Stainless steel or white kitchen sink

thunderstorm

Wed, Jul 24 2019, 7:53 pm

amother [ Babypink ] wrote:

Ok I’ll be the odd one out here.
I have stainless now cuz it came with the kitchen and dislike it. I had white sinks for many years and it held up pretty well. I love the look of white. It gives an airy fresh look to the kitchen and Bar keepers friend is great as a stain removal.
For me only white and not the fireclay one. The stainless scratches too, btw.

I agree. All the rentals I’d been in had white sinks and they looked cleaner and better than the stainless sinks I put in in my house. They are so scratched up and show the hard water stains more than the white.

Rubber Ducky

Wed, Jul 24 2019, 7:53 pm

amother [ Red ] wrote:

May I ask why you chose the farmhouse over undermount?

Stainless farmhouse sinks are a type of undermount sink.

1) I like the look.

2) The cut around the sink and especially at the front of the sink is the most likely spot for countertops to chip. The stainless front of the farmhouse sink cannot chip.

3) The shape of the front tends to keep water from dripping down and damaging the finish of the sink cabinets, and I see water on the stainless sink front easily.

amother

Slategray

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 6:50 am

I am the poster with the copper farmhouse sink.

My sink has what is called a "living patina". That means that it changes as food and other stuff changes the surface. It is not meant to be shiny and doesn't have an artificial factory finish. It came from the manufacturer with a patina that had been created "naturally" so it is basically the color of a used copper penny. It is so easy to maintain because I just need to wash any stuff off it and I love seeing how spots become shiny and then patina again. They are also supposed to have anti-bacterial properties but I don't literally eat from my sink so I didn't get it for that reason.

I know some people with these sinks become creative and will write messages with ketchup or lemon juice on birthdays or other special days but I just let it do its thing. Very Happy

My sink is a so-called ledge style sink which means that I can fit accessories into the ledge - e.g. I have a cutting board which is great because I prep over the sink; I have a sink grid which means I can dry anything I hand wash or produce and the grid can also fit in the sink. This effectively extends my counter tops and keeps counters cleaner since so much stuff is done over the sink instead of on the counter. They make "ledge style" sinks in stainless and I do recommend them whatever material your sink is.

Fireclay sinks are very beautiful but much more fragile than regular porcelain. They do make farmhouse style sinks in stainless steel which are very sleek and contemporary looking.

This is not a sink for someone who is a very Type A kind of person because it's always going to look lived in. But as I posted originally, it goes well with the style of my kitchen which I deliberately wanted to have an Arts & Crafts type of design feel.

If you are interested in a copper sink, be careful in terms of what sink you buy because there are sinks with artificial patinas which do require pampering. Not in a million years would I get one of those for the kitchen.

This is not my kitchen but this is the color of my sink with the living patina

Rubber Ducky

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 7:47 am

HeartyAppetite wrote:

I had white and stainless steel. I loved my white sinks and I hate the stainless steel. The white was way easier to clean and lower maintenance. I find the stainless steel sto have water spots, it gets brown rusty dots that I can’t remove, and it scratches faster.

If your stainless sink gets "brown rusty dots that I can't remove," that means the steel your sink is fabricated from is poor quality. That is not supposed to happen with stainless.

amother

Slategray

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 9:11 am

amother [ Taupe ] wrote:

Since we’re on the topic, any feedback on our many blog posts and buying guides would be very appreciated - what’s helpful, what’s not, etc. We put a lot of time into it, and there’s nothing like real feedback from someone who is researching for their own home. You can find it at www.qualitybath.com/discover

That’s an excellent resource and very comprehensive at least based on the post for copper sinks.

I just finished a complete remodel of my condo and would have loved to have known about it. Are you active on houzz.com as I found that website to be extraordinarily helpful and a great resource. Many pros are involved on their forums.

In terms of copper sinks, I would add that Havens Metals is where I got my sink and has super high quality sinks.

I would also quibble with your advising people to attempt to lacquer a kitchen sink to preserve the shine. That might be okay in a guest bathroom where a sink doesn’t get much hard use but the only way to have a copper kitchen sink is to get one with a living patina. No kitchen sink should need to be dried and waxed. I did get a copper sink for my guest bathroom with an artificial patina but that’s because it doesn’t get much use. It was from Premiere Copper, one of the companies you recommended. I also got my copper kitchen hood from there. They have excellent products and very good priced.

amother

Taupe

Thu, Jul 25 2019, 10:00 am

amother [ Slategray ] wrote:

Thank you for the feedback! We are active on Houzz, but we could do better Smile

I’ll talk to our team about your feedback regarding the lacquer; I’ll probably reach out to the manufacturers to hear what they say.

Any big questions or concerns you have/had is welcome, for future blog posts.