We have a combination of vessels, undermounts, drop-ins and semi-recessed vessels in our house, and I use all of the sinks regularly. There DO seem to be a lot of myths out there regarding vessel sinks! - Are they harder to clean? Ours are EASIER to clean! Because the area of countertop that 'can' get splashed is not directly at the edge of the sink, so you don't get that little line of crud where sink meets countertop. But - if you have hair shavings or trimmings outside the sink, those would have to be swept off the countertop rather than simply down the sink. (Probably better for your plumbing anyway.) Good sink-sizing will help with shavings. - Splashing - Depends on how much water, what angle, sink angle, distance -- NOT a factor of whether your sink sits above or below your countertop. - Trendy? - Maybe. I'm sure some of them will be -- the ones that aren't really good-looking will still be not-so-great-looking 10 years from now, and then they'll also be 10 years old and still very visible simply due to their location. But the gorgeous ones will still be gorgeous! Like every other design trend, the really good ones will age better than the marginal ones. - Too high? - If you don't plan for them, very possibly. If you plan for them, then no. - Limited faucet options? - Yes, definitely. And no one's even mentioned this! Many faucets will not work well with a vessel sink. The handles for deck-mounts need to be located in such a way that they're still easy to reach. Wall-mount faucets tend to be more expensive, and if there's a plumbing problem, much harder to detect before major damage has been done, and much harder to repair. - Breakage prone? - To an extent, yes. Any unprotected exposed edges will be likelier to break than undermount sinks. Of course, replacing a vessel sink is also a much easier endeavor than replacing an undermount. And if the vessel is a 'drain hole only' mount, you can replace it with virtually any other vessel sink. You aren't tied to that one undermount dimension forever. More Counter Space? - Huh? I know math can be a hard subject for many, but doesn't this entirely depend on the size of the sink? I've found that I actually have a bit more counter space around my vessels, and those little round things (eyeliner, lipstick) never roll into my vessel sinks. Bottom line - It's not really such a good idea to generalize, as so much depends on the individual sinks and layouts.

With kitchen counters that thick, I believe they face the counter with a layer of ply to support the stone. I wouldn't think that the sink would have problems with the thickness, the weight of the stone and the sink might make the slab crack if not supported across the vanity span. You could post this question over on the kitchen forum too.

I'm not sure about the removal, but as far a s other aspects of your problem... Some of the drop in sinks are really nice, so don't worry about being able to find one that isn't ugly. Still harder to clean though, and more likely to get chipped by your DH with the exposed rims. Are you sure the granite will hold up? Little chips can be repaired--not perfectly, but OK. Have you considered a more resilient material for a sink, like Silgranite or plastic I mean Corian/Swanstone?

I am happy to report that the sink has been excised from the Corian! It's now on my DR table (which tends to be my overflow project room) and I spent a few hours last Saturday looking through the remnants at nearby stone yards here in southern Maine. Yikes - what a variation in price! In one very close to my home, I saw a remnant of imperial Danby Marble that was beautiful with the sink, as the soft tan in it was picking up the crackle finish in the sink. I made my vanity in the powder room from an antique bureau. I need a top about 23 x 43, and currently have a 3" back splash. That place quoted me $1050.+ :-( Current top, which I'd save and possibly use again someday, if I tire of the sink above. I went to a much smaller two man operation, and while they didn't have a remnant that I liked as well, their price, including templating and install, was approx. $400. :-) I left my name and they saw the faucet handle that I lugged around to hold up to the stone, so they know what I'm looking for. I'll check back with them from time to time to see what else they may have. I also saw this overmount sink in a painted wooden top in the link below, and if I can't find some stone that doesn't break the bank, I may go this route. I could also do some faux marble painting, in either something like the Imperial Danby or what I think the dark green marble is above - Empress Green? I think that a soft white with tan veins, along the line of what I did on this little antique table with gray veins below might be best in my home, though. Here is a link that might be useful: Another possibility - stained or painted wood