09 August 2010

That Sinking Feeling

In the six weeks since we moved in, pretty much everyone who has come over has commented that our sink is weird (although they tend to be more euphemistic, using words like "interesting" or "different"). And thinking about the decision-making process we went through to arrive at it, I'm reminded that it is indeed weird.

This is the sink we had in the condo:
It's the Moenstone Big/Little sink, and we LOVED it. It's a solid surface material that's so easy to keep clean. We put soap dispensers in each corner (hand soap on the left and dish soap on the right) and used the smaller bowl on the left to dry bottles and things for recycling. Unfortunately, Moen no longer makes that sink, so we started searching for something like it. This solid-surface model from Blanco looked pretty similar:

Until we saw it in person, and it didn't actually have two bowls. The divider is actually just the edge of a shelf about two inches above the bottom of the sink.

Definitely weird.

So we regrouped and started searching again, and that's when we found a handful of websites that still had our Moenstone sink (albeit at two or three times the price we paid back in 2002). Steve immediately ordered it...but then called to follow up on the order and found that it really is discontinued. No more in stock. He actually tried this with two different websites before concluding that there was no more Moenstone to be had anywhere. Ever.

We knew we didn't want a stainless steel sink, so we spent a few days looking at cast iron options.

Kohler claims that theirs are impossible to chip (their displays include a frying pan that you're invited to bang against the sink material), but they still scratched easily. Time was getting short, and we really needed to make a decision...so eventually, after weighing all of our options, we came back around to the Blanco, which came with this wire basket:

We put soap dispensers in the corners, just like we had with the Moenstone sink, and the basket turned out to be so much better for recycling, since we can stuff it full then pick it up and take it out to the recycling bin in the garage.

Although we didn't really choose this sink as much as fall into it by process of elimination, we give ourselves an A+ on this selection.


  1. Is it hard to clean the corners? Do you know what I miss the most - my in-sink-erator... I have to throw bleach and disinfectant down the sink nearly every day to keep it from smelling because small bits of food must collect in the pipes.

  2. Wow, England must be really awful. It sounds like you're living like animals. I told you not to go....

    About cleaning the sink -- I just use a handful of baking soda with either vinegar or water and rub it all around the sink. The corners are a little awkward to reach, I guess, but not bad. If I used a toothbrush or something similar, it would be fine.