I remember you!

I'm sorry you have to live with such a costly mistake. I was nearly suckered by the slick video, too. Luckily, I'm far too cheap ;)

Do you still love your faucet? I have the same one. We lucked out and bought them before they changed the design to a single control valve. Mine is a bit more than a year old now, and so far so good!

And yes, you do have a gorgeous kitchen. It's a shame that the Stages doesn't live up to your expectations.

Does anyone else think that their stages is extrodinaily noisy? Or is it just regular 'stainless steel sink' noisy?

I think it's abnormally noisy. I will indeed be researching a way to deaden the sound. I can't do much about the spots, scratches, or food showing up. The faucet is a Kraus and that too irks me. I get my arm wet every time I turn it on because I forget which valve is "on". If I had been thinking, I would done a cheaper sink and that slick Karbon faucet!

Thank you for sharing your favorite sink! And, I hope you can come to some sort of reconcilation with the problem spots in your very pretty kitchen. :)

The kitchen is gorgeous. Would the sink be more comfortable to use, if you removed the upper cabinet on the left, then filled in the backsplash stone? If this is your last reno, that's a long time to hate a sink.

That's funny about getting your arm wet! For the most part, I have the sprayer on and out of its cradle. If it's off and I'm using the pot filler side, it's in its cradle. Maybe that's why I haven't done it?

Maybe you could try positioning the main valve to the side? I have mine to the front, too, but I see most people have it on the side. Maybe that's why?

I do wish the pot filler had a longer reach. For that matter, the sprayer in its dangling position could have more reach, too.

Hi Reno Fan, I remember you - didn't you do a black and white checkerboard floor in one of your early remodels? I have no advice - just sorry that you hate your sink.

Waving, sorry to hear about your problems with the sink, after which, I still rather lust (that, and the trough sink). We - ok, I - googled 'best sink' on GW toward the beginning of our project and ended up with the Franke Peake model (add $300 to your price tag). I don't mind the stainless (or find it loud), but I still shake my head at it in comparison to our other Silgranit Biscuit (wouldn't pick that color again) one. Love your ceilings and backsplash, what a lovely combination. Agree - get rid of the sink (or pull it forward). You need the OTF (one true faucet) for this sink-Kohler Karbon. (This faucet is so much fun!).

I just removed a 39" drop-in cast iron sink and replaced it with a Corian 902 in Glacier White. It is huge, silent, and is easily kept beautiful in addition to being re-finishable. With Euro style cabinets with no tip-outs, the distance from the front edge to the sink is around 2 1/2".

I'm so sorry you hate the sink, and it truly was not right for your remodel especially since you do not like stainless. You have a beautiful kitchen and should consider remedying it so you can be at peace. I agree that the placement is not right for this type of sink as it seems scrunched in. Your advice about not having uppers close to a sink is spot on - for any sink.

I've had mine for 10 months now and love it. Mine is extremely quiet for a stainless sink. Maybe it's because it is in a wood island with a walnut countertop, or possibly the Karbon faucet which is very quiet. I also have trash and recycle bins below. Maybe they help absorb sound. Truthfully, I never gave it a moments thought until I read your post, then went and tested it. I also have an open layout so quiet is important to me. I have a few scratches from cast iron pans and bathing my lab puppy in it but really not many. I chase the food bits down and give it a quick wipe with bar keepers friend after cleaning up. I also wipe the sides and ledge with a dry cloth after cleaning, but I never dry the bottom. Here's an example of how mine dries.

It beads up pretty nicely. The scratching is as I expected with stainless, but i don't find mine very noticeable. But I also have a different perspective since I like stainless.

I sure hope you're able to find resolution. Your kitchen is too pretty to not enjoy it every minute of every day. Life is too short.

Hi Reno Fan! (This is Kompy, if you remember me) Thanks for the review on this sink. I will keep it mind if I ever have a client that is interested in it. And thanks BBtrix for an alternative view.

It would be nice to hear thoughts from other Stages user as well. I bought the sink but have not installed it yet. We'll be putting it into an island with trash below like Bbtrix. There's 24" of counter on either side.

I remember you, too! Your kitchen is lovely but I'm so sorry to read how disappointed you are with your sink.

Could you replace it with a different sink, filling in the drainboard area with a piece of butcher block, like this:

Thomas Concrete Countertop Island · More Info

I'm sure you'd be able to sell the Stages sink on craigslist or Ebay. I agree that since this is your last remodel, it seems a shame to live with something you hate so much.

My Stages 45 was installed about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I'm not aware of it's being particularly noisy, but I've only ever had SS sinks, so maybe I'm not experiencing anything I hadn't already been exposed to. And, with that much metal in play, there would be some clanging around as you move stuff about in the bowl. I keep the grate in and use a plastic dishpan for hand-washing or soaking any dishes. I agree with Bbtrix that maybe the Kohler faucet helps cut down the noise of splashing water as well. The Karbon is everything I had hoped for and I thank all the reviewers on GW for steering me to it! Apologies for sideways photo - kitchen still a work in progress.

We've used rubberized, self-adhesive sound deadening pads on a VW project. They worked very well at muffling sound.

Do you use the grate? I am surprised that you would think it is noisy if you use the bottom grate. Perhaps it is because you have such a high arc faucet. I do not notice any more spotting than with my previous stainless sinks. Just a rinse and swish around with my brush, and there is no spotting. Your sink does look to be set really far back. That would be a pain.

It is good that you are posting this for others considering the stages sink so that they can see all viewpoints. I love mine and think it is the best thing in my remodel.

Just ordered the Karbon faucet. Thinking bringing the water forward more may help. As far as 6 kitchens I am in real estate and have moved personally 4 times and also done investment homes, etc.

I'm grateful to the OP for this post and sharing her experience with the Stages. Up till now, I have heard nothing but glowing reviews, however I have been harbouring reservations because I really hate stainless (for reasons of noisiness and staining).

I've been hoping that the usefulness of a huge sink and two faucets would overrule my hatred of stainless, but now I'm worried that won't be the case!

Stephanie - I would really love to know your thoughts on the "ledge" part of the sink. Do you find it useful? Love it or meh?

I think getting the karbon faucet is a great idea which should help solve the distance issue.

To be honest I don't really use it. I have a weird mental aversion to putting food there (like they showed in the video). I think (for me) this sink just wasn't the cats pajamas. My other half did not like black composite granite so this was a compromise as he doesn't mind stainless sinks . You know when you watch an infomercial and become convinced that even though you don't do ab crunches in your living room now, if you just had the right equipment you totally would!!!!??? Ok that's this sink for how I cook. I don't like prepping facing a wall, I don't like stainless, but somehow I thought I would with the right equipment. For now the sink stays but we will see how the Karbon does. Maybe that plus sound deadening will at least make me be at peace with it. Again, this is NOT a big deal in the grand scheme of life. Just wanted to share in case anyone else out there was/is like me

On my phone now and it's hard to read all the comments but i will come back tomorrow and go a bit deeper and answer specifics that I missed. (Sorry I don't mean to be ignoring direct questions!)

First, you are not the average user. After multiple renos, intolerance for not having exactly what you like increases I think. So it's likely worse for you and just a mismatch with a fixture.

Grid and sound deadening should help. But the issue is, seems to me, wrong application. As you say, it's essentially a huge prep sink. So installing as a main sink creates issues. It's a great point to have made IMO and a service.

I had a 33 x 10 d Julien and hated it until I got the grid. It also was set back farther than I liked We were going to sell anyway so I lived with it. But it's good to flag that issue for others as well. Stone fabricators love to do that set back as it lessens the chance of breakage during transport. But a sink set back too far is one of the under-rated causes of back pain.

Hope that changing the faucet will help. But if you're staying vs selling this house I'd take out the sink and get one you really like. I don't understand silgranite aesthetically though it would work. Wondering if one of the Kohler color enameled farm sinks could fit. There's always custom granite.

Might even be someone around here who would take the Stages off your hands since they know the source.

I am about to put in a Stages sink, what is the recommended set back? I will have soapstone counters.

I have 4 inches with my soapstone from the edge of the counter (1 inch overhang due to inset cabinet doors). The fabricator was ok with 3.5 inches but I wanted to fit in a tip out drawer. I remember Kevin from azconsulting saying that 4 inches from the front edge was standard for an undermount sink.

I'm pretty sure that most of us install the Stages 45 as the only clean up and prep sink , it solves the problem of having to have two separate sinks, especially with 2 faucets on the sink. The main problems that the OP have are that she dislikes stainless steel with its noise and spots, dislikes prepping with wall/ cabinets in her face (since the width of the sink is wider than the window) , and dislikes that the sink is set back so far. Come to think of it, I can't think of any other Stages sink that I have seen that is installed with upper cabinets over part of it . Lauralincoln has a huge wall of windows, bbtrix, rjr220, beekeeperswife, will2kz, buckheadbilly, and myself all have them (the 33 or 45) on islands or peninsulas. Sorry if I missed any obvious names that should have been on this list. So this is a really valuable post by the OP for a layout/sink location check by anyone who is considering the Stages sink.

Thanks for that info. I will be installing it in front of a huge greenhouse window that is wider than the sink and there are no cabinets on the wall to the right of it.

I have had one bowl and two bowl stainless steel sinks in the past and if there was any additional noise or spots, it didn't bother me. But I will definitely make sure that it is installed 3.5 to 4 inches from the edge.

If you don't like stainless and it's set too far back I guess the point is moot, but ideally I think that space would have been best served by losing that upper cab on the left (or right) and expanding the window. Regardless of the model sink there, prepping just left or right of it will be in the proximity of an upper cab. Changing sinks wont change that.

Removing any upper cabinets can't happen. We removed a wall during reno and we literally only have 4.5 uppers. We need and use every inch

Sink will stay because it's too difficult to retrofit anything else into that void. But it's simply a cautionary tale of placement, of preference, and of doing that which you already know you want instead of thinking that some extra features will be the thing that tips you over to liking somwthing. (As an aside our cabinets came standard with the little sink tilt out trays. I didn't order them but since they came standard we kept them. That meant the sink had to be where it is.)

I hear ya. Sorry you're at all disappointed, I think your kitchen looks wonderful. I have a feeling you'll get very comfortable in it - sink and all - with time.

Two things I might consider is using the left side of the sink for dish drying, over the ledge, and prepping on the right side. Alternatively, prepping on the island. I get it that neither is making the most of the sink, but so be it.

Edible:

My Stages is set 4" in from the edge and under windows rather than island as in photo above. It is my only sink in the kitchen. Bbtrix and laurainlincoln were so generous with advice and encouragement re the sink and the Karbons. Many thanks to them.

i have a slimline tip-out tray which allows the sink to be in normal position.

Scrappy25, if you don't mind, what are the dimensions of that slimline tip-out? I'm wondering if that can be retrofitted (cabinets already ordered) and whether my scrub brushes would fit in it. Thank you!

1.688 inch deep. Comes in several widths. BTW the soft close tipout is great, things don't fall out when shutting suddenly. I must have calculated the measurements about 10x to be sure that it would fit.

rev a shelf slimline tipout

Thank you!

Oh, scrappy25, I have no idea those tip-outs came in a slim. Now off to measure to see if this will work for me. Thanks!

Scrappy25, thank you for tip on the tip out. I was trying to figure out that measurement and worried about the setback.

Stephanie -- any chance your Karbon has been installed yet? Do you like your sink a bit better with the grate and using the roll out dish drainer? I'm on the fence about buying -- everything in me says I'll love the functionality - I cook A LOT and watching the video was very similar to what I already try to do. Stainless sinks never bothered me before, but I've used a metallic gray silgranit sink for the past 3 or 4 years and I don't want to be surprised that stainless bothers me now. (in my remodel, the entire sink will be in front of a window - no cabinet in my face, and I will make SURE the sink is as close to the front as possible. Bad back requires that. :-) ) I need to decide today -- the sink needs to get here in time. ;-) Thank you!

We love the Kallista Multiere that we put in our kitchen with Waterstone Hunley faucet. Good sound proofing and a lower faucet. The drain in the back right corner has allowed us two huge pull our drawers under the sink for garbage etc.

For what it's worth, thanks for telling us about your problems with this sink. I don't think any of us want to hear false positives about even the most popular kitchen items. I still want one myself, but I appreciate hearing your honest, detailed reasoning about why you don't like it.

Lawjedi, it's in and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this faucet. Completely transformed the whole sink for me. I can bring the water right to where I need it. It's perfection, and is truly the best faucet I've ever owned!

r pk, oh that Waterstone was on my wish list!! I've heard phenomenal things about both of those!

Mrs Pete, I just know that a lot of people use these forums to research very costly kitchen items, and I too have used these forums more than anyone knows. Maybe somewhere, now or later, someone will have a similar kitchen setup as I have, and read this and reconsider how they will use this sink.

I am a happy camper now for sure, even if we don't use it like they did in the video

Bbtrix, these are amazing 'in use' photos. You totally inspired me to use this sink, even outside of how its recommended. THANK YOU for taking the time to post those

Ok bbtrix, I KNOW I remembered seeing "in use" photos you posted, but I guess they're gone now! LOL Either that or I'm losing my mind (entirely possible). Either way, I remember them and THANK YOU!

Stephanie, so glad you're happy now. I have posted quite a few in use photos, on your $25 post and on other posts, so you're not losing it!! You are very welcome!

Sooo, I know this is a super old post but curious of those that have the 45 workstation sink in and how you feel about it now??

Also, I’m curious how the parts look after installed underneath for clever storage options when building cabinets etc? Or actually just how much counter space is available underneath with this large sink?

I have had my Stages 45 for about five years, and I still love it. Yes, like any stainless steel sink it gets water spots. The fact that is has the ledge means that you have them on a more visible horizontal surface than perhaps others.

I didn’t install the storage rack under the sink because I wanted to put my recycle bin and other things under there, but I saved it and may revisit down the line. I have plenty of space under my counter, and have a garbage disposal and Insinkerator hot/cold filtered water Installed, as well as room for a trash bin, recycle bin, NeverMT, and cleaning supplies.

I love using the wooden cutting board and use it all the time. I also use the ceramic prep bowls quite a bit, love how they stack. I use the other trays/boards less frequently, but I really appreciate them when I use them.

hope that helps!

I've had the sink for 2 years and love it. I have full drawers under the ledge. The rest of the sink has trash and recycle as well as stacked units and a garbage disposal. It's the only sink I have and use for everything. I misplaced the rack and have not noticed how noisy it is. It's been quiet for me even without the racks and I stack it with glass, ceramic, and stainless steel containers when prepping. I love the ledge as I use it for staging and defrosting.

If there are any issues, I just throw some Barkeepers Friend and bam it's back to new.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread, Katie Smart. I too am considering a ledge sink and apparently now trying to talk myself out of it. I'm wondering whether I'd use the accessories, like the colander and those nice prep bowls. I have a lot of colanders already and not sure I need another and plenty of small prep bowls (but probably none so well coordinated with a sink). OP's hatred of the grid reminds me that the problems she cited (food particles getting stuck in it, etc.) make me wonder if the grid wouldn't turn out to be a royal pain. Or was that problem fixed by her new faucet?

I don’t think the Stages comes with a colander, at least it didn’t when I got it. It does come with a large wood cutting board, large white tray/cutting board, small tray/cutting board, 6 ceramic prep bowls, bottom sink grid, and under counter rack.

The prep bowls are well designed to both stack and be reversible, although I mostly use them with the larger size up. I like the square design because it’s easy to use a wood spatula to scrape out the contents.

The bottom grid hasn’t been a problem for me. You do have to lift it up or take it out to clean the sink, but that outweighs the advantages of being able to set things on it to drain and the fact that it protects the bottom of the sink from scratches. I do wish it was in two pieces so it would more easily fit in my dishwasher. It is so big that I have angle it to get it in and it’s hard to load other items around it.

Thanks very much, ediblekitchen. I guess I was conflating the Stages sink with other makes and models. Really appreciate the detail you offer here on how you use the sink.

Glad to help... Oh, and I meant to say that the benefits of the grid outweigh the disadvantages. I would highly recommend a bottom grid for any sink. I think once you have one, you don’t want to go back!

I have the large Stages and (still) love it. It gives me room to prep. I have an insert basin I use for washing dishes, rather than filling the whole sink. Cutting board, drain over the ledge - I like my setup. My sink doesn’t look as set back as the photo, and it’s not under my cabinets. Colander (from Ikea perhaps, can’t remember) fits nicely on the edge.

Thanks so much for the info and picture, mobarnica! So how far from the counter edge is your sink? That is another issue I'm fretting about. And I can't see any seams in your granite(?) around your sink. Is that because there aren't any there? Lovely kitchen.