There are two main things to bear in mind when choosing a kitchen sink; it must function as you wish and it must fit beautifully with the kitchen décor. Functionality is not much of an issue, it either holds water or it doesn’t, but coming up with a sink that tastefully reflects your style and merges seamlessly with the kitchen appliances and decor is something else again. Although stainless steel sinks probably will never be knocked from the number one spot, many people are turning to natural stone kitchen sinks.
Even before the advent of stainless, kitchen sinks were often copper or porcelain over steel. Copper is a soft material and is easily dented and scratched, porcelain cannot stand any impact as it easily chips off and stainless steel, although difficult to dent, is easy to scratch and discolor. None of these downfalls apply to natural stone kitchen sinks.
For years, stone sinks were found only in the bathroom, but they are now common place in the kitchen because of their warmth, durability, their ability to deaden sound and their beauty. As the sinks are made from slabs of solid stone, often granite, there are no two sinks alike; they all take on their own unique look which is appealing to those who have them installed.
Many stone sinks are mounted under the kitchen counter; due to their weight the structure to hold them is quite sturdy. One of the many benefits of an under-mount stone sink is the ease of cleaning. Everyone knows that during food preparation, crumbs and other debris collects on the work surfaces, all you have to do is wipe it directly into the sink. As there is no lip, there is no chance of food particles become wedged under a lip; this by default eliminates a place for bacteria growth. The stone sink itself is easy to clean, it does not show water spots and the color never changes over time.
Although solid granite sinks are a popular choice for those who want natural stone kitchen sinks, there is a somewhat less expensive way to accomplish the same effect, this is a composite stone sink which contains about 80 percent stone and the rest is filler and binders.
A wide range of both composite and natural stone kitchen sinks are available online from Kitchen Bath Plus.
