Well, there are several materials for "white farmhouse sinks". Which one were you thinking of? There is fireclay, granite composite, and enameled cast iron.

From what I've seen on this forum, I'd stay away from fireclay which appears to be easily crazed, and also a difficult installation since it has irregular sides. I would also stay away from granite composite in white. I actually like granite composite sinks; I've had two of them and they were great, but they were not white. The white granite composite sinks are prone to staining and require higher maintenance to keep looking clean, regardless of brand. I think the enameled cast iron is your best best. You must use the accompanying sink grid with the enameled cast iron sink, and you will be good to go. I really like the Kohler Whitehaven, especially because it has the useful corner drain. Kohler Whitehaven also gives you the choice of a taller apron or a shorter apron.

We have DMV for five + years now with no scratches etc. It is fireclay.

The only DMV I know is Motor Vehicles? What sink do you have?

I’ve had a Shaw’s fireclay farmhouse sink for several years, and although I was concerned about possible problems, happily none have occurred. I use a sink grid, something I’ve never had before, and I like it a lot. The sink is beautiful to me, and I’m happy every time I see it.

Thread about Shaw's fireclay sinks with 98 comments: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2669935/does-anyone-regret-their-shaw-s-farmhouse-sink

Try the Kohler Whitehaven. The convenience of an undermount sink with the look of an apron front.

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We've had the Kohler Whitehaven for 7 years - no problems with it at all.

The Elkay Quartet Luxe in Ricotta (bright white) is the most dense and least likely to stain white composite sink on the market. Unlike fireclay, it’s somewhat repairable. I’ve installed several; no complaints. You can’t go wrong with a Whitehaven.

Where are you putting the new sink? In a kitchen with no change? A new build ? A total reno? More important than any sink, is your kitchen layout.

Personally, and jmho, an under mount stainless, single bowl is the most convenient, zero worry sink. But again......that is me and not you.

No chips, no grid at the bottom, cleans right up, doesn't stain from anything. Shines like new for decades. Franke, Elkay, Blanco .......all good.

Just bought a home with the Kohler - HATE it. Have to bend over to clean, has stains from previous owner that are permanent. Give me back my stainless Blanco any day - no farmhouse.

I have a Whitehaus fireclay and love it. I have a grid on the bottom. If you get fireclay, you really do need the grid.

We’ve had a white Kohler farmhouse sink for 10 years. It has the scratches you would expect from a sink that gets a lot of use. Yes it’s a pain to clean- hard real-farm well water. (Dishwasher detergent packs clean it best!) We are currently building a new home and everyone we know expected that we would install a farmhouse sink. Never again! We are going with a Kraus stainless undermount. I’ll likely hate the corners, but I won’t miss the scrubbing!

We have a white fireclay sink. No chips, scratches, or stains. l love the look and would get the same sink again. I use a grid.

IMO the best quality stainless single bowl deep sink yo can afford undermount and never have to worry again. I really dislike the grids in the bottom of the sink it is just one more thing to get gross and need cleaning. I hve 2 back to back really inexpensive Ikea sinks in my catering kitchen they still look awesome 17 yrs later , yes a few scratches but I have no intention of changing them they have a nice drainboard on the side and work very well for what I need . There is a reason sianless is used in commercial kitchens , as ink is the workhorse in the kitcehn why make it cpmplicated and IMO not a decor item at all.

We had a Shaw for 12 years in our previous house and six years ago installed one in our current kitchen. Rubbermaid used to make sink mats that fit, but I have the metal grid now. I prefer the Rubbermaid, but they don’t make them anymore. Mr. wonderful loves to cook and he is the proverbial bull in the china shop. We have no issues with either of our fireclay sinks.

Yes, white cast iron sinks are that terrible. Nearly indestructible and that is a bad thing. Because you put up the the stains, pitting, rust, metal marks....far longer than you should/ would. If only the damned thing would just give up and die!

I've had the Kohler Whitehaven for about 4 years. It's enamel over cast iron. I got one really weird scratch in it within the first week. It never made sense because we hadn't hit it, and it was behind a suctioned sponge caddie. However, they sent me a new sink to replace it! So good warranty/customer service. Otherwise, I suppose it has tiny scratches in it, but I only notice them when I clean it because they don't come out, but I really have to look closely to see them. I do use a sink rack in the bottom. I throw the in the dishwasher once a week. At first, I didn't like the look of the rack, but now my sink looks naked without it. LOL. My kids wash pots and pans in there all the time, and even though I do try to remind them to try not to knock the sides, it definitely happens! I suppose they are slightly higher maintenance than a stainless steel sink, but they are so much nicer to look at and I love how shiny and bright they look when you clean them. Cleaning is pretty easy, I use the liquid Barkeepers Friend, scrub gently, let it sit for a minute or two, then rinse. Bright white again. I only do this about once a week too. I use the dish brush and just quickly scrub it out with dishsoap daily.

In my former business (1998–2008), we sold 3–7 white farm sinks a week on a regular basis for about 10 years. The mix was 70% fireclay to 30% cast iron. The results were mixed. We had a few failures during installation, and some started to craze after a few years. We heard complaints about pooling water, chipping, scuff marks from pots and pans, and size nonconformance (on the fireclay sinks), however, we assumed the majority were pleased as the complaints accounted for about 2-3% of the total sales. The brand and type of material did not seem to make any noticeable difference.

We have had a Shaw for 15 years and love it. Admittedly, we do not ”baby” it at all and there are a couple of very small chips though no staining. I am sure that with more care than our family has given it would be in perfect condition. I cannot imagine being happier with any other sink.

I had the Shaws Fireclay farmhouse sink in my last house....loved it. It held up great, but I did baby it. I had a second sink (stainless) in my kitchen that I used when I was concerned about harming the Shaws sink (e,g, dumping boiling water). In my current home I only have 1 sink and wanted something that I didn't have to be so careful with. I ended up with the Elkay Quartz Luxe Farmhouse workstation in Ricotta. I cant' say enough great things about this sink - it is a workhorse. And I love how big it is. I was worried about the light color staining, but keeping it clean is no more difficult then the Shaws.