What sort of jobs do you do in a utility sink, e.g. clean paint brushes, wash the dog, rinse off dirt from outside? My laundry sink does that sort of job as well as clean up wet disasters big and small. The operative word is wet and dirty. With an under-mount sink, I would be afraid of the possibility of hidden mold forming even if I were vigilant about disinfecting with bleach. Isn't there at least one side of the sink you won't see easily when scrubbing? I solved the problem with a free-standing utility sink.

Yuck! I would confirm with Blanco, but I believe there is no stainless steel sink that exactly matches that cut out. Perhaps either the Blanco One or the Blanco Performa have a bigger cutout then the low divide sink that you currently have. What is your countertop made of? Some can be cut on site. If neither of those works, you may need to go to another manufacturer. I think that one of the Kohler sinks (brookfield?) will fit the cut out-but you have to actually have Kohler send you the template so that you can see if it will fit the cut out. It's very annoying. (And installing a cast-iron sink after the fact is not going to be easy unless you're willing to go with a drop in) I have the Blanco silgranite sink in white and I don't ever get any marks like your pans are making. What kind of pans are they?

Not advised to create a ledge. You physically can, but now you depend on silicon to keep things water tight. If you keep a zero reveal or an overhang, then water is less likely to accumulate on the sink flange (Which is used to create the ledge). The silicone then can stay intact longer, and not be needed as the primary water guard. Often the biggest problem we see with ledge sinks is with the installation. Some issues we have been told is with accessories not fitting. However, this is easily avoidable with two best practices: 1. The fabricator should always follow the template 2. Once the hole is cut for the sink, dry fit the accessories to ensure smooth sailing from the client. If you like ledge sinks then check this new release: Kraus Kore

Hot melt a shim the same thickness as the sink flange to the bottom of the stone. The faucet will tighten against the sink flange and the shim.