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| After lurking here for a year and reading until my eyeballs hurt, I decided to embark on a much awaited budget kitchen facelift and got so many great ideas from you all. Thank you to all who responded to my newbie post and offered such thoughtful advice! (Full disclosure: I gave serious consideration to the idea of waiting a while longer to stockpile more funds, but the truth is that I've already waited 10 years and just don't see myself ever justifying the cost of a serious remodel, at least while my children are young and college funds call). So, off I go!
Cabinets will be hand painted white with nickel hardware, ss appliances, medium toned wood floor. I originally wanted marble but decided I just can't live with the patina, explored Cambria Torquay (lovely, but not quite right for me), and took a chance on a granite my fabricator recommended: river white. Love at first sight! Never knew I was a granite girl. The question now is whether to choose a single bowl Silgranite sink in white/some other light color or ss? I was all set to go with ss, but now I'm wavering. For those of you who have a white or light colored silgranite sink, can you comment on how it holds up long term, in terms of staining? We currently have a white porcelain sink, and it's a nightmare to maintain. Is there another silgranite color that might work with this granite? (My apologies for the poor photo quality)
Thanks so much for reading. Seems I can't manage to compose a short post :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| The metallic gray would look awesome with that beautiful granite. And how cute is your little one! :) There have been prior threads on how those hold up and the look of the white. I've linked one below, but if you google "silgranit white gardenweb" or something like that you will get links to the prior threads. I vote metallic gray, however. It is awesome looking and would look fab with your granite. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Prior thread about white silgranit
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| I have the oatmeal coloured Blanco sink and will never get another light coloured one again. I was originally told that it would not stain, but if I pour a cup of tea or coffee down the drain and some of it inadvertantly (and unnoticed) splashes up, it stains. Up until about 6 months ago, I tried everything to try to remove the stain. I even went so far as pouring Javex on it! About 6 months ago, someone suggested using those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and that really solved the problem. I have had this sink for 7 years and it is only in the last little while that they have looked "clean". I have to worry about everything that I put in the sink and make sure that I completely rinse everything away before leaving for the day. I love the material and would consider another sink made of the same material, but NOT a light coloured one. |
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- Posted by may_flowers (My Page) on Mon, Aug 20, 12 at 18:55
| The posts I've read about staining have been on older sinks. A few years ago, they came out with Silgranite ll with more stain resistance. I have Biscotti, the oatmeal color, purchased two months ago. I got my first stain the other day from blackberries. It didn't wipe off like everything else. Sprinkled on a little baking soda, gave it a light rub, and it disappeared. |
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| Appreciate the feedback and personal experience. I think at this point I will steer clear of the whites, even if they have improved in recent years. I'll be stuck with this sink for a long time, and although I'm no neat freak I do spend an inordinate amount of time scrubbing my current sink. Going to look at a metallic silver one today, beeps! Might be the best of all worlds. Thanks! |
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| No! Don't steer clear of white! You who are having staining issues, are you using Blanco sinks or another brand? And if your sink is white or light, are you using Soft Scrub with bleach to clean it? I've had my WHITE WHITE Blanco silgranit sink for 2 years. NOTHING stains it. I've had beets in there. Much coffee (with splashes that DH doesn't notice). Tomato based stuff. Even tumeric which stains everything!! Not one stain in my sink. Never even one problem cleaning it. I called Blanco before the sink was delivered to ask what to clean it with. They said Soft Scrub on the white ones. So that's what I use. With a green scrubby pad (Scotch Brite green pads). Most of the time I just used the Soft Scrub with my dish rag and any pot marks come right out. Pot marks are the only marks I seem to get in the sink, but they wipe out with not even any muscle. I don't know why others have bad luck with them unless they're a different brand, and therefore a different type of material or something. My white Blanco gets 5 stars from me and I highly recommend it. I love the granite you've chosen, by the way! |
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| It sounds like th silgranite 11's are much better at stain resistance. I have yet to see any of them in person, So it will really depend on what looks best with the granite. Thanks for the positive feedback on the granite (and the cute kid:) I had started second guessing myself on the granite, since I was initially drawn to marble, soapstone, and basically everything but what I chose. Love the support from all of you gw'ers! |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 0:37
| That's lovely rock. And DD. :) I second the motion to consider the metallic gray silgranit. I own two and am thrilled with them. Occasionally something leaves a temporary stain on the sink that easily scrubs off with a light sprinkling of baking soda or BKF and 5 seconds of scrubbing. No pan rub marks. No discoloration. In fact, I have to remind myself to clean them because they almost always looks clean. I almost hesitate to post this pic of my cleanup sink in Carrara perimeter as the metallic color looks horrible here. IRL, the metallic looks very silvery gray and nicely compliments the white/gray marble.
I urge you to take a look at the metallic in a showroom or call Blanco for a little sample chip of it and any other color you might like. My samples came within a few days of calling. I also used the metallic in my black walnut island counter and can show that if you're interested. Good luck choosing! You've got a great start on your kitchen facelift. |
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| Ooooh, I do love the metallic sink with your granite, even if the color reads differently in the photo. I'm hoping this might give me the look of stainless without the hassles, although I have personally never worried about a bit of patina or water marks. Maybe I should start a separate thread, because my questions never seem to end, but for those of you who are still here bearing with me:)... I've noticed that everyone seems to do a slight positive reveal with the silgranites. Is this a style or function choice (eg are there special accessories that need the reveal to function properly)? I find the blanco website less than helpful and can't really figure out how best to make the transition from a double to single bowl. Much prefer the look of a single bowl, but I do occasionally hand wash or drain fruit, etc. Thinking about a raised colander or drying rack. Thoughts? |
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| I chose a positive reveal because I didn't want gunk that I couldn't see building up under the lip of the granite in a negative reveal. It was a personal preference for me and I'm glad I insisted on it. I have the double bowl in the Blanco white, because I like having a clean sink and a dirty sink. I'm sure the single bowl is easier to wash things like a roasting pan, etc., but I don't use that very often and I can wash my 14" cake pans just fine in my double bowls. I've attached a picture. I think the gray silgranit would look beautiful in your granite. It matched my blue pearl perfectly. I had to decide whether I wanted the sink to blend in or stand out. I wanted it to stand out, so I chose the white.
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 12:02
| Rovo--I think of the metallic silgranit the same way. They appear to me to have the look of stainless, but without what I perceive to be the big negatives of stainless. Love them! Regarding sink reveals, this topic comes up often here. I'll link to a recent thread containing links to past threads on the subject. Personally, I much prefer the positive, although this is my first undermount sink. I think the very slight positive looks great with the tiny curve on the rim of the sink and can't get gunky underneath like I imagine a negative reveal to get. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Sink reveals
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 12:22
| For draining fruit/veg, I had runnels put in at my cleanup sink. I wash produce and let it drain on the runnels.
Single bowl vs double is debated very often also. Many of those threads have tips on how to use a single bowl that may answer some of your questions. I rarely handwash more than a couple of tiny items, but when I do I set the items to dry on one of DD's little washcloths or, if bigger, a hand towel then dry and out away. |
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- Posted by breezygirl (My Page) on Wed, Aug 22, 12 at 12:22
| For draining fruit/veg, I had runnels put in at my cleanup sink. I wash produce and let it drain on the runnels.
Single bowl vs double is debated very often also. Many of those threads have tips on how to use a single bowl that may answer some of your questions. I rarely handwash more than a couple of tiny items, but when I do I set the items to dry on one of DD's little washcloths or, if bigger, a hand towel then dry and out away. |
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- Posted by ellabee_2016 (My Page) on Thu, Aug 23, 12 at 9:57
| A year and a half-plus, and nothing has stained my white Silgranit sink. It gets heavy use -- daily coffee, cooking with tomatoes, beets, turmeric, saffron... I use nothing but water and a bit of dish soap to wash it out, and baking soda for anything that shows after that. I use and love the steel grid in the base of the sink, which is a Diamond Super Single. When I want to soak something, or hand wash a bunch of delicate china, I get out a plastic dish tub. Mostly I wash pots and utensils without that, and dry them standing on the grid. |
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| Thanks for sharing your pics and experiences. I like all of the colors, and they seem to look good with vastly different countertop materials. Think I'll take the plunge and go with the metallic grey, slight positive reveal! Breezygirl, looks like I chose the same Grohe faucet--good to see the combo in your kitchen. And I do love your white, deb52899. Looks fantastic with the granite and lovely white cabs. Thanks again! Will post photos when it's in (and ask the inevitable bs questions :) |
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| I've had a white Silgranite sink for almost 7 years. I keep a spray bottle with a splash of bleach in water. When the sink starts to look kind of off-color, I spray liberally with the dilute bleach and wait a minute or two until it is as good as new. The instructions that came with the sink said to fill the bowl with cold water and add some bleach, but I think the spray bottle is easier. |
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