Super bowls: kitchen sinks hit their stride with more material and style options

Building Products, May-June, 2004 by Linda C. Lentz

When thinking kitchen sinks, Cheryl Schuette of Littleton-based Village Homes of Colorado readily admits that this semi-custom production builder's bottom line is price as it relates to building costs. Neverthless, the senior vice president of home building adds, "We are constantly looking at new products in order to stay on top of what our customers are seeing ... and offer them the latest equipment, if not standard, then as an option."

To illustrate, she explain that the builder is updating its design center with a greater variety of Kohler's most current color and under mount enameled cast iron sinks, including the offset double-basin Executive Chef and Clarity models in such subtle shades as the new thunder grey, black black, cashmere, and sandbar.

"These four colors coordinate with probably over half of the granites used in the kitchen today," says Laura Roenitz, Kohler's senior market analyst of kitchen

products. She also notes that there has been a rise in requests for under-mount configurations to coordinate with this popular stone countertop--as well as the gamut of solid surface and quartz materials.

"We know that many installers and builders prefer to use stainless steel because it is lightweight and easy to install" Roenitz adds. "However, there are people who prefer cast iron." Consequently, Kohler developed an under-mount installation kit that mounts most any under-counter kitchen sink to the base cabinet and eliminates the need to build supports for the weight of cast iron.

Indeed, under-counter sinks now are available at most price points in most any style and material imaginable. The luxurious fireclay, for instance, a traditional European material notable for its long-lasting beauty and exceptional durability, has surfaced in new contemporary forms such as the French-made Allia extra-large single-basin from Rohl with a 10-inch-deep bowl, and Franke's Coastal collection of modular components by Villeroy & Boch, designed to be installed solo or in groups.

Technologically advanced granite composites are making their way below the counter as well. "The quality of this material is tremendous,' says FHP Kindred's marketing manager Gary Fuqua, with a versatile new line of granite under-mount sinks that are engineered to accommodate both under- and top-mount preferences. It is so hard and impervious to damage, Fuqua claims, that scratch marks left by fork tines dragged across the surface simply wipe away with a cloth.

The BlancoDiamond Silgranit one-and-three-quarters-bowl and double-bowl models, too, have sleek flat decks that allow for either under-mount or drop-in installations. While at Eljer, the new English-made Astracast Rok brand offers both undermount and self-rimming versions.

For a custom under-counter look--minus the seams and installation headaches--DuPont Corian seamless sinks are fabricated with the countertop. Whether a buyer wants the clean, minimalist lines of a contiguous glacier white oversized bowl and matching counter or prefers contrasting hues, the color choices are vast. Additionally, to keep overall costs competitive with high-quality stainless steel and cast iron, DuPont's MSRP sink program assures reasonable pricing for professionals and homeowners alike.

The ChefSink from Sonoma Cast Stone is another model meant to integrate with the company's counter. Made from an extremely dense concrete refined and sealed to a smooth lustrous sheen, this kitchen prep/cleanup center was designed for working kitchens with a unique perforated stainless steel bottom that resists wear from pots and pans. A rinse board, in the same pierced material, slides across the entire unit to serve as a colander or draining rack.

THE ALLURE OF STEEL

Of course, stainless steel sinks still are tops with builders and homeowners nationwide. According to the NAHB's "Housing Facts, Figures and Trends 2004" it's the material of choice for 57 percent of the kitchen sinks installed in single-family homes.

"Eighty to 85 percent of our buyers choose stainless steel, across price ranges," says builder Schuette, who specs such value-driven models as Sterling's 14700 series with SilentShield at the entry level. "People want them to be quiet," she says.

"There are lots of sinks out there," declares custom builder Kevin Kenny of the San Francisco-area K. Daniel Kenny & Company. "We've done cast iron, Corian, and concrete, but I would say that 75 percent of the sinks we put in nowadays are stainless steel."

He especially likes the American Standard Culinaire collection. "The nice thing about it is that the sinks and faucets were made to go together. For a 'no-brainer' it looks and functions great," adds Kenny. A relatively recent introduction, the Culinaire line, made of 18-gauge professional-grade stainless steel, comes with a host of interchangeable accessories that store in the sink. Even the cutting board and dish drainer sit on top.

"People want things that are organized and easy to clean," says American Standard kitchen product director Carol Houlik. "So as a rule anything we design moving forward will have some sort of accessory package to make the whole thing more of a workstation."