I love a high back, vintage-style farmhouse sink. If I could figure out a way to put one into my kitchen (that didn’t involve moving the sink to another wall) I would install one before you could ask “How practical are they really?”
There are a number of these vintage sinks for sale online. The refurbished sinks are stunning and would be an absolute pleasure to use every day. I want a sink that functions, but I also want a sink that looks good.
I love the idea of this sink. In particular, I love the idea of it in my 1930’s home. But, I don’t have $2,200 to spend on a sink and, more importantly, I don’t have a wall for this sink. If I was writing a screenplay about a woman fixing up an old home, she would find this sink in an abandoned greenhouse on her property (left to her by an eccentric uncle) and her Antonio Banderas look-alike handyman would carry it into the house for her, set it up, and it would be gorgeous underneath the grime and years of neglect. That’s the kind of sink this is.
I even toyed with the idea of installing an industrial, restaurant sink. They’re affordable and unique. However, I don’t have room for this sink either, and they’re really too deep to comfortably wash dishes in. This sink would be in the cool bachelor pad of a hard-working, but lonely, Ryan Reynolds look-alike’s loft.
What about a good old farmhouse sink? I like them, but for the same reasons I can’t fit the other sinks in, I can’t fit an apron front sink in either. There are a lot of gorgeous farmhouse sinks out there. I tend to like the ones that are plain on the front. I also prefer the single bowl over the double bowl because it’s easier to wash bigger items. This is the most popular type of sink for the majority of my clients who put in new kitchens. This sink has become run of the mill now since so many people have it. I think it would have a quiet, supporting role where perhaps the heroine (a middle-aged Michelle Pfeiffer) looks reflective and sets her empty coffee mug into it next to her empty wine glass from the night before.
Unfortunately for me, my thought process on these sinks wasn’t rapid fire elimination even though I clearly couldn’t make any of these works due to layout and budget reasons. I wasted time thinking about each of them for a while when I should have just moved on with my life.
I’ve been feeling a little practical-minded with this kitchen renovation. This sink by Elkay really appeals to me for a variety of reasons. It’s undermount (a necessity for my particular kitchen), it’s a single bowl (my preference), it slopes nicely to the right so you can have things sitting on the left, but still rinse and use the garbage disposal on the right. I like the small radius at the corners and it comes highly recommended by a trusted plumbing salesperson I work with a lot. Compared to the other sinks, it’s also a bargain. This is also a bachelor pad type of sink – perhaps a young Tom Hanks would have this sink in his soulless, yet beautiful, modern apartment.
I was all in on this Elkay sink, until I visited Kohler’s store in Cherry Creek and saw these cast iron beauties on display.
It’s very similar to the Crosstown, but the cast iron gleams in a way that soothes my old-fashioned soul. Also, look at the accessories! I am easily swayed by accessories. I imagine this sink having a backup role in a film about a woman who cooks delicious meals for her elderly neighbor next door and falls in love with the old woman’s son, a Brad Pitt look-alike, who moves back into the small town to help manage the family business.
It took me longer than it should have to get to this sink. I think it’s a great choice for someone looking for a vintage-style look in a single bowl, undermount sink. And if you’re wondering if I have movie notions about faucets, I don’t. Faucets just give me anxiety. I’ll share some of that process with you next time.
“It is not everyone,’ said Elinor, ‘who has your passion for dead leaves.”
― Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
The Colorado Nest 
I like the high back sink also because water from mine gets onto the back splash & mildews the grout, even with constant drying.
You’re right! That would be perfect for a “splasher”… 🙂