I went through this dilemma myself. The Ikea fireclay Domsjo is much less than the cast iron Kohler Whitehaven. Then I found another brand cast iron that was a little less than the Whitehaven. I was planing to get a new sink base to accommodate the farm sink, but then I found that the Kohler Whitehaven has a "short apron" style that can be installed on a standard cabinet. Since I did not need to spend $400 on a new cabinet, I decided to go for the short apron Whitehaven. I had cast iron before and it held up wonderfully. The domsjo had a number of people who said that by 5 years out it had some chips and some reported crazing. The domsjo is over mount, so easier to change out, but still, the cost of a plumber etc I decided in the long run I would be better off with the cast iron Whitehaven. I did put off my kitchen refresh a few months to save up for it - $960 for the one for a 36" sink base. I am very happy with my choice. Pics of my kitchen in my "my pics" idea book.

Here is a funny article about deciding between fireclay and cast iron:

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

I went with Kohler Whitehaven...so I could use my existing cabinetry which saved me money:)

jencclifton:

If this is a retrofit, I hope your budget is north of 2K for this project, maybe more as I'm not familiar with the costs of cast iron or fireclay.

This is a $2,400.00 total retrofit, including the plumbing and the sink that was about $800.00 according to the customer. Don't forget your faucet, either. He didn't.

@jencclifton - love the stainless apron sink...what brand/model? How is it holding up? Any issues, advice?

@jhmarie- how did your sink end up holding up? I cook a lot with cast iron cookware and I was just wondering if it caused it to stain?

My sink is holding up very well. I do have the grills which help prevent scratches. I probably clean it with a light rub down with Comet or spray of Clorox Clean-up once every 7 to 10 days - depending on what I've been cooking and any food stains are easily cleaned up. When I first got the sink, I hardly ever had to clean it except occasional wipe down for the sake of cleanliness. As time goes by this will become more frequent because of wear, though my sink is still bright white.

It replaced a 20 year old cast iron over mount sink which I moved to the basement kitchenette because it still looked very good - did get food stains but again easily cleaned back to bright white. It rarely needs cleaning now since there is no disposal in that kitchen, so no food in the sink.

Thank you!