We are crusin' at a snail's pace on our kitchen renovation. But, crusin' we are. I'm still so torn on the whole sink issue and I just can't figure it out. It's like if I choose the wrong sink, then the whole kitchen will feel non-cohesive or something. Yep, it's definitely a life/death decision. #justkidding #sortof
No really, I can't decide. Let's take a look at some inspiration and then I'll give you my thoughts... k?
 
This image is really close to what we are doing in our kitchen. The darker cabinets, lighter floors, light walls, open shelving and tile are all spot on. The thing that makes our kitchen different is that we went for a more refined style with the brass pulls, lighting and sconces. This kitchen is a more of a rustic style. The farmhouse sink looks perfect in this kitchen and ties everything together, but I'm not sure it would look perfect in our more refined space.
Let's look at another, shall we?
In this kitchen, the sink is an under-mount stainless sink. It's paired with brass accents and it looks great. It would be a bit different at my house, because we need an over-mount sink. But, I do think the brass and the stainless look good together.
Let's peek at another stainless sink.
How pretty is that farmhouse sink? On the downside, it's an under-mount apron sink and we, of course, need an over-mount sink. But, I adore how it looks in that space and with those cabinets (which are very similar to ours!).
Then, we have an image that makes my heart go pitter-patter.
Love everything about this image but there's no brass! I really wish the pulls were brass just so I could see the whole room and how the stainless paired with the brass.
So, yep, I'm still undecided. What would you go for? Apron front or regular? Stainless or white?
Corinna - A Designer At Home
As much as I love white sinks, they're all a pain to clean. The stainless looks great, too. But I think if I were to score the 2 against each other, the stainless would win for easy of cleaning.
Ashley Mayes
We have a cream sink right now and it's awful. I kinda just chalked it up to it being old but you made a good point.
Keiko
What is the reason that you are bound to overmount? Is it because you are keeping your countertops and the current sink is an overmount? If so, you might want to check with some fabricators and see if they could just cut and polish the edges of the hole to make it work for an undermount, since the look and function is so much better.
That aside, I love the look of farmhouse sinks, as well. I am worried about the front getting scratched up from buttons/zippers on pants, so I've decided to go with a regular sink, and I'm telling myself that we'll utilize the fake drawer as a dropdown tray for our scrubbing brushes and sponges. To me, the function is more important than the beautiful, amazing look of the apron front.
Lastly, we've got a white cast iron sink and CANNOT wait to trade it out. It has scratches and big chunks missing near the drain that show the black underneath. The finish has not aged well--granted, it is more than 10 years old. I think we are going to go with stainless--but with the finishes you are considering (in particular, the touches of black) I think black granite would also look awesome in your kitchen. The brass elements would look gorgeous next to a stark black sink.
http://www.wayfair.com/Astracast-33-x-22-Workcenter-Granite-ROK-Single-Bowl-Kitchen-Sink-AS-WC10RUSSK-ACT1015.html
http://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Bellegrove-Self-Rimming-Cast-Iron-33x22x9-625-4-Hole-Kitchen-Sink-in-Black-Black-K-RH6482-4-7/203281665
Anyway, good luck with your kitchen! We are planning to do ours next year so I'm glad to live vicariously through other people before we dive in, haha!
Ashley Mayes
We are using the existing granite and I don't believe there is enough at the tail of the sink to mount a faucet. Although, now I'm wondering if I need to see about getting underneath to see if there is any more.
I never thought about the front getting scratched. Now, I'm totally second guessing that as well.
Thanks for sending the suggestions. I didn't think of going with black.
Tori Belanger
In the last three homes my husband and I have been in we went from stainless to white and back to stainless. The white sink may look pretty but they are such a pain to keep clean! We currently have the under-mount stainless sink as pictured above and I love it!
Ashley Mayes
I really wish we could do an undermount. I Love how they look!
Charlotte
Your appliances are stainless steel right? So a stainless steel sink would tie back to those too. That stainless apron front is pretty sweet.
I bet you could do some photoshop magic on that last picture to see how it looks with brass handles. 😉
I like the idea above about seeing if you could have your granite re-cut to accommodate an undermount sink. I love the clean lines of an undermount.
Ashley Mayes
haha. I thought about that and then just decided that it would look ok. I agree with you on the undercount. We don't have enough granite behind the sink to accommodate the hole for the faucet. That's our problem with it. Annoying though!
Marie-Josée Brais
We are remodelling our kitchen and want something we can qualify of "farmhouse style", but my choice of sink and faucet is made regardless of the style. I want something large and convenient. So our choice is a stainless steel double basin... This one : http://www.build.com/vigo-vg15312-kitchen-sink/s957901
I understand your dilemna... Good luck!
Ashley Mayes
Oh, thanks for sending that! I agree with you on wanting something large and convenient!
Arielle
I'm a sucker for the apron sink but I don't think you can go wrong with the traditional. And stainless steel will look great with the brass accents!
Ashley Mayes
Thanks Arielle! I really want both. =)
Brittany @ white dog vintage
Tough, tough call! As for the cleaning factor, our last house had a white cast iron sink, and even though it stained easily, I also found it really easy to bleach the stains out. We have a stainless sink now, and though colored stains show less, it's always pretty water spotted. For me, it's kind of a wash (no pun intended) on that account; sinks are just kind of a pain to clean. I think stainless and brass would be a fab combo, though! I love mixed metallics; I even have a mixed metal engagement ring, so I'm really in it for the long haul. 🙂
Not to complicate your thinking, but one of the ladies from Red House West wrote once that her contractor cautioned her against getting a farmhouse sink because he thought it was a trend and would someday signify a 2010s kind of look. I don't necessarily agree with the contractor, and neither did she because she got the farmhouse sink anyway. But it's just a thought; and you for sure can't go wrong with a simple over- (or under, if it works out) mount style.
Ashley Mayes
Oh, thanks for the information! Sinks are annoying to clean! Very interesting on hearing that about the farmhouse sink.
Sage @ Plaster & Disaster
Too funny, I've been having the same debate for the kitchen renovation I've been dreaming of forever and finally about to maybe sort of get moving on. I have been wanting a classic farmhouse style forever (even though it's so not the overall style of our space), but the idea of a big stainless sink has started to grow on me. Can't wait to see what you decide!
Ashley Mayes
Thanks Sage! Mixing of styles can work and does, but it makes me nervous for the long-haul.
Julia@Cuckoo4Design
That first kitchen!!! I have an undercount stainless extra deep sink from Overstock and I love it. But I do love them all. It's a tough one to decide.
Douglas Walker
You noted that you don't have room in the granite for a faucet at the back of the sink. I didn't go searching, but you can get wall mounted faucets, no? That might be a good option for you.
Personal opinions: I mixed a stainless sink with oil-rubbed bronze handles and it looked fine. Traditional farmhouse sinks are more likely to look timeless. Modern takes on farmhouse sinks are more likely to go out of style. However, unless you're renovating specifically for resale value, get what you love!
Good luck!
Jen
Your new kitchen sounds like it's going to be beautiful!! We recently renovated and for me, after having lived with a stainless steel sink before, there was no question I wasn't going to go that route again. The water spots drove me nuts and I actually found the noise of the water hitting the basin to be really distracting (we had a high arc faucet so the water came down from a distance!) So we went with fireclay single basin farmhouse sink. It's been a few months and the incidental buckle on sink hasn't left any marks and found it in general to hold up well!
It may be a classic that happens to be trendy now but I love the look and function and as others have said- in the end- just go with what U love!