My Kohler Whitehaven does not always look dirty but I have the grills and make an effort not to let food - especially fruit scraps - sit in the sink. This is much easier now that I don't have a bunch of little ones to watch after - though husband still drops tea bags in the sink - usually right after I cleaned it:) As cast iron sinks get older they get micro abrasions in the finish and stain more easily, but it is very easily cleaned. I will use the same philosophy of those with white cabinets - I can see when cleaning needs to happen. My previous cast iron sink was 20 years old. Almost every night I would give it a spritz of clorox and it would whiten right up. I do't need to clean my Whitehaven that often - maybe twice a week, but as time goes on it may need cleaning more often, but then its a sink and should be cleaned regularly.

Having lived with two copper sinks in the kitchen for over two years (main sink and a prep sink), here is my $0.02 from real-world experience: * We still love our copper sinks today! * Maintenance is simply soap and water. About once a month we apply some wax we got with the sinks - takes about a minute. My stainless steel sinks required more maintenance... * Occassionally something acidic gets in the sink, but as pillog points out, they darken right back up. The finish on copper is oftentimes referred to as a "living finish" and that is true - it has it's own personality. * Unlike what pillog says above, these sinks do not turn green... * For a kitchen sink, the gauge is really important. I have at least a half dozen friends with copper sinks and can say first hand that thickness matters. Especially with the beating a kitchen sink takes with pots and pans. Ours are the thicker 14 gauge (Copper Sinks Online) and are built like a tank. Very few companies sell this thickness. I have seen thinner and I have a few friends wishing they hadn't tried to save $100 and ended up with a much thinner sink. * Read the article in the link below. It is one of the best I have found. * The category of copper sinks can be confusing because there are so many different companies, quality levels, online "misinformation", etc.. I recently bought a copper tub, sink and faucets from Copper Sinks Online and they are still awesome. Many on this forum over the years have had a very positive experiences with them as well. Check out their photo gallery. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Copper Sinks 101

It occurs to me, re household help, potential future babies, and a kitchen you have to baby, that given your parameters you really don't want to deal with the clay sink. The marble only needs to be babied if you hate patina. When I had marble (cheap beige in an apartment abroad) I promise I didn't baby it. It was fine. Yes, you can get scratches and pits, and if something colorful soaks in it's a pain to get it out (though sealer probably helps a heck of a lot with that), but, as the guy from The Petch House famously said here on GW, "It's ROCK!". Fireclay is more durable than vitreous china (what normal bathroom fixtures are made out of), but it's not iron. It's fine for the woman who doesn't cook, but all the ifs of who else might be dropping a heavy hot pan or banging into it on his bicycle make me think it might be a problem in the long run. Kohler's current surface is fired at extremely high temperatures which is what they say makes it so very hard to chip. If a greige (thanks, again, Casey!) chip in your dark blue won't bother you, you won't mind redoing that part of the kitchen if it has a problem, or if you're willing to chance that yours is going to be one of the ones that never gets damaged (because plenty don't), then go with the fireclay if you think it's prettiest. And in a very blue moon a Kohler gets damaged too (though I think there's a warranty). But I have a whole list of things that my housekeeper, who's very careful and conscientious, but not emotionally attached to my stuff the way I am, has nicked, misused or broken. And she's a treasure! I was mightily tempted by a V&B fireclay sink, but life's too short to worry about it.

To: Issac Fleming, I am considering buying this sink as well, and would love to hear how yours is holding up. Hopefully you can respond before I purchase and have it installed :) Thank you so much! Allison Porch