Copper, stainless steel and cast iron basins offer a variety of surface textures, durability and bowl styles.
Copper farm sinks such as the hammered Mexican-made beauty lend a wonderful look to Arts & Crafts, Mission, Southwestern and rustic kitchens. They come with textured or smooth surfaces or a mix of both and usually are often matched with copper or oil-rubbed bronze faucets. Corners can be square or radius and fronts can be straight, bowed and even embellished since copper has long been a fine metal-work material. Here, a 22 x 17-inch hammered copper sink (purchased on eBay) is used for prep and mounted below a natural cherry wood counter with Kohler’s Fairfax faucet installed on the deck.
For modern kitchens or to add a more contemporary edge to traditional designs, stainless farm or apron-front sinks are a highly durable choice. These can be undermounted or mounted flush with both the fronts and tops of cabinets and counters– like the sleek, 33-inch Franke sink, with the Franke FHF 300 bridge faucet with a Black Venata soapstone counter.
Enameled cast iron farm sinks are most famously made by Kohler, whose Dickinson is a basic that comes in a variety of colors. Used with cast concrete counters in the Barn-Ceiling Kitchen this is strictly a below-counter (undermount) style.
