Wednesday, August 26, 2009

About that Kitchen Sink

I had no idea our kitchen sink (peeking coyly from the background of this photo) would attract such a loyal following. But since more than one person has now remarked on their love for it, I thought perhaps I should spotlight it, for all you old-sink lovers out there.

And make no mistake about it, this mother is OLD. Original to when the kitchen was added on to the house. That would be in the 1920s. It's a big ole porcelain-coated farm sink. A farm sink is one of those big, deep sinks with no dividers, suitable for gutting chickens and other farmy kind of things.

Its age is starting to show, however. The porcelain is wearing off, leaving rusty spots of what I assume is iron showing through. It gets stained easily and never really looks clean. Something will need to be done about it soon.

The MiL is all for replacing it. A. and I think we should just get this one re-porcelained. I don't want to dwell on how long I might be without a kitchen sink while that is being done, or how much it will cost (answer: more than we think it should--always), but I don't want to get rid of this sink. I LIKE this sink. I think this sink deserves a spiffy new coating of porcelain and a new lease on life.

And I think you agree.

18 comments:

  1. Ah, yes. I, too, have that sink. However, mine is in the basement where as a child I had to wash the "separator" in it. Do you know how many parts a separator has? Yeah, I don't remember either, but it was lots and lots. Mine is rusting too. As am I.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, restore the sink, it's worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Definitely restore the sink...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Can we go back to the part where you say "when the kitchen was added on to the house"? Because that means there wasn't a kitchen on there when it was built. What the hell kind of design is that?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Drew: There was a kitchen before in the main part of the house. A whole wooden addition, including additional upstairs bedrooms, was added to the back of the cobblestone house in the 20s. The kitchen was put in this addition and the old kitchen was turned into a bedroom, and the old pantry into a bathroom.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Really neat to know the history of your house and to have a house with history. The sink is a big part of that history. If you don't get it refinished..you could move it to another location and use it to preclean veggies and bath the dogs and bath the baby outside.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Really neat to know the history of your house and to have a house with history. The sink is a big part of that history. If you don't get it refinished..you could move it to another location and use it to preclean veggies and bath the dogs and bath the baby outside.

    ReplyDelete
  8. well.......whoooops

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree, refinishing is the way to go. You'll be dissappointed with a new sink.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hate to disagree with MIL but that sink has a history and it should be refinished. Just think of how many babies have been washed in it, how many dishes too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. No sink will satisfy you after having tihs sink! I vote for refinishing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. OK, OK!!

    (But the sink was rusting and stained when I first saw it in 1968!!!)

    ReplyDelete
  13. i believe the refinishing process can be done with the sink in place. bathtubs are done that way. as you can tell my vote is to keep it. nothing like a good ole farm house sink

    ReplyDelete
  14. Please don't toss the kitchen sink over the gully bank, meeting the same fate other items of lore and interest have! Refering to Bae's purge of course! Lance

    ReplyDelete
  15. She can't toss it in the gully. That's full of woodchucks.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes, yes, yes, yes YES refinish the sink.

    Either that or ship it to me and I'll refinish it because it's exactly the sink I want in my kitchen.

    I've been pricing new ones and they are EXPENSIVE. So refinishing is definitely the way to go.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Totally! Refinish the sink!

    Meanwhile, just get a big tub and cut a drainage hole in it.

    Maybe?

    ReplyDelete