Nobody? Not even an opinion? Come on, guys!

Dear sabjimata, Sorry you aren't getting any responses to your post. I'm sure some will be posted later in the day.

Thanks for sending us the link to your blog -- the pictures of marble sinks are so beautiful. And I enjoyed reading about your renovation saga. But as much as I would love to have marble counters, I'd never have the guts to have a marble sink. I would be very worried about the wear and tear, staining, etc. I use my sinks hard so it ust doesn't seem practical. (It has to be stainless for me.) I look forward to hearing other opinions.

Add chipping maybe?

I'm interested in the width. Why a 60'' wide sink?

Do you actually want comments? Because it sounds like you are set on your idea and don't want to actually hear the negatives of reality. Well, here goes a dose of reality based opinion. :)

Etching and staining for a sink will be radically different than for a countertop. It will look like a used birdbath in no time. Not at all pretty. If you want the "thousand year old antique" look, then maybe it'd work. Otherwise it will just always look dirty, even when you just cleaned it.

Standards and norms have evolved for kitchens for a reason. They "code" functionality rules. There is such a thing as being different for the sake of being different, not because it actually adds anything to the functionality. Best to examime why you want to have such an enormous and poorly wearing sink in your kitchen. It won't add to the functionality or the appearance of the kitchen. It will detract from both.

If you want such a large sink, check out commercial stainless restaurant sinks. You will never find marble sink in a restaurant though. It wouldn't last 5 minutes.

Francoise--Thanks for the comment. Stainless is a very popular sink, for sure. Some reason, we are not that into it. I am not sure if I have the guts for a marble sink, especially of this size, so that is why I am posting.

Johnliu-- In our last house we had a 40" sink and I loved it. My only complaint was that it wasn't bigger! I want one 40" basin and one 20" basin so that if the sink is filled with dirty pots, I still have a spot to wash a few bushels of strawberries.

Live Wire Oak-- YES! I want comments! Otherwise I would write: "Tell me how awesome this is going to be!"

I definitely know a 60" sink is appropriate for me. We are vegetarian and do a lot of stove top cooking which means lots and lots of pots for dinner. Plus, we entertain with some frequent regularity, so I cook feasts for 20-80 multiple times a year. Also, I do catering, canning and hope to one day do cooking classes from my home.

Restaurant sinks are very industrial looking, not designed to set on top of cabinets and are way too deep for my comfort level. I cooked for years in restaurant kitchens and found the industry standard sinks uncomfortable.

My husband and I both spent time living in India, where pretty much everything is concrete or marble or stainless steel. Many marble stone sinks. None look pretty, but they are very functional.

I definitely don't want my kitchen to look like a restaurant kitchen. We would like our house to feel like a home, not a Hare Krishna Temple.

My main concern would be for the 40" apron...cracking. This is what is really giving me pause and prompted me to post. Because of the vertical installation in a sink application, as opposed to flat installation of the countertop, I am worried that a bump with a pot in the wrong spot would shatter my stone.

I did just present it all to the husband, however, and he thinks we should shell out the $500 or so extra and go with the Belvedere sink from M. Texeira.

Hopefully there will be no more sink problems for me...until the time comes when we try to lift that sucker up into the cabinet :)

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. Very appreciated.

my old sink, that i miss

If you don't like stainless, you don't like it.

If your main concern is cracking/chips, but you don't like the sterile look of stainless, have you priced out copper sinks? Soapstone sinks (though I do not know how impervious these are to chipping)? The new Silgranite is less industrial looking, but I don't know if they have 60-inchers.

If you have seen marble in your travels and you like the patina and look, and your DH is on-board, I think you've sort of made your decision.

Your old sink looks very pretty from the pic...what material is that?
Good luck with your decision.

Have you considered installing two sinks, one smallish one for washing veggies and one large one for washing up the pots and pans?

Here's a better pic of that marble sink which is in the reno'd kitchen in Katharine Hepburn's former house. The current owner has one of the largest construction companies in NY and purchased the house at a discount for something like $8 million. The workmanship in the kitchen is beautiful.

Those of us who have lived in houses with old marble know it never stays pristine. It stains and chips and etches -- it is what it is. But one of those sinks will outlive us all. The nicest I've seen was in an Italian castello, it must have been 200-300 years old; still in use with a single wall spigot.

All the marble farm sinks I've seen here are custom those Kallista was making them a few years back. They run upwards of $2K depending on who fabricates it. The thicknesses vary as well. If you've lived with one before and know what you're getting into, why not? I'd just be careful that the thing isn't so big and so deep it gives you a backache.

Is there a white stone-like material that would give the effect of marble while resisting stains and chips?

I don't know the answer, just asking.

I love my marble counters, but I would be hesitant to do a heavily used sink in it. Love the idea and think I could live with dings and etching (it would reach a patina much faster than the counters), but I think I'd be sealing it weekly or monthly -- I want a sink that looks clean when I clean up, so stains would be an issue for me. If I were entertaining a lot or catering, I would think that a sink that looks clean to others might be important even if I was okay with the stained an worn look. Just a thought....

Wallycat--Yeah, I don't like it. I like it "new" looking, but I don't like it all scratched up and used. Stainless countertops, appliances, etc I love. Thanks for the suggestions. My husband has also thought about copper but I think it would be too much of a standout in our kitchen.

Lazygardens--Okay, now I am blushing. First, let me say I really love sinks. Like, I feel they are very important. So important, in fact, that you may never have enough of them. That being said, I should now disclose that there is a 30" fireclay apron front sink in the plan, too. For what I am spending on sinks and faucets, I guess I could get a pro-range, but I am really okay with a regular dual fuel from Sears ;)

Rococogurl--Thanks for the encouraging words. I think I definitely have a tolerance for imperfections. And I am working hard to find faucets that will extend far enough and still mulling over the depth of the sink (10"? 9"? 8"?). You wouldn't by any chance have a pic of that old old old marble sink, now would you? :)

Johnliu--That is a good suggestion. I know someone on here posted a pic (Sochi?) of a quartz countertop that looked very marbley. Thanks!

Lascatx--Good point. People have different tolerances and definitely don't want to gross anyone out ;P

Ooops...Wallycat, forgot to answer your question. Old sink was soapstone.

I don't have a photo of the sink in the castello; wish I did.

Here's a slate farm sink that can be used as a guideline perhaps. Such a sink also can be done in soapstone, granite -- whatever you want.

Here's a 19th century farm sink at Giverny that's similar to the castello sink, which had a drainboard. Older ones I've seen tend to be quite shallow.

There is also a very nice variation in granite with a lovely curve which is a popular contemporary-country style -- this one is granite I believe.

Another issue I forgot to mention is water staining and spots caused by the fat in liquid soap.

The height and dimensions of the sink are fairly subject to the space and how it fits together in the cabinet configuration and with the installation in general. Sink depth is a function of preference and comfort.

I discussed this type of sink with my fabricator when we redid my apartment kitchen last year. He had made one before -- I wouldn't let anyone do it who hadn't made one in the past. I might have gone for the sink if we had been changing out the cabinets but it wasn't practical once we decided not to.

Weight is also a concern. Find the right fabricator and it's no biggie, cost aside.

I would plan 2 faucets for 60" worth of sink.

I will also tell you I have never seen a used marble sink -- so you're ahead of me there. I do know that I like a sink and faucet to look really clean when I'm done cleaning, so I'm going off of that.

Do take the advise of making sure you've got an experienced fabricator making your sink -- though you may have trouble finding one who has made one that large.

Your kitchen must be a lot larger than mine. If I gave 90" to sinks, I would have to prep and roll dough inside them. LOL

About the 60" sink. Too big I think. I'm someone who loves big sinks but I'd go 40" with it -- plenty big. Kohler made a 40" a few years ago (discontinued) which was great. Faucets depend on the style of the sink and whether you'd do a wall or deck mount.

Also, before I went bigger than 40" I'd want a really good plumber to assure me there would be no issues with a single drain (unless you'd plan 2) with 2 faucets and the possible load a sink like that might get.

An issue I see with a 60 would be that you are filling up a bathtub if you ever want to fill it. That's why I'd go with a 40 and a 24 or 30 -- big main and extra large seperate sink which would be more practical to fill if needed to soak stuff.

Thanks, everyone! Things are looking good with the HELOC and with the contractor's estimate, so we are probably going to get another soapstone sink from M. Texeira.

Rococo--I plan for 3 faucets, two basins ( 40" and 20") and 2 drains. Fernando @ M. Texeira has tons of experience with sinks but yeah, you are spot on about getting an experienced fabricator.

Lascatx--Below is the layout for the new kitchen. Right now it is a tiny box in the middle of the house. We are moving a couple of structural walls but keeping the width pretty much the same. It will be narrow but long. Not totally budget but definitely not luxury. There will be a 63" wall rising from the center of the island with 2 ranges on one side and a 30" sink on the other (opens to the breakfast nook).

I'm happy to say we are to begin the project on May 3rd! I will have fun boosting the economy until then.

Is the dishwasher going to be as far from the sink, as is shown? I might be reading the plan wrong.

The dishwasher will be one 30" base cab away from the 30" dish sink. dishes will be stored in the cabs to the right of the dishwasher, as well as in open shelving above those cabs.

With that fabricator you should be golden. Two in the 60-inches makes a lot of sense and soapstone will be beautiful. Friends of ours have two of them in the farm kitchen and they are definitely well-used looking -- chips, streaks etc but wonderful to work in and with lots of character. The fabricator will tell you what depth will work best and be most comfortable. I'd follow his suggestion.

The other think you could try is undermounted white cast iron sinks paired behind a marble apron across the front. Not quite the same look as a full on stone sink but it could look nice regardless.

Rococo--Funny story about my old sink. I had a friend who was skeptical of the hardness of soapstone. I was so into my soapstone. It was cobra and that is pretty hard. To demonstrate how scratch resistant the stone was, I turned to my friend and said, "Watch this." I then proceeded to hack at my sink with a knife. I felt really stupid when I looked and saw it was a bit scarred. Lesson learned: Don't stab sink late at nite...always wait until morning for clarity!

Palimpset--I recently saw a pic of two fireclay sinks side by side but then there has to be a little strip of counter in between and I didn't dig that so much. Thanks for the suggestion. From one always springs another. This is a great site for brainstorming with like minds :)