What No One Will Tell You About Farmhouse Sinks
When we bought our farmhouse sink, I naively thought I wanted one because they looked so beautiful in photos of farmhouse style kitchens. Now that we’ve had our farmhouse sink for three years, I want to tell you What No One Will Tell You About Farmhouse Sinks, especially cast iron sinks.
Fact #1:
You will chip dishes and break glasses if you aren’t careful. It happens. We’ve lost two dishes and two glasses in our sink. Cast iron sinks are made tough to prevent chipping. Honestly, it’s cheaper to replace a glass or dish than the entire sink.
Fact #2:Â
You may get wet. We’ve found that when our faucet is on the spray setting it spatters us. I’m not sure if this is a factor of the sink design or the sprayer. We didn’t have this issue with our old two basin sink. To solve the problem we use stream most of the time and put the water on low when spraying.
Fact #3:Â
It will get dirty. A white sink will definitely show dirt and grime.
This was a bit of a bummer, as someone who had to constantly shine the surface of our old stainless steel sink with baby oil to hide the hard water spots. But, I’ve come to terms with it and only have to clean it once a week to keep it looking like new.
Fact #4:
It will get scratched. Cast iron sinks will scratch, but I expected as much since we cook almost daily using heavy cast iron pans. Honestly I’m surprised we haven’t chipped the sink yet. It’s held up to a lot of abuse. In three years we have yet to chip our sink, but the marks and scratches have happened.
Luckily, I have the perfect solution to clean a cast iron sink (or tub) to help it look new again.
Before:
After:
Fact #5:
You can’t wash dishes on one side and set the clean ones in a dish drainer in the second basin. With one large sink, all the dishes in it will get wet. This was the one change that was less of an issue for us. We simply put our dish drainer on the counter. When we have company, I put the drainer out of sight under the sink.
Conclusion:
If we were to go back in time and do it again, would I buy a farmhouse sink again?
Absolutely! I still love the look. Cleaning the scratches every few weeks is no big deal. I absolutely hated our stainless steel sink because of hard water deposits and spots. Scratches are much less noticeable than the hard water deposits.
I LOVE having a big sink to clean dishes in. I feel a bit like Elaine enjoying the extra wide driving lanes Kramer created. Who doesn’t like a little more elbow room?
Best of all, I can hide dishes in it. Little known fact, my coffee mug and a knife were in the sink when I took this photo:
The apron front farmhouse sink we have is this one. (affiliate link) If you decide to buy one, I think you will love it, as long as you are okay with those 5 Things No One Will Tell You About Farmhouse Sinks!
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I don’t understand. Your “Facts” are functions of the color and material of your sink, nothing at all to do with its’ shape. Even the overspray problem, one I can relate to, isn’t the sink’s fault. I am on my third faucet on the same single bowl, ss sink, and can tell you that only the middle faucet, a Kohler, soaked us with overspray. All were the same pull-down sprayer type that you have, and, yeah, we just lowered the pressure and aimed better.
Cleaning a white sink = Barkeepers Friend (powder not liquid). Nuf said.
Great article and it makes me love my stainless steel, non-apron front farmhouse sink even more. It does have to be kept polished and has even gotten a dent but it came with a removable smaller sink, a removable collander as well as a cutting board. So absolutely practical and I told hubby that if we ever move this sink is coming with us. Ps–it is a discontinued American Standard top-mount sink we got at Lowes.
I thought it was just my faucet choice that made us get showered with water every time we use the sprayer in our new Kohler farmhouse sink – glad to know it’s the sink’s fault 🙂 I hated how our stainless sink looked, always with water spots, and yet it was a tough sink. I love how our cast iron sink looks but I am concerned with the upkeep. We keep a wash basin in one side (we have a split sink) and a mat in the bottom. I’ve drilled into my kids to NOT just toss silverware in the sink so it won’t scratch! I’m very nervous for Thanksgiving this year because I’m hosting a huge group and have visions of things being tossed/cleaned in my sink that will scratch or chip it so I’ll be on patrol all day I think 🙂 BUT I defnitely plan to look at your post on cleaning it because I have subtle stains on the bottom that I can’t get out with a Mr Clean sponge like I can most other spots. All in all I really love the look and am glad I bought one 🙂
Farmhouse sinks are so pretty to look at but I grew up with cast iron sinks so I would pass unless it was a a copper sink. I think I’d like that but it has to be polished up but so so pretty. Love your kitchen!
Where did you get the light above the sink?
After owning our sink for about a year, I decided it was worth it to invest in a sink grid, made by the sink manufacturer. It has been totally worth it. No more breaks, and no more chips. About once a week, I fill the sink (grid in) with hot soapy water and let it soak for a bit. Then I use a stiff nylon brush to scrub everything down. Bon Ami works great, too. It is a natural cleaner, and does not scratch.
Great tips Lois! Thanks for sharing.
I have had my eye on the farmhouse sink and wa awondering about the upkeep. This helps a lot! I do love the look of it.
Hey I love your tile on your backsplash! Where did you get it? It’s hard to tell the colors. Is it blues and grays?
It’s honed marble and I got it from The Builder’s Depot online.
Yes! I love how farmhouse sinks look but I’ve told my husband the same reasons you’ve posted. I won’t have another one again.
I just moved here and have a sink like this. For some unknown reason, someone that lived here before me decided to paint the entire sink and countertops with the same paint that’s on the walls. Would you be able to tell me how I can remove the paint because it looks horrible from many years of wear and tear in the sink there now are big sections of paint and big sections of no or hardly any paint which makes it ugly and the wear and tear of the counters are so bad to the point that I can’t roll dough or put any food on the counter or in the sink without paint bits getting in/on the food. I prefer a natural/organic based cleaning solution, but at this point will try almost anything. It’s so frustrating.
Try using a heat gun. It will bubble up & you can peel it right off. Don’t hold it in one place too long…you are looking for the bubbles then scrape off. No chemicals needed. It has been a God send for my stripping projects. Also there is a product on the market for painting counters. I have heard good things about it…so check it out. Good Luck! Becky from Tucson.
I wanted to buy a farmhouse sink, but the budget wouldn’t allow for it. I get a sore back leaning over just that little bit over the counter. I thought that an apron sink would help alleviate that, but it sounds like the trade-off is getting sprayed.
Thank you for writing the article on farmhouse sinks. I wanted to inquire about the light above the sink. Where did you purchase the light?
I’d like to know the same.
Sorry this reply is so delayed. The wood pulley pendant was from https://gracefully-restored.com however, they don’t seem to have it in stock. Shades of light does: https://www.shadesoflight.com/products/glass-shade-pulley-pendant-light?sku=PE15313+++CL&product_id=PE15313CL&adpos=1o1&creative=72522552152&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI66zC6sX61gIVl7fACh0BiAlyEAQYASABEgL8KvD_BwE
The seedy glass pendant was from: GoldenAgeUSA.com, but it looks like their site is either down or no longer in business.
I grew up with a double cast iron sink. There was always a Rubbermaid mat on one side and the dish drainer on the other. Mom always cleaned hers by filling one side with hot water and dumping bleach in. Let it stand, toss the sponge in for good measure and awhile later**poof** a clean sink. Even when I had a stainless one I would use a sink mat.
I love my farmhouse sink. We’ve had ours for 5 years and it still looks good. Like you I cook a nd bake everyday. And about once a week I can the few scratches with a paste of dish detergent, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Works great. Love your blog.