What space will the sink be in? Kitchen? Prep kitchen? Mud room? Canning and preserving room? Larder? Pre-Op?

Just our kitchen but it is the only prep space in the house. It is also the only sink. we have a 10ft island but there is not an additional sink in the island just on the perimeter of the kitchen.

Have you already chosen a countertop? We have a stainless steel counter with an integrated sink and it works beautifully when we are processing garden produce. Functional and easy to clean. it isn’t industrial looking at all. Our island has a cherry wood top.

I install a lot of apron sinks; they are functional, beautiful, and timeless. Here's a Kohler Whitehaven short apron:

This beauty is an Elkay Quartz Luxe Ferguson model in Ricotta:

You can't go wrong with either, however, the color goes all the way through the Elkay. If you chip the cast iron Kohler, you're screwed.

If you're going to be doing a lot of canning I'd go with stainless steel.

I agree with @Beatrix that with a lot of canning, a stainless steel sink is your best bet. We have an Elkay apron front sink, single bowl, 36" wide, 16 gauge, with a corner drain. The corner drain for you would be valuable when you are canning and have jars, strainers, funnels, etc. in the sink, The corner drain allows you to have that in the sink without covering the drain since the drain is in the corner.

Make sure in your new build that the sink cabinet base will fit at least a 36" wide sink.

We also chose the apron front style because it is more ergonomic with less back strain, as long as you don't get a thick or curved apron. The Elkay apron is straight and relatively slim. The only thing is that the sink that we have is now only made by Elkay in a "workstation" style, so if looking at Elkay make sure you know whether you'd like that.

Don't think that because a sink is stainless steel it has to be in a contemporary kitchen. It also goes well in a traditional look kitchen.

@RoyHobbs could you please share the model number of your sink? It's exactly what I'm looking for. (And you have a lovely kitchen!)

@2rickies that is not our kitchen, I got the photo from Google Images to show that a stainless steel sink can go in a traditional style kitchen.

We bought our sink several years ago, and the Elkay model numbers have changed since then. I think ours is most like the current Elkay Crosstown model EFRUFF3417RDBG which is the one that comes with the sink grid. I'll link it below. It requires 36" cabinet base, it is 16 gauge (which is thicker than 18 gauge), and has a corner drain (essential). This is not a "workstation" style, though Elkay has workstation style sinks. We just weren't into the workstation aspect.

The sink grid is jointed in the middle for easier cleaning than if it were one big piece. We ended up not using the sink grid, we'd just rather not have it. Many people love the sink grid, there is no right or wrong choice, it is individual preference. There is another Elkay model identical but it does not come with the sink grid. But I suggest you buy the model that has the sink grid so you can try for yourself.

https://www.build.com/product/summary/1744968?uid=4123552&jmtest=gg-gbav2_4123552&srsltid=AR57-fCSexBDubTl_Yfw3MpUyNHCFQSIH3QL6_fLaU9aPysYLerXPLyxw6s

@RoyHobbs thank you for the info--this is exactly the sink I need. I agree a corner drain seems essential. I question whether I'd use the grid, but as you say, might as well try it out. How is it to clean in the corners? I see they claim that it's easy, but I'm used to an undermount with more rounded edges. What kind of reveal did you do on yours?

I purchased the Franke Grande sink yesterday after comparing the Kohler Strive, an Elkay sink and this one in a local Ferguson showroom. The sales consultant said Franke sinks have a higher nickel component in their stainless steel recipe and that the rounded corners are easier to clean. She told me she has the same sink after getting rid of an apron front version of the Kohler Strive sink because the Strive scratched easily. A rear offset drain is not available, unfortunately.

Franke Grande Stainless Steel Sink

All stainless steel scratches the same. The brighter and darker finishes show them more readily.

True. The sales consultant said that in her case, the scratch, which was at the top edge of a Kohler Strive apron front sink, revealed a chrome layer directly under the thin stainless finish. A deep scratch but she was not expecting to see chrome (or whatever metal it might have been-I am simply relating her experience) under the stainless.

"How is it to clean in the corners? I see they claim that it's easy, but I'm used to an undermount with more rounded edges."

A sink with "zero radius" or "0°" corners are the ones that might be harder to clean. The Elkay pictured above says it has 15° corners, which you will also see called ”tight radius” corners. You will not have cleaning issues with a sink with tight radius corners. The tight radius corner is a nice compromise of still having a modern look without an extreme zero radius corner, while not having the very rounded corners of older-style sinks.

Also the very rounded older-style corners lose a little bit of interior space in that you can't have a pan laying in the sink close to the corner or it will not lay flat. It's one of the reasons the older-style rounded corners aren't seen as much, as well as the appearance being perceived as not as current as 0° or 15° corners.

These pics illustrate the differences well:

@M Miller thank you for the explainer! That makes it very clear. The 15-degree radius seems like the right one for my project. I have a double sink now with those traditional curves, and it's very difficult to fit a lot of my large pans, plus the problem of leaning over the 4" strip of granite to clean stuff, since it's an undermount. Can't wait to have the apron-style instead.