Our old kitchen had an integrated sink. The counter was made out of Corian (aka plastic),  which allows the sink to integrate into it without seams. There was no cutout and it matched the color of the counter better than a stainless steel sink would. It was arranged like a standard modern sink with 70% of the sink dedicated to dishes and 30% for the garbage disposal.

It worked fine but gave us something to consider when we chose a new sink. It was white and stained easily. The stains came out with bleach but it only looked clean for about a week before staining again. The disposal side was smaller but about half the depth of the other side so it couldn’t hold much more than food scraps (which I guess was the point). The entire sink wasn’t very wide or deep, making any dishes were easily visible and messy looking.

We chose our new sink by chance as we were finishing up our cabinet selections. We were looking at stainless steel sinks when a cool black sink caught my eye. It looked like it would contrast well with our white counter and it had a neat shape and texture. Without knowing much about it we were already sold.

Our sink is a Blanco Diamond from their Silgranit line. It’s made out of granite composite, which is a mixture of granite and resin that allows sinks to be colored while still being durable. The color is uniform and does not require sealing; as a bonus it reduces bacterial growth. It’s heat resistant to over 500 degrees but is not heat proof.

In addition to being durable and looking cool, our new sink is a huge upgrade over our previous sink. It’s wider, deeper, and the sides are straighter, providing much more usable space. It’s a 45/55 split between the disposal and regular side, with both sides being the same depth. It also has a “low divide” wall between the sinks that’s about half the height of a normal divide. This allows pots and pans to lay across into the other side without sticking out.

We’ve been using the sink for a couple of months and we really, really like it. It contrasts with the counter the way we thought it would and looks sharp. The black color helps the kitchen look clean because it brings any contents into the shadows and hides them. It has had some specs on it here and there but they aren’t visible unless you are right at the sink and they clean off easily. Stainless would have been fine but I think it would have stood out too much from the rest of the kitchen.

The extra depth is great, giving us much more space to work with. I was worried that the low divide would be too low, but it’s still tall enough to fill the sink with water to soak dishes or thaw meats. The extra room it provides for pot handles is completely worth it. The garbage disposal is deeper than it was before so we have to bend over a bit more but I’m OK with it because that side of the sink holds so much more than our old one. Plus it puts the disposal lower down which makes it much quieter than it was.

The extra depth plus the low divide has made a huge difference in terms of making the kitchen look clean. A moderate dish load can’t be seen from the front of the kitchen, which helps remove the feeling of clutter. Pot handles and cutting boards don’t stick out anymore. We can only fill a sink half way with water (unless we want to fill both), but that’s not a big deal because we don’t fill them often. The extra space and height on the disposal side gives us two useable sinks instead of one. We haven’t noticed any scratches or stains yet, but we’ve been pretty gentle with it so far. This one’s a keeper.

Notes from the Present

Nearly seven years later, this was still a good choice. I was concerned the granite coating would scratch or wear off over time but that hasn’t happened. It will get a little cloudy on occasion, but a quick swipe of a Magic Eraser makes it new again. This sink continues to be beautiful, functional, and tough. I’d recommend it to anyone and would buy the same if we ever did another kitchen remodel.