Carolannk~ Thanks for the info. I emailed the guy who owns that site "Scott" and he wouldn't tell me which sink it was. I am not sure what the harm was telling me what brand of sink it is, but he wouldn't. (And he was rather rude about it). Anyway, thanks again. I will check out Swanstone's kitchen sinks. I have a swanstone in my bathroom and really like it. live-wire-oak, I would rather have granite, but the estimate I got was $4500 and my laminate estimate was $1500-2000 (depending on which laminate I choose). DH can't see spending over 4K on countertop. I wouldn't mind checking out Chinese blank slabs, but I really don't know where to look. Not much for granite retailers here. I am sure DH would spend a little more but not over $4K. As far as really wanting a Blanco...I do, but I would settle for any dark colored undermount sink. There just seem to be no dark sinks that can be undermounted in laminate. :(

I installed a sink in a 3 1/2 inch butcher block countertop just last month. We could find nothing that would hold it in, such as clips. We ended up using a silicon-based adhesive around the edge and putting a piece of plywood on top of it with a 5-gallon bucket of drywall mud on top of that. Let it sit for at least 4-5 days, and a week is better. No problems so far. It was a copper prep sink, and I spent about 2 hours hammering the edges to get them nice and flat first. Mounting the faucet was also challenge. We ended up counterboring from the bottom to get the nut on.

We are finally ridding ourselves of the ugliest kitchen on the planet (no lie) and we are getting cabinets and granite Santa Cecilia counters from Lowe's. Originally we thought about the undermount sink, in stainless (everyone is doing this) and then in white. Many friends complained of SS losing its luster, showing spots, denting, etc. Last week a friend of ours showed us her undermount sink's white finish was rubbing off near the drain from scouring/cleaning/whatever (not sure of the material, brand, or grade). So I decided to break trend and threw out the idea to my hubby about an overmounted sink, since we tend to be hard on things around here! I went online and found a cast iron Kohler Hartland sink. At first he was apprehensive until he saw the sink! It is stunning. Our house in Burbank, CA was built in 1939. Like another poster said, we do not want to go too contemporary. So we feel the elegant contours of this sink will mesh well with the overall style of our house. I think this issue of gunk is going to come up anywhere there is water and bacteria (sink, toilet, etc.) - it is the nature of the beast. Yes we will lose the ability to "wipe and go" that we'd have with the undermount (same as our existing God awful ugly tile we've endured for 28 years). But the sink and the faucet we selected will be pristine against the backdrop of the granite. I am not sure at this point if I want my new sink in white or bone. There is something very sweet about that slightly off-white tint of bone. My only concern, other than the demonic gunk, is the heaviness of the cast iron. I asked a guy in the cabinet department yesterday if it was too heavy. He said between the granite itself and the plywood underneath the granite, that it is sufficient to support the cast iron sink. We can still change our minds, as we are not ordering the cabinets until our demo is done which will be within the next 2 weeks. Best to take accurate measures after everything is out. More lag time but worth it hopefully. For this reason, no pictures to share, other than stock photos.

I just had to post here...OMG...the lady that wrote Laminate and luxurious in the same sentence.."NO". I hope I never have to meet someone like you in my lifetime. What a bunch of snobby, snarky..people! I am sorry..I think you can have a beautiful, luxurious kitchen without paying for granite, quartz, soapstone...etc. My goodness. I am building a house now and get to hear from our subs about all of the snooty women that they have to deal with...literally walking out of a house because the closets aren't big enough... What kind of country have we become? I say..if you want to buy high end appliances...beautiful cabinets..and put it all in a laminate kitchen. I think it can be stunning! Don't listen to all of these snooty fruities.....do what YOU want..and the people that matter...won't walk into your kitchen and take a mental note of your laminate..I would think it was beautiful! And for those of you who think that I must be some low life...my husband is a doctor! There....rant over! :-)