Using the info I found on the forums here, we put in a copper bar in our basement. The inside countertop of the bar will be laminate with a copper sink. We glued the 16oz copper flashing using contact cement to mdf. Since this was for a bar we didn't have to worry about edges because we put on an oak bar rail and drink stop. After the install, I polished the copper to get all the fingerprints from the installation off of it and within a few days it started to patina to a beautiful golden brown color. Before we start to use it I'm planning to give it a light coat of paste wax for extra protection. Here are pics of what it looks like so far. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Copper bar

Claybabe, You are a goddess! Forgive the delay in response, I just caught up with mail and had missed this post on the forum. YES, those are exactly perfect and VERY VERY helpful! I can't thank you enough! These, along with the thread in the metalworking forum, should give us ample inspiration to go on. Was there a reason you decided to notch out the counter where it hit the sink, rather than leave it full thickness? Aesthetics or other? It looks fantastic, I must say. Do you know what substrate was used? We templated our mdf/plywood substrate this week, copper sheet purchase is next week. Starting to get excited! PS: Here's the stainless counter from the sink gallery:

I have a slight positive reveal on my sink and I really like it. I looked at displays with all three and decided I liked this the best. I did not want to lose any of the sink area with counter overhang and wanted the sides of the sink to show. I have clear caulking and it doesn't show at all. The sink is very easy to keep clean, I use Bar Keepers Friend, and the sink edges just don't get dirty. Once the kitchen is done and you are working in it, you won't notice these little items at all. Enjoy your new kitchen.

just wanted to commiserate with you on the plumbing problems. We have an old house were the plumbing was added later. They dug under one end of the house about 10x10 with an exterior entrance, and all the plumbing was put on that corner. We wanted to put in a bathroom closer to the bedrooms and move the kitchen, so we had to run the pipes under what would be the new bathroom floor. Kitchen sink had to be installed on the same wall as the bathroom sink, with the pipes and drain/venting going through the wall into the bathroom cabinet, then down into the floor. As it was, the distance was almost too long for the drop and to still be able to hook up to the outgoing line. That would have required a lift pump in the cellar, not something we wanted to consider. This is the bathroom side of the wall. If we ever have problems, our cheapest solution will be to hand dig a trench under the bathroom to access the pipes. Hope that never happens. I don't think we would have room for a garbage disposal either, as the drain goes into the wall and then down. Since we have a septic system, doing without a disposal was not a hard choice.