Farmhouse sinks came from a time when running water wasn’t there in abundance. The whole idea behind it was to create a place that had the capability of holding a large amount of water, that was probably fetched by hand from rivers, wells and lakes that were nearby. Traditional farmhouse sinks are generally much deeper than their modern top-mount and stainless steel undermount counterparts. Its style and design allows the user to be able to directly stand at the basin’s front end, with no countertop or cabinets in between. This inevitably helps make farmhouse sinks a lot more comfortable to use during a period where women spent a large portion of their days there washing clothes, dishes and even babies sometimes.
Though the farmhouse sink of today might still be deep and large enough to wash a baby in, you’d rather use it for washing oven trays, big baking sheets, large pots and even your barbeque grill. Basically, you’d probably want to use it to wash things you’d struggle with if you had to use your typical sink. These days you can even get more space by going for a double-bowl option.
Installation
This type of sink was specifically designed to slightly sit at the front end of the surrounding cabinets and closets so that any water overflow runs to the floor rather than land on and damage the cabinets instead. They’re also normally installed just below the countertop level so that the counter can overhang the sink’s sides slightly. This makes it easier to get water from your countertops straight into the sink.
Drainage
Having space on your counter where freshly washed dishes can be drained and dried is a major plus. Sometimes you can have drainer grooves, which are shallow channels that have been attached into the countertop. Depth is increased the closer they come to your sink and this inevitably helps the water flow draining into your sink. These shallow channels are a fantastic way of having that draining area practicality without having to sacrifice the farmhouse sink’s original aesthetics.
Materials
The most common materials used to make farmhouse sinks in this day and age is porcelain or fireclay.
- Fireclay Farmhouse Sinks:
These are manufactured using clay that has been brought to an extremely high heat temperature making the end result both durable and hard. According to Annie & Oak it can get really tricky when it comes to installing a fireclay farmhouse sink because of its weight but once it’s done right it will last a very long time.
- Porcelain Farmhouse Sinks:
These, on the other hand, are manufactured using ceramic materials that have also been heated the same way as their fireclay counterparts are. This high heating is also what helps give it that beautiful high shine that most people absolutely adore.
The first step you should take when it comes time to finally select a farmhouse sink is to carefully consider the manufacturer you intend on getting it from. Try to get your sink from a reputable entity that has had some experience dealing with products of this kind. Many of them don’t come cheap so you might want to make sure you get complete value for money.
