Stainless steel vs cast iron apron front sink?

7 years ago

We are remodeling our kitchen and I'm having trouble in picking a sink. Our house is traditional built in 1979. We are going with shaker style white cabinets (Starmark Cosmopolitan) and the Cambria Berwyn quartz counters. I am leaning towards the stainless steel bit my fear is that it will look too modern and out of place in the house. Any thoughts on which one to choose? It's between the Franke Kinetic or Kholer whitehaven for 33" cabinets.

Featured Answer

jhmarie

7 years ago

I also love my Kohler Whitehaven. It is easier to install than a fireclay sink too. I previously had a white cast iron sink and found it easy to keep clean with a little Clorox Clean Up, Comet or Bar Keepers Friend. I moved my old cast iron sink to the basement kitchenette because it still has a lot of life in it after nearly 20 years. The Kohler Hawthorn does not have as bulky an edge as the Whitehaven. It is more expensive. I like the bulky edge as it protects my lower cabinets.

Many love their Fireclay sinks, but this fun article brings up some of the same points I was considering.

http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/apron-front-farmhouse-sink-options-decided-against-fireclay/

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Comments (11)

PRO
Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.
7 years ago
If you like the stainless sink, you should choose that one. Your kitchen will most likely have modern appliances in stainless steel, therefore it will not look out of place........
wacokid
7 years ago
I have a 36" double bowl Whitehaven and really like it. It is smooth, solid and easy to clean. I never liked picking silverware off the bottom of a stainless steel sink, but I am weird about things like that....
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rananashville
7 years ago
Our cast iron sink seems to get scratches and might need reglazing. I would have preferred stainless steel myself.
PRO
Presidio Tile & Stone
7 years ago
Barkeepers friend cleans cast iron up beautifully. It easily removes all those metal scratches. I myself would choose cast iron only because I know I would never feel like the stainless front was spotless enough.
Judy Mishkin
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
order the grid that goes in the bottom of a stainless sink, it keeps the bottom from getting scratched up, and keeps a colander of draining berries, or a stack of dishes, out of the bottom, blocking the drain.

that said, i'd not want to lean against the front of either sink... belt buckets and rivets leave scratches. back in the day housewives didnt wear jeans, aprons dont leave marks.
Anne Duke
7 years ago
I like the Kohler for what you've described, though my personal preference is SS. I have an Elkay and even with the matching grid scratches will appear, and the grid is a bear to clean. You just have to weighthe pros and cons for your own use.
Ana F.
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.!! After visiting a showroom I'm also considering the Blanco or Franke fireclay apron front sink for 33" cabinets. Any thoughts on those? After "knocking" on the sinks that Ss doesn't seem to be my first choice. And the fireclay sink seems not to have such bulky edge as the Kholer cast iron. However with fireclay I'm concern about being so heavy, hopefully the installers can deal within the semi-custom cabinets we are getting.
Jennifer Havin
7 years ago
love love my kohler Whitehaven, it's beautiful
Ana F. thanked Jennifer Havin
Ana F.
Original Author
7 years ago
I ended up purchasing the kohler Whitehaven, thank you!
wacokid
7 years ago
Nice. I used a InSinkErator Evolution Compact Garbage Disposal with mine and it works great, saves space and is almost silent...My plumber was impressed ...