All you need to know about Farmhouse Sinks

I have a farmhouse sink in my kitchen as well as one in the laundry. I have been using them for eight years now. Today I am going to tell you what you need to know about having a farmhouse sink in your home .

Image: Bella Mancini Design

Farmhouse sinks are also known as butler, apron-front and Belfast sinks and come in single or double bowl styles. They can be mounted level to your benchtop or undermounted.

Image: Tone on Tone Blog

Size

The farmhouse sink is a lot deeper than your usual stainless steel sink and will take up a lot more room and require more water to fill. The size is really handy for filling up a large bucket for mopping the floors.

You can easily fit all your pots, pans, trays and dishes in a farmhouse sink. I use a dishwasher for all my small dishes so I don’t usually fill it up all the way very often.

Image: Westerbroek

Washing Dishes

There are no drainage grooves, you will have to use a dish washing rack, or a tea towel to leave any dishes on to dry.

If you are used to washing the dishes in one bowl and then rinsing them in another and then stacking them to drain, you may have to adjust to using a farmhouse sink. As the farmhouse sink is deeper you will have to adjust how you stand over your sink, I didn’t find this a problem.

Image: Home Bunch

Installation

If you are installing a farmhouse sink you will need a cabinet maker to fit your sink and custom make your cabinets and bench top to suit them. Farmhouse sinks are heavy and your sink will need adequate support. Make sure that your farmhouse sink is correctly sealed around the edges once it has been installed.

Image: Savvy Home Blog

Cleaning

They do get dirty, but I find them really easy to clean.

Farmhouse sinks add charm and character to a kitchen or laundry and can enhance a country style or modern kitchen. Add traditional style taps to your white sink. A butler’s sink works beautifully in a French Provincial or Hamptons style kitchen.

Do you have a farmhouse sink, we would love to see it. Tag us on instagram or facebook #diydecorator.

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I’m Sam and I love beautiful homes and interiors. I am studying Interior Design and I live in a country style home in Melbourne with my family.

Mum of 2 sons

Protecting the sink is SUPER important. I have a double butler sink and while it looks great, you really need to make sure to use sink liners to try and protect the glazed finish. The finish in the bottom is chipped due to a wire rack hitting the bottom 🙁 It can be repaired though but I just have not had time to do so. Luckily I have a large stainless steel sink in the laundry which I also use as a butlers pantry so no racks are washed in that sink any more.

My opinion is that they probably work best for people who predominantly use a dishwasher. If I ever redo a kitchen, I’d lean toward a stainless butler sink although they do not look as pretty or Pinterest worthy.
- Sam
  
  Hi, thanks for your feedback. I haven’t used any sink liners, but that sounds like a really good idea. I have a Shaw sink I bought through Schotts in Melbourne. The stainless butler sink sound like a great idea too. They do look good, I love mine.