Probably faddish in the percentage used, but they will probably make them for some time to come. Some people find they like them because the sink is closer to the front end with an apron.

Not sure about the ss sinks, but in my mind it's a fad if everyone is doing it. If it isn't widespread it's just unique.

I look at it as a style, not a fad. In other words, if you have a farm style or country cottage house, the apron sink fits well and will not be considered dated or trendy.

fad

I agree, cookncarpenter. I say get what you like and what works for you. If it's a fad, as long as you love it and it works with your kitchen's style, who cares?

Does it matter fad or not when you like it and use it? Don't worry about it. I love the ability not to stretch over the sink especially when I'm 4'11".

I'm getting one for the laundry room. Functionality is key to me. Besides, as long as your kitchen components are harmonious and work together, it transcends "fad". Think of classic lines and the golden mean.

I can see that when you're 4'11". You're the same height as my sister and she also chose a farmhouse. I've never asked her but I wonder if it's for the same reason as you. At just over 5'5", I've never had that problem. Even if my sink was farther back, I would not feel stretched over. I just think this is interesting and something to keep in mind when trying to help others with their kitchen planning.

I think that what might date the kitchen more than the design of the sink if the fact that it is made of stainless. Once every House Hunters participant begins oohing and aaahing over stainless applicances means that stainless has just about run its course in the designer kitchens that set the style for the rest of us. A stainless undermount will not be the attention-getter that a stainless apron-front will be. But I agree--if you like it, it is the style for you.

Apron sinks may seem like a fad to some but they are not. Apron sinks have been in continuous use for more than a century. A stainless apron sink is just another form and I feel it's a basic one. There are other elements that will date a kitchen more quickly than an apron sink of any type.

IMO it sort of is... Not in the traditional sense (everyone had it between year a and b) but that they are somewhat uncommon now and later will become very rare again. Beyond that it's hard for me to say because I'm not personally such a big fan of them. I think the slab o' stainless factor would date it though.

Things looking a certain time have a lot more to do with the big picture, in my opinion. A farmhouse sink in an apartment? Yes. It will look dated. A farmhouse sink in a farmhouse kitchen in an actual farmhouse? Maybe not. It's when an item becomes so trendy that it's making it into the lower markets that makes it trendy. When marble-look counters are available at Lowe's they are trendy. That's not going to stop me from putting Alabama White in my kitchen, but I know in 20 years it Will look dated because (i think) glass or integrated appliances will be the new normal, there will be new options for counters, the 'new old' shabby chic look will out of style, everyone will be tired of white trim (or just trim in general), etc. Things are going to date you're house. If it's something everyone else is doing it will look dated. Even if it really us functional.

In 50 years when someone walks into our kitchen, will she think " whoa, it's one of those weird sinks for short people"? Maybe, but fine by me. It's less obtrusive than having lower counters.

Might date my kitchen but I put one in anyway, and I love it. Heck, if we sell in 15 years as we plan to, everything in my kitchen will be dated!

I'm getting one. I don't even particularly like the way it will look, but I want ease of use, less back strain. Function. Efficiency. For me that is apron front.

I will worry about it when I sell.

We installed a farmhouse sink about 4 months ago - really surprised at how functional it is - I think that when something is as functional as a farmhouse sink it will become classic.

Every kitchen will be "dated" by something in 15 or 20 years. There is no way to design a kitchen where everything in it will still be in style that long. I am now hearing and reading that pot racks (not surprised by that one) subway tile, and range hoods are on the way out. Just get what you like and don't worry about it being dated "someday".

zorroslw1, range hoods? Really? All range hoods? Are the fans in the wall coming back? ;)

I took that one with a grain of salt. I read it on some website that was talking about kitchen trends. I personally think a beautiful hood makes a kitchen pop!

Maybe they were talking about stainless steel vent hoods?

You may be right, Sahmmy, but I doubt they will become as universal as undermounts as not all of us experience back strain from working at a sink. I know I never have. When I have worked at apron front sinks, I notice no difference from any other sink. Never even noticed I am standing closer. I'm glad that there is an option for those who do have that problem and it's good to be aware of it when advising about kitchen planning.

Another thing to be aware of with the deeper apron sinks, is that those of us who are taller than average (maybe above 5'5" or so), can have more back strain when using a farm sink. That would be true for any deep sink, but it seems that many apron/farm sinks are deeper than average--mine is 10" deep.

When washing a lot of dishes by hand, I used to invert a plastic container to raise whatever vessel I had filled with wash water. My aunt gave me a folding Pampered Chef cooling rack, and I found it was a perfect fit for the sink--now I put my wash vessel on that. I recently found another one at a thrift store--I can put it in the other side of the sink for rinsing/draining. They are also stackable.

MamaGoose, I bought the grid that went with my Porcher sink for just that reason. My sink is 10" deep and the grid elevates everything so I don't have to bend over so much. I also use it as an extra drainer for wet dishes when my dishrack is full.

I think it is a current trend. Trends may or may not have staying power. A few years ago, the pullout sprayer was rather trendy. Nowadays, you need to have a special order to get a fixture that doesn't have one. The apron-front sinks will keep selling until the suppliers determine that they are out of style; they will be out of style when you can only find them on ebay. I am 5'6" and recently updated my counters with granite. I chose an 8" undermount sink. It seems short, but works perfectly for my standing comfort. Unless you are remodeling to sell your house, buy what makes you happy and works in your budget. Whatever you do in your kitchen, it will date itself by your current choices.

Apron front sinks have been selling for a hundred years. Shaw Sinks has been making the style in fireclay since 1897. They are not what I would call a new or current "trend." Take a look at pics from various decades and you will find white fireclay or cast iron farmhouse sinks in kitchens.

What might be considered "trendy" is the overuse of stainless steel, including on farm sink fronts. Design-forward, high end kitchens are no longer using ss to sheathe every possible surface. I'd stick to classics if you are concerned with being "dated." A white apron-front sink is a classic.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: Unless Elle Décor is coming to photograph your kitchen, don't worry about trends. Trends have little to do with sinks and more to do with color, style and appliances. A refrigerator will date the kitchen faster than any sink.

If you're still filling every visible inch of the kitchen with cabinets, you won't be on trend no matter what you do. I never understand threads like these. There are no answers; only arguments.

If you like it, get it. When we did our kitchen, I started to obsess over my choices being dated, but screw it.

I love my white cabinets and cherry island. I know it's a "fad" and I don't care!

I also got SS appliances and read over and over again how SS is "over".

Get what pleases you.

I think the SS apron sink is a great look.

I agree. The bottom line is that it is your space. You will live in it, and cook many great meals in it.

If you do not plan to sell your home in the next 5 years, I would not worry at all about whether the sink will become dated or not. If you like it, get it. If you sell in, e.g., 10 years, buyers expect that a kitchen may need some updating, and I doubt anyone will say "not buying that house! It has a stainless steel apron front sink." Having said that, I am not a fan of stainless steel sinks regardless of apron front or undermounted. They water spot and scratch, while other sink materials do not (I have a SS undermounted, by the way). If I were looking for an apron front sink I would get one of the Kohler Whitehaven or Dickinson styles. They do not have the problems of crazing that the fireclay apron fronts do. The Whitehavens also have a corner drain - my current SS sink has a corner drain and I love it.

Just for fun, since we are talking about whether apron front sinks are a fad or not, here is a pic of the Downton Abbey kitchen--in case you want to see a look that looks good a hundred years later. The kitchen has a double apron front sink, though the sink appears to be in copper. It has a ridged or "fluted" front (Whitehaus makes apron front sinks with fluted fronts). It has a shallow apron; to Schicksal's point, rather than a "slab o'" front (Kohler's Whitehaven offers shallower apron fronts). The Downton Abbey sink depth appears quite shallow; to Mamagoose's point, stainless steel apron front sinks are 10+" deep (the Kohler Dickinson comes in a shallower 8-3/4" depth). What I am driving at is, if you are worried a certain sink will be a fad, you can then choose to buy a sink with style elements that have been around since a hundred years ago. If that is what you would like.

Roco, sorry you don't understand this thread. My goal in starting it wasn't to get an answer, but to start a discussion.

The, 'It doesn't matter if it's a fad. If you like it, then get one.' opinion expressed by many makes sense on the surface. But the decision as to which sink you add to your new or remodeled kitchen has long term consequences. And as a result, the decision warrants thinking beyond what's popular now. I've enjoyed reading the responses and hope there are more

I think the apron sink thing will be interesting. I don't think they're really mainstream enough yet to be a fad. Y'all have to remember this is the TKO forum. I have never ever seen an apron sink installed in an actual kitchen in real life. Granted, my life isn't especially posh, but still. They're all over the place on gardenweb, but kinda rare in the wild, in my experience.

Having said that, we decided on a SS apron sink for our new kitchen for a few reasons.

1. I'm 5'2", and the ergonomics seem nice.

2. We're fabricating our own counters out of a fantastic Restore Store find (whole kitchen solids surface, $60), and straight cuts seemed easier than trying to router out a perfect cut out for an undermount sink.

3. I really don't do white sinks. I use the hell out of my kitchen. It's either stainless (yes, scratches, but "patina" and basically indestructible) or silgranite, which is fine, but no better than stainless, and they don't do apron fronts. Considered copper, too expensive.

Anyway, we've got it half installed at this point. I'm loving it so far. I actually think they might have some staying power, at least among short people. If not, meh. We'll change it in 20 years, which we probably would, anyway.

I've written this before, too, and I'll say it again: The sink is used more than anything else in the kitchen. That's why the sink is important. The sink faucet will date a kitchen -- that's why it's always a "quick update"
item in magazine articles. But sinks themselves are trend neutral IMO.

Compared to the time and energy put into stoves and cabinets, sinks get
far less thought than they should for their relative use. A
discussion on how much time should be spent on choosing a sink and what
to consider does make sense to me.

I look at a lot of kitchens all the time. Trends are very obvious. The current trend is black cabinets and open
shelving and islands. That's what what you'll see now coming out of Europe and
that's what's replacing light gray, which is what replaced white, which is what replaced off-white of the late 1990s.

There were no ss farm sinks until the Rohl/Shaws became a sensation in the 04-07 reno boom. Then those were copied in every material -- marble, copper, stainless, granite, soapstone, porcelain. Now they've become part of sink vocabulary. It's now simply one style offered by most manufacturers of ss sinks. And it has a use, especially for transitional or quasi-industrial look kitchens because it will be a modernizing factor. It isn't as traditional as a Rohls. It won't find favor in the most modern minimalistic kitchens as it doesn't blend enough. It's just not something that's trendy -- at least not since 2004.

I agree. I'm so glad that I realized how big of a decision my sink was! I was ready to just pick one from the selections my granite guy offered, but I though, "why am I settling for this?".

Yes, the sink was included "free", but we decided to turn that offer down and get a little money back, and buy what we really wanted.

In for a penny and all that...

I love farm sinks, drainboard sinks, etc., but how can someone say they aren't a trend right now? Yes, they we're available in the 1800s and 1900s. Show me where farmhouse sinks were available ( in the mass market) in the 60s, 70s, 80s?? They weren't. Hence it's a trend. Trends aren't a terrible thing. Yes, there will always be houses a farmhouse sink is appropriate in. BUT remember, if you get a farmhouse sink you are committing to it until you update your countertops again. Nothing wrong with that, it just makes it a more important decision.

We get it, trends don't matter to some. They clearly do to others, though.

Farm house sinks have been available in the UK since 1897 -- as ekscrunchy pointed out -- and have been in continual use since then. I can't see that as any kind of trend.

White fireclay sinks started to be seen in the US after 2002-03 when
Rohl introduced Shaws. They were a trend at that time. But once they are
copied in other materials and become a basic, they are staples in the kitchen fixture
vocabulary.

Trends denote newly adopted and spreading.

Right now, black kitchens are a trend. The fridge with the black
interior is trendy and possibly faddish. Let's see if it's copied. A range with a convection oven with steam
built in, or a convection + a combi oven as a basic is trendy as it's
new to the market. It offers something different and that will be
copied. Once many manufacturers offer the same thing it flips over
into basic.

Kitchen trends are not coming from the US except for built in appliances. Kitchen trends come to the US from Europe.

Trends are not negative or positive. They are what they are.

Slightly OT, but I've been very intrigued by the 'range hood as trend' reference. I found one article on thekitchn website--not sure if it's the same one that zorro read, but it also mentions farm sinks, and quotes the NKBA president in an interview by Forbes:

... he recommends avoiding farmhouse sinks [emphasis theirs] ("In 2011 and 2012, everybody wanted an apron-front kitchen sink... This year, we haven’t done a single one"), ...

I suppose that would include stainless steel, although he goes on to say that stainless appliances are still the most popular.

"...stainless is still the king."

8 Trends to avoid--the kitchn.com

Saying that a "range hood" is a trend is a whole lot different than saying "range hood as a focal point" is a trend. A range hood is not a trend while a range hood as a focal point may be. The other thread asked if a range hood was a trend. Question was misleading.

I linked the article (instead of quoting the line about the range hoods) so that everyone could read my source--but so that we could stay on topic for this thread. :)

BTW, cineworks, stainless steel apron sink with 'legs'. ;)

I firmly believe in creating your own style and if that involves a stainless farmhouse sink then so be it. To me creative is more important that channeling other people's ideas of what is the "correct" style and what isn't.

Imo the obsession with "timeless" lives in the domain of marketers. Unless you are planning to live forever (and never want to pay for another kitchen) timeless is irrelevant. It's more likely that the kitchen will become worn from age and use and will eventually have to be replaced no matter how "timeless" or expensive it is. And even then some people like their kitchens to look "used".

Yes, jerzeegirl. I tend to kneejerk negatively against the whole term "out-dated". I think the bones of the house should dictate whether you go more traditional, modern, cottage, farmhouse, industrial, etc. To me, if the general style fits the style of the home, you're golden for decades. Of course, then your own personal tastes come into play as well. If you combine those well, I think a kitchen should stand the test of time quite well.

I've been in homes with 80 year old kitchens that look fantastic. Sure, there may have been appliance updates and other tweaks over the years but if the original materials were good enough quality to still be in good condition and, of course, the layout is functional, and it suits the home and owner's tastes, why update just because of trends and fads?

Of course, if the kitchen is crumbling or has a dysfunctional layout, go ahead and remodel but choose items that fit the house. Of course, I'm assuming here that someone bought that Victorian because they appreciate that style of architecture and so their tastes will match up with the types of kitchens that should be in a Victorian or Cape Cod, or Tudor or Ranch or MCM or whatever.

When I say this I'm not really speaking about appliances. An electric stove with coil burners might be age appropriate to most homes but I doubt any of us lust for one of those anymore.

And the last time we had this discussion, someone popped in with amazingly modern kitchens put into centuries old European buildings. OK, that contrast was striking and those types of structures were never built with any kind of kitchen as we know it today. so I'm not talking about those kinds of extreme situations.

Getting back to farmhouse sinks, whether it's a good choice for a particular kitchen depends on the style of the kitchen and the owner's taste. And in 20-30 years when you redo your kitchen or someone buys your home and remodels, the farmhouse sink may stay or go. Don't worry about it. Do what you like and works for you and your kitchen's style.

I'm planning on using a stainless steel apron sink when we redo our kitchen. The Kohler Vault top mount apron style will allow us to keep our current 60's cabinets, and use laminate, so it's a fit for our odd needs. We have stainless appliances already, including a large stainless fridge that is not hidden away behind cabinetry, so the big flat stainless front isn't worrisome to me.

I think I'm very lucky, in a way, because where I live nobody seems to worry as much about fads or trends. (And I truly do follow the real estate market here, and attend the new home tours.) We haven't had the "white kitchen" trend here yet. All the new fancy homes are now being built with a fabulous new counter top material called granite. ;-) So I really feel very little pressure on this point, but I do understand it's entirely different in some parts of the country.

Also, I think I'm lucky because our house is a funny blend of regional and mid century features. I figure the blocky stainless front will fit the "mod" clean lines vibe; it's certainly not a farmhouse look for me. In many ways my whole house is a fad already. So, no stress here about using this style sink. I think I will throw a bye-bye sink party when I can get rid of the original white Kohler triple sink (with the wasted big hunk of real estate in the center for the raised garbage disposal.)

I'm pushing 50 and have seen a lot of fads come and go.

Your question was will it be a fad in a So Cal home and the answer is yes. We have a vintage So Cal home and chose not to put one in. Even though it might have "fit" the era of our home, I felt like it was a fad. So I opted for a simple undermount.

That being said, you can choose to follow fashion or not. I find it amazing when people talk about ripping out good condition kitchens after ten or fifteen years because they are dated. But that's just me.

weird sinks for short people. Ahahhhahahahahaha!! Yesssssss!

I think sink designs become more or less popular based on what people perceive as functionality. And it is a subjective and ever changing thing. I think when big triple bowl sinks become popular in the 80s, people put them in thinking that the small center bowl for the garbage disposal was so functional. But now we all seem to want one large bowl so that we can easily wash our big pots and pans (and hide our dirty dishes).

If some new sink design comes out that seems much more efficient or ergonomic, we'll probably want to ditch our farmhouse sinks (stainless or otherwise) and go with that. In the meantime, we can just put in whatever we think will work best for our needs.

Just wondering what people think about the stainless steel apron front after all these years? If anyone is still on here that installed one, I would be curious about how it has held up and how you feel about it now??? Back to the future style ---

Who’s to say? Perhaps non-apron undermount will be dated. I have both and think the apron looks more updated.

If you want to go with an apron sink and your kitchen style will be very contemporary or modern then stainless as a material would work fine. Stainless isn’t as good a match for “modern farmhouse” though. Re all the people who have said a “farmhouse” (aka apron) sink has been around for hundreds years and is thus a classic, I’ll note this is true for England and France but in the United States farm house sinks were generally free standing white porcelain with legs and an incorporated backsplash. Even when cabinets were built around them there was still the backsplash. Check out sites that show vintage Arts and Crafts through 1920s kitchens in the U.S.. What is popular today is actually a butler’s sink of English origin - aka Belfast or London style. it’s a little like “Tuscan” kitchens of the 1980s - some of them were awful, some are totally charming, none were actually Tuscan. Most of the “farmhouse” features today are only authentic to the 2000’s. Your kitchen will be datable to 2007 or so forward, based on your sink choice and probably cabinet choices and appliances as well. The challenge really is to make sure the kitchen is nicely designed and is in sync with the rest of the house. If it is pretty and functional that’s what matters most over time. That said, if you are planning on selling in five-ten years then a traditional sink probably would be the very safest choice. Apron sinks are never going to dominate to the extent that someone would say “jeeze, look at that old fashioned under mount”.:)

@jillybean103 what about scratches on the top or the outside?

Apron sink was a fade for me untill I finally made up my mind two months later. if I did an apron sink I would have less counter space and if I deisided later I wanted and undermount I would have to replace countertop again or deal with seems in the counter. I went with a Kraus Stainless undermount sink with a 1/4 reveal. My other option was a Kraus Farmhouse sink in Black. I loved that farmhouse sink it but I would of also been stuck replaceing the sink base too.