Kitchen Makeover

Well, I have a corian sink in the bathroom, which I love...and a stainless steel sink in the kitchen, which I also love. I've had the stainless steel sink for 25 years and I've never noticed it being noisy and it's very easy to keep clean looking - much easier than the porcelain sinks that I lived with before. We're about to do a major remodel (deep breath) and I'll get another stainless steel. I agree with the other person about getting one large bowl.

My corian sink is 15-20 years old and we're keeping it - just getting it cleaned up instead of getting a new one. It still looks great.

Here's another forum to ask anything and everything about remodeling: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/

I would definitely recommend a double sink! Stainless steel sinks can be noisy if you buy a cheap one. We got one on the higher end and love it!! We have had it for over a two years and not one scratch.

I redid my kitchen completely in 2003, so much so that I had to get my water from the bathroom! We went with granite countertops, but did the tile and it was 1/2 the price of a slab, and I love it. I went with black grout and have had zero problems (and I am the farthest from Mrs. Clean you can get!). I love my porcelain sink, the only thing I would suggest would be to get an undermounted sink so you can just swipe the mess right in. Good Luck...

I'm an interior designer that is very opinionated about sinks - we love to cook at our house and have lived with several different kitchens in our 18 years of marriage.
Stainless Steel is the way to go! It never goes out of style, it's easy to clean and doesn't chip or stain like porcelain. Plus metal is naturally inhospitable to germs - that's why you see so much stainless in hospitals, etc.
If you like your sink to look new & perfect you can polish out water spots, etc. with a little Bon Ami powder or Barkeeper's Friend (same stuff - different brand)
Undermounted sinks are very hot now - but also easier to clean so I think they will become the standard & not just a trendy look.
I must say I am not thrilled with my Whirlpool stainless cook top - it is very soft and I scratched it with a Scotch Brite sponge Grrrr....I was barely wiping at some stuck on sauce & I noticed I could see exactly where I wiped. BUMMER!
Anyway - that's my 2cents, Oh yeah - granite is over rated & super common - maybe something a little different - like gorgeous tile?? I live in Mountain House and all of my neighbors have Baltic Brown granite - me too , cuz it was included! Ask for an unusual color & do a decorative tile backsplash - granite up the walls will feel heavy and a little like a masoleum. We did a tile backsplash with a band of patterned tile and we love it! It's less elaborate than I originally thought I wanted - much less expensive and I actually like it better than my first choice!
I could babble on for hours....
Good Luck! Kitchen Remodels are messy & stressful - be patient!

Once upon a time we had our dream kitchen and then we sold and moved to a house with someone elses dream kitchen. We recently went back to our old house and I got to be in my kitchen and I could have cried it was so beautiful. Yes go with the stainless steal. It is timeless and easy to care for . But like someone said buy a good one. Ours is not noisey. Do undermount also. I miss my Granite counters soooo much.We had all corners cut a 45 including the edge of the counter. They were easy to care for and beautiful and natural. I really enjoyed having the sink in the corner with windows around it. The biggest thing I miss is a bar stool sitting area for the kids. Our house now has a giant butcher block center island with cabnets underneath but no space for bar stools.I personally don't care for the butcher block look and it dose take some work to care for it. I can't tell you how much I miss the kids being able to sit right there at the counter for breakfast. If you can have that in your new kitchen you'll love it. Keep it the same height though. Some are taller and then that changes the surface height of the counter and makes it smaller space where the kids sit and they can push there cups or plates off the edge.One big counter height area is the best. Also we had sky lights with a coffered ceiling and I loved all the natural light. put in good lighting because our kitchen now has very poor lighting and it is hard not being able to see well what your cooking and cleaning. so I am jealous and happy for you and your kitchen remodel. Have fun.

I am a designer who is working on a lot of kitchens. I have older children (my sister sent me this link and I just happened to open it today!) I personally finished my own kitchen remodel last fall. I am recommending the Rohl Fireclay sink (one bowl). It resists scratching, chipping. I like the one bowl because it is one large basin and you do not have to worry about people putting food (or Cheerios) on the wrong side. Go to Barbara at Plumbing Unique. She will point you in the right direction regarding your fixtures, etc.

We did our kitchen a couple of years ago and I did aome looking into what the pros (chefs) have in their own kitchens. The consensus was stainless steel sinks with plenty of wood. Since wood around the sink is not practical we went with quartz around the sink area (less expensive and more practical than granite) and a large unfinished maple butcher block island. It has worked out great. I found the most expensive and largest double bowl stainless steel sink I could get at the home stores (Blanco) and then bought it for about half of their cost online from a pumbing supply in New Jersey. The undermount is the way to go and the sink is installed by the counter guys so it doesn't matter where you get it. The stainless is easy to clean and looks great even if it is scratched a bit. My neighbor has a Corian sink that always looks dirty even after cleaning. Maybe it is the water in this area. After 15 years in our old kitchen the new one is the greatest!

Hi M.,
I had my kitchen refinsihed a couple of months ago. Like you, I thought I wanted granite until I discovered there's a whole lot of impractial upkeep associtated with granite. We found corion to be an excellent substitute. It's high end and, comes in many different colors, easy upkeep, and they offer a seamless sink in a color to compliment your counter tops. I highly recommend corion even if it is made by Dupont. By that I mean I ususally prefer natural, as opposed to man made, but in this case, man made wins.
Good luck with your project. S.

Hi Heather,
I redid my kitchen about 2 years ago and have a stainless steel sink and LOVE it! I don't think it's noisy at all and it's very easy to clean. My realtor was here yesterday and was disappointed she installed a non-stainless in her kitchen. And because it's an undermount sink, it would be very difficult to change. Mine is an undermount and I like that, but I love my sink and don't need to change it.

I also agree with the person below - don't buy the least expensive one they have. You don't have to buy the best either. I have a middle of the road.

Enjoy your new kitchen!

Hi M., we did a remodel a few years ago and we have a corian sink which we love. It is easy to clean and if it does get scratched or chipped, it can be sanded back to perfection.

We updated our kitchen 2 years ago and I let my husband pick the details since he worked in the industry. He chose stainless steel. It has not been loud nor scratched. Stay away from black as it is difficult to keep clean I hear.
Have fun!

Hey--we're in the same boat! :) We're looking at quartz instead of granite (Consumer Reports listed it over granite) but I'm sticking with stainless. We have porcelain now and it's scratched and chipped and always looks dirty. My mom replaced her stainless sink with a porcelain one, too, and has to be very careful with rubber mats in the bottom to avoid scratching but has a chip in hers.

I'm going back to stainless because it's easy to clean, looks clean when you're done cleaning it, and it will go with our stainless appliances. The last reason is the weakest but my kitchen is on the small side and I think it's important to stay matchy-matchy at this point. :)

Good luck--we're ripping out a 2x2' section of our counters tonight to see how difficult the self-demo would be and we're hunting quartz tomorrow--FUN! :)

M.

good luck! i went thru a minor kitchen remodel in nov 2007. i went with sear's in-home (i know - who would have thunk) for the granite countertops. they had many of the popular colors and i went w/the venetian gold color. the sear's salesman was very knowledgeable. install was a breeze. and the best thing is that you don't pay a dime until the entire project is installed. sear's educates you on all the different kinds of granites and the different quarries and quality. the "problem" w/sear's is that you don't go to the quarry to pick out your slabs. that wasn't an issue for me but if it is for you, you may want to try medimer granite. my friend went with them and was very happy with the granite and their sevice. i believe they moved from folsom blvd. in sacto to off of 80 in northern sacto.

as for sinks, i went with the granite/resin mix that another gal wrote about earlier. no dings, always looks clean, nice and big. i bought it at expo in roseville.

our big headache was with expo in roseville over our slate/glass tile backsplash. their quote was off by 100% and after we signed the contract they wanted to revise e/thing. it was terrible and tense but got resolved. the installer that expo contracts with is river city tile. they did a great job. call them directly so you don't have to pay expo's surcharge. and, ask them where to buy tile. when we retiled our pool, we went to custom tile in roseville and thought their prices were good.

just, whatever you do, don't go thru expo to buy tile or to buy installation. huge mark-ups. also, i wouldn't go with them for granite. apparently their quality can be iffy and why pay the mark-up.

good luck and take your time. my husband and i spent 3 hours at expo matching granite and tile w/our cabinets to find the perfect fits. expo has all the colors of everything. so find your cabinet color and the granite you want and the tile you want and put it all together at the store and see how it looks.

Hi M.,
We did a COMPLETE house remodel including the kitchen. We put all new cabinets and granite counter tops with a stainless steel double basin sink and now I wish I would have gone with Corian like my mom did instead. While the granite LOOKS beautiful, it is loud, breaks dishes easily, and shows water spots and fingerprints. (ours doesn't have a really heavy pattern) My mom has solid Corian with a Corian sink and it is wonderful! It is quieter and much easier to clean, plus because it has a matte finish instead of a glossy one, hard water spots don't show. We bought out cabinets at Ikea and L. them! The have all the bells and whistles while costing a fraction of the price. Email me if you have questions.
Sincerely,
L.

I redid our kitchen several years ago and kept the 25 yr old stainless sink the house came with becuse it was still the best one on the market. Dont skimp on the thickness or quality of the stainless and you wont be sorry. They put sound dampeners on the underneith side to keep the sound down and they are easy to clean and kleep the shine. I would suggest you have it mounted under the countertops so when cleaning you just wipe crumbs off into the sink with no edge to catch on, Its great. Get a really nice tall faucet and it will look like a million bucks! And no, they dont have to be terribly expensive. I love mine and would do it again if the need came along. Have fun, and enjoy the adventure of construction!

M.,
I just had my countertops and appliances redone in June this year It felt like a very long process. Took about 1 month.
I went to Expo center in San Jose and I got Silestone (Like granite) but not as expensive and easier to maintain...
We got a free sink when we purchased the countertops and it was undermount sink.
We picked the double stainless steel and I agree it's a little bit of an upkeep but you can use Bar Keeper's Friend to keep the sink looking nice. My mom had her kitchen redone and had porcelan sink and it chipped so she now has to get a new sink.

And the process once the kitchen remodel starts is hard, Washing dishes in the bathroom and using a 1 burner in the living room or microwaving food or take out. It sure does make the process even longer, but in the end it's worth it when you have your nice new kitchen...

Best of luck to you

We bought a under the counter sink by kohler from home depot. very worth the money. Be sure to always clean it as the instructions say, and please note that leaving fruit on granite counter tops will make it ripen very fast.
W.

I love my undermount Kohler kitchen sink. It's one really large rectangle sink that is rounded at one end and is nice and deep. Nice and large and no dividing bar in the middle...such a pain to move the large pots and pans around those dividers. It's white, and scrubs up great. My mom has Corian, and it has lots of deep scratches that you can't really sand down. I clean my sink with Bon Ami, as it's gentle and doesn't scratch.
I hate my Kohler prep sink because it has a pucker in it. Be sure you test your sink before you install it under your counter! We found out after the fact that the sink was defective. In the production process, sometimes when the sinks cool, the edge of the sink drops below the level of the drain and then you always have standing water in the rim unless you wipe it dry with a sponge. If you don't wipe it, you get a little dirty ring around the bottom of your sink...such a pain in the ... Yes, stainless can be noisy, but apparently there are more high-end stainless sinks that are insulated on the underside.
I have Silestone counters and love them. They are 6 years old and no problems at all. No need to seal them yearly, no worry about acid damage, and I can clean them with Windex if I want to...no harm done.
Get the little counter-sank soap dispenser, so handy to have this.

How exciting for you!! We remodelled our whole house last year in order to sell it then built a house this year, so I've done two kitchens within the last year and one thing you definitely want is an undermount sink. Secondly, I used to hate stainless steel sinks because they seemed cheap and tinny. But I came to find out that was because I was used to cheap sinks. Go to a granite/tile store (not Home Depot/ Lowe's) and you will find a higher quality of sink. I've been very happy with both my sinks. Also, there is cleaner you can get for the stainless steel at grocery stores/Wal-Mart/Target in the dishsoap isle.

Good luck and enjoy your new kitchen:-)

i grew up with a stainless steel sink. in 25 years, it's never scratched unless you look very closely, you can see tiny nicks. Make sure you get the thickest one, tho. When my husband and I bought our house, we went with the white kohler cast iron and it is a PAIN! Black definitely would have been better. When we looked, our options were white cast iron or stainless steel and the price difference wasn't worth it. But everything shows on the white and the only thing that gets those metal streaks off is kohler's stuff... and it's horribly expensive... like $12+ for a 8oz bottle at lowe's or home depot. Stainless steel just needs a little bit of metal cleaner every few months. Plus, I've seen cast iron sinks that have chipped and if it goes under your granite, it would be really hard to change out. I never had an issue with noise with my mom's stainless steel. Good luck!

I have a corian sink undermounted with granite counters. I had stainless steel in our first house and hated it. Corian sinks come in several neutral colors so blending with most granite is pretty easy. I've had mine for 8 years and still love it.

Enjoy your new kitchen!

I redid my kitchen about a year and a half ago and have been really happy with my choices. I love my granite counter tops and did put in an undermount stainless sink. I liked the idea of one big sink to pile a lot in, but didn't want the food mixed in while I was washing dishes. I got a sink that is not equally divided and I love it! I can still put a lot, including big pots or pans in the large side, and have a smaller side with the disposal to scrape the food. Here is the one I chose: American Standard, Culinare Undermount Dual Level Kitchen Sink. www.americanstandard-us.com/Products/productDetail.aspx?a...
I have not had problems with scratching it. Sometimes it will look like a cookie sheet left a scratch, but it is easily cleaned off with cleaner and the scrubby side of a sponge. Good luck. There's nothing like a new kitchen! Enjoy

We re-did our kitchen about 3 years ago and love the more expensive fancy pull out faucet. Great for cleaning! I put in butcher block where I could an simple laminate wood look elsewhere... works with the farmhouse thing we have going on. I really like the look of the granite counters, but hasn't anyone heard those reports about them giving off radon? Hmm... maybe I was dreaming that angle. Google it.

I have a stainless steel sink - a DEEP one. It is ONE sink - not divided.

I LOVE the DEEP sink because when we entertain (often), I don't feel the overwhelming urge to get up and wash the dishes I see - because I cannot see them. My BIG pots fit in them and can soak easily, too. I LOVE have the ONE sink, undivided for the same reasons. Now I enjoy my company a bit longer before cleaning up.

Also, I have the soap container IN the counter/sink spout set up - so I don't have to grab the soap container from under the sink and it's not sitting on top of the counter.
Enjoy!

p.s. Dishes are noisy anyway. I don't think I've ever noticed that this sink is "louder" than my previous one. BUT I don't get the stains I used to!

We just did our kitchen last summer. We have 1 large stainless bowl made by Blanco. It is scratched but I don't think that is avoidable in a stainless or porcelain sink. It's a sink not a piece of art.

Our sink is 1 large bowl and I love it. I don't like having a divider in it. I wanted to be able to easily fit a large cooking sheet, to make washing easier.

We also made sure to not get a sink that was too deep, ours is 8 inches. If they are too deep then we found doing dishes to hurt our back.

And as for the noise, ours is not noisy. You can buy different thicknesses of sinks. The cheaper you go, the thinner the stainless steal and hence more noise.

AS for our faucet we have a single pull Rohl faucet that we love, looks good and is easy to use.

Best of shopping and good luck with the project.

Hi M.,
We remodeled our 14 year old kitchen about 6 months ago. We selected Granite for the counters (Chen's Marble and Stone fabricated and installed it for us - Alice and Paul were lovely to work with and affordably too!).
Downside of granite is that it does require sealing at least once a year.

We ended up selecting a Blanco Silgranit Sink. Silgranit is 80% natural granite stone, chemically poymerized with resin. It is hard, non-porous and highly resistant to chipping, scratching and staining. We went with an undermount, 2 equally sized deep bowls( I liked 2 sink bowls because with 2 girls 21 months apart I always have extra dishes and sippy cups that didn't make it into the dishwasher) in Black! Black was the color that went best with the granite we selected and with our new stainless steel appliances (which have black accents). It requires very little extra maintenance and was very affordable $300-350 range at Expo or one of those other big box stores; Home Depot? - I can't recall. An employee at the store where we purchased the sink advised us to carefully check the sink prior to install to make sure it didn't have any flaws or cracks, as it is a little more difficult to see them on a black sink, and once a sink is undermounted it becomes part of the granite counter basically...so choose wisely;)

Anyway, we selected travertine tile for the backsplash of our counters, also need to be sealed, but was surprisingly very affordable and the natural stone has such beautiful coloring. For the floor we went with 18" x 18" porcelain tile at a 45 degree angle (love it - durable and continuos color thru out should it get chipped!) We selected our granite and tile @ Master Tile on Foothills Blvd. in Roseville and were very pleased. Good Luck!

I recently had my kitchen redone. There are a few changes I would like to have made, but I am very happy with the turnout.
1. An undermount sink, they are a little more expensive, but worth it. This will stop food from getting in under the overhang of the sink.

2.Get a very good gargbage disposal.

3.We had one recessed light put over the sink so when I am doing the dishes or cleaning up I dont need to waste energy by having to light up the whole kitchen.

4. Granite on the wall behind the stove. I dont have to worry about grease, water etc...damaging the wall . i just have to wipe off the granite after cooking. I dont have a stained greay looking wall. the

Good luck and I am sure its a well deserved new kitchen.

Not sure what your style/budget is but I LOVE my Shaw "farmhouse" sink. It is beautiful, easy to keep clean and very functional. We paid about $800 for ours (yikes!) but Ikea has a great one for about $200. Our kitchen is contemporary craftsman but this sink would work well in almost any style.
I also love my granite (sea foam green) but as others have noted, it does show a lot of spots, spills, fingerprints, etc...not as low maintenance as I thought it would be, but I think it will hold up beautifully for many years.
Good luck and have fun!!!

We're really happy with our stainless steel sink. It's so easy to clean and looks modern and sanitary and goes with everything! Having two bowls allows us to still use the sink when we are soaking pots and pans. And I would suggest getting the largest size available (if that suits the size of your kitchen). There's few things we use more in our day than the kitchen sink!
I've discovered that the most important selection to make the kitchen beautiful is selecting an elegant faucet! We remodeled our bathroom vanity with low cost white linoleum board, redwood trim, and a basic oval sink-then spent twice as much on the faucet! It looked so classy. Conversely, I've seen expensive countertop/sinks topped with a cheap faucet which dampens the overall effect. It may take a little extra time to get a better faucet-- they often need to be specially-ordered, but it's worth the effort (you can look at faucets on-line to get an idea of what you want).
Good luck and enjoy your new sink!

I bought a terrific porcelain sink at Ikea that I absolutely LOVE! It is a great size, very well made, easy to maintain, and reasonably priced. I was very surprised by what they had.

We went with Stainless steel (undermount) super deep so it can hold tons of dirty dishes. I wouldn't say it is loud but it can scratch and I've heard can rust over time. We have a stainless steel sink at our family cabin that has been there for over 40 years....have never seen any rusting.

I have a white porcelain sink that I regret. Pots and pans scrape it and make black marks. Most come off but only with an abrasive cleaner and you are not supposed to use abrasive cleaners on it. It still looks pretty good after 7 years of use but it has taken a lot of elbow grease to keep it that way! I love our granite counter though. It has a lot of different shades of browns as well as black and has been really easy to care for and doesn't show water spots or fingerprints too much because of the heavy pattern. Good luck and have fun with your new kitchen!

I just redid our kitchen and went with a single bowl Franke stainless steel sink and I absolutely LOVE it. It can be a little loud but that doesn't bother me. I got the single bowl and got it 11" deep so I could give my baby a bath in it and that's worked out great. I also bought a couple of the cool accessories they have--I drying grid and an over the sink cutting board and colander. They have really increased my counter space. The Franke is a little more expensive and the Blanco is another good option that's a little bit cheaper. Also, if you get rounded corners instead of a square or rectangular sink, it's cheaper.

Stainless Steel does scratch. I would get a cast iron sink. Also, be mindful of where your garbage disposal is located. We have a two section sink and the garbage disposal is located in the deeper section farthest from the dishwasher. It really bugs me!

We did a kitchen remodel two years ago and I chose a single basin stainless steel sink (blanco brand). I love it. I chose a large, deep sink unsure if I would like it and I have no regrets! I love being able to fit everything (large cookie sheets, large sheet pans, etc) into my deep sink!
Good luck!

Myself, my mother and my sister all had our kitchens redone with granite countertops, sinks, cabinets, etc. They both got stainless steel sinks; I got porcelain. I am extremely happy with my sink. My mother and sister are not so happy with their stainless steal because they get water spots every time they get wet which makes them look dirty. We all love our granite countertops but keep in mind granite it extremely hard - you can't accidently drop a glass or glass bowl onto the counter or even set it down hard - it will break! I've lost a couple of glass dishes from just smacking them down onto the counter too hard! But they look great - especially after they've been polished - everything reflects in the granite and it looks great! The remodel is a nightmare - we used a microwave and a single burner in our bedroom for a week! And washing dishes either in the bathtub or in the sink in the garage is no picnic. Plan on a lot of take-out and save yourself alot of hassle. Hope you love your new kitchen as much as I love mine! Cooking was even fun again (for a minute anyway!)

Dear M.,
Lucky you, getting to re-do your kitchen!
Having relatives in construction, stainless steel really is the way to go. (Porcelain sinks chip and stain).
As for stainless, the deeper the better, but if you are restricted as to depth, you can get one of those tall arched faucets. My sister and friends who are culinary freaks have them so that they can fill HUGE cooking pots with water and then also wash them easily. My friends faucet even has a head that pulls out with a spray hose that really gives her control over where she can point her water. I don't know where you live or if you are doing the remodel yourself. You can find lots of places on-line for ideas.
Steel sinks are not that loud, I never found mine to be and they are pretty scratch resistant. If you are investing the money, I think it would be your best bet especially since you may want to sell your home eventually and most people, unless you have an old farmhouse or something, will prefer stainless sinks and appliances in the kitchen.

Have fun!

my dream kitchen would include higher countertops so doing the dishes or standing at the counters for a long period of time wouldn't hurt my back from "hunching" over for so long.

Also, when it's all done, get a Gel Mat Pro to cushion your feet and legs when standing there. Bed, Bath & Beyond have them in thier stores now. You can find them on the web too.

Hi M.,

I'm a cabinet maker and I'm currently helping my mother remodel her house (we're on the kitchen right now). I've seen a product at home depot which looks terrific. IT's ground up granite set in a resin, and it's a little more expensive than stainless steel, but supposedly scratch resistant and nearly indestructable. IT comes with a few extras too, and I just think it's handsome. Good luck!

We had our kitchen remodeled last year and are loving it! The only thing I wish we could have done differently, but were not able to do because of limited counter space is put in a double stainless steel sink. We love the stainless steel. My husband did lots of reasearch as we went from a kitchen built in 1946 that had NEVER been uptdated! What he found for the stainless steel sink is a "grate", with all four support feet having rubber tips, that sits in the bottom of the sink. When we stack dishes, they rest on the grate and not the actual sink bottom. I just thought everyone used those grates and I was not even aware that steel can be "loud". We also have no scratches. I am sure they are easy to find and would recommend the grate. I do wish we could have done the double sink with disposal on one side and washing on the other, but I am so still "grateful" ha-ha to have this great sink as a great part of our kitchen remodel! Good luck!

We are currently redoing our kitchen as I type and we choose granite counter tops (had tile....HATED IT). I absolutely love it. We chose a granite that is not a uniform look. Each section has a different pattern. It is BEAUTIFUL! We also did a Shaw Farmhouse undermounted sink. This is one very large basin sink made of fireclay, completely durable with no upkeep. Expensive (approx. $900-$1200) but worth all the money since I spend so much time at the sink. We choose not to do granite on our backsplash but a tile backsplash. Their is soo many more options in tile now that you would be amazed at how hard it is to choose something.

Have fun deciding but take your time, as once you choose and put it in, you can't change it very easily or cheaply. Its the details that matter more then anything (counter edges, choice of color, backsplash design, etc). Those things make everything else come together and look great.