Copper Sinks

[Jeri Lynn]

Hi Everyone,
We are renovating our kitchen. I want a rustic/campish affect as our home was originally a camp owned by my DH's parents. Our walls will be ship-lapped pine and I am using the rough side. I have ordered Kraftmaid cabinets that are Cardinal with a black onyx patina, the grain and knots will show thru. My granite counter top is called Black and Tan, but the tan really has a reddish hue so it goes nicely with the cabinents...my dilemna is that I have my heart set on a copper farmhouse sink. I'm just not sure if it will go and I'm unfamiliar with copper sinks. Does anyone have any experience/suggestions?

[magicofdisney]

I have no experience, however I think that copper would look fantastic with the reddish hue in your countertops. I know that copper cookware has restrictions with cleaning materials, so that'd be something to consider when using it as a sink. Would you have limited exposure to certain cleaners?

[1DisneyNut]

The copper sink won't stay bright copper for very long, maybe a week or two. It will tarnish. The tarnish will never be an even color either. Anything acidic you pour or lay in it will strip the tarnish and leave a clean spot that will retarnish over time but will still be visibly different than the surrounding area. Even your hand/finger prints can leave spots.

I have a friend that had one put in their new house. It looked great when they first moved in but it looks like **** now after a year or two. It is just an ugly dull color unless they clean and polish it all the time. They hate it and if it were me I would rip the ugly thing out. I wouldn't be able to stand all the discoloration and spots all the time.

The ones with a clear coat to supposedly keep them a bright clean copper color, get chipped/scratched and then tarnish underneath the clear coat and look terrible.

[SBETigg]

I have a black enameled cast iron sink and I love it. It cleans easily and looks great even after many years. It might be a good alternative to the copper.