usual tasks (i.e., don't need the reef often). Perhaps you'd rather have a smaller farmhouse sink, anyway, and armed with some dollar store finds and a drawer under the sink for them, it'll give you all the function you need. Do you really need a 45" sink? Will you also have a prep sink? Or will a 30" sink do you, and give you plenty more actual counterspace, rather than cover-the-sink, ersatz counterspace? OH! Maybe by "integral ledge" you meant the reef, not the edge around the sink. I'm not going to rewrite my post, since it doesn't really change the answer above. I'll add that I've used reef sinks, and my prep sink is a shallow trough that empties into a bowl. I do love working on the reef for a lot of prep tasks, but really and truly the upturned pan works fine. It's just not "cool".