Hi -- I am a newbie, but want to thank all of you for all the information I have gleaned while preparing to install a new countertop and sink. I learned a lot here, and found my laminate here too! I wanted soapstone to blend with the architecture of my old house but the budget dictates laminate instead. I have settled on Formica Basalt Slate, with the honed finish, and I have resigned myself to using a drop-in sink instead of the undermount I had been hoping for. Now I am having trouble settling on which drop-in sink to get. I know I want the granite composite, single bowl, in black to blend with the laminate. The Blanco Anthracite is good, but the drain is on the right and I need it in the center or on the left. And Home Depot's Pegasus Black matches, too, but of course it has been discontinued. Anyway, the one I am looking at now is by MRDirect, which I found on Amazon. I asked for a color sample, but they charge $20 plus $6 postage! So I am wondering if anybody who has one of their Black TruGranite sinks can tell me if their Black is like Blanco's or Pegasus? Also, does anyone have any comments on MRDirect? Are they OK? Sorry to ramble on -- thanks for reading all the way to the end, and thanks again for all the help you have already given me!

Swanstone makes both a 'swanstone' sink and a composite. Their black is darker than most. Jacuzzi makes an 'Astracast', but they seem hard to come by. Seems like we are missing a couple brands, here... And what I'd like to know is whether any of them are heavier or tougher than the others, or whether its OK to choose based only on shape and color.

Hi Haley, Sorry I just saw your comment. Here are some photos I have in my archive. I can take different angles tonight if these aren't helpful. FWIW, 6 months later and we still love this sink. The dark color matches our black stainless appliances, but also just makes the sink more of a shadow, which is good to avoid drawing eyes to dirty dishes! We use the faucet hose+sprayer to give it a good rinse every evening after cleaning up dinner to keep food from drying in place. We've given it 1 deep cleaning (we also have a grid on the bottom, so deep cleaning involved a thorough cleaning of that, too). The water filter is good for filling water to cook or a tea kettle. The soap dispenser is actually really nice because it keeps the counter tidy. The faucet is touch activated (got it before the remodel) and it's amazingly handy. We added an air button for the disposal (which by code has to have a manual light switch on the wall, which for us is not in reach of the sink) and it has never been pressed accidentally and is very useful so I recommend it. The dishwasher air gap is required by code here so no avoiding that!

Use a HUSH or sink strap and you can go to nearly the size of the cabinet because you won't be using the stupid clips. If you do a search here for posts by Joe Corlett, he often does this. https://www.braxton-bragg.com/installation-accessories/fasteners-anchors/hercules-universal-sink-harness.html