From food preparation to cleaning the kitchen, the kitchen sink is a central focus in every kitchen.
Every kitchen is incomplete or impossible without the kitchen sink.
Besides their importance and functionality, they are also a focused part of the kitchen’s aesthetic.
They come in different styles, sizes, and shapes; a vintage-style kitchen sink is one of them.
Old looking, vintage, and antique design, these sinks are best if you’re an antique furniture lover.
Vintage-style kitchen sinks are copied from the European sinks used in Europe at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries.
These kitchen sinks are still trendy but cover a tiny portion of the audience.
Common Finishes and Materials of Vintage Style Kitchen Sinks
Most vintage kitchen sinks are made from hardwood and use lacquer or spray paint finishing.
It’s because vintage sinks are copied from the old-style 18th and 19th-century sinks.
At that time, kitchen sinks were only made from wood and lacquer finish.
Manufacturers still use wood and lacquer to produce vintage kitchen sinks.
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Customizable Features of Vintage Style Sinks
Below we’ve mentioned some of the most popular customizable features that you can customize on your vintage-style sink:
Apron Sink
Apron sink refers to the sink which’s front side is exposed and covers a large surface area.
It’s usually used in large kitchens where sink usage is higher than average.
The apron front is generally made of ceramic material and is polished in white or any other light color.
Backsplash
As the name suggests, it is used on the back of the stove or countertop.
The primary purpose of the backsplash is to cover the wall from the heat and oil fumes near the furnace.
Oil fumes evaporating while cooking the food can damage the wall’s paint.
Therefore, the backsplash is used to protect the wall from it.
Backsplash comes in different materials, sizes, and options.
You can consider buying a brick design, old wood design, or any design you like for a vintage theme.
Double vs. Single Bowl
Both are your choices.
You can either go with a single bowl or the double bowl as you like.
Both are good.
However, a double bowl sink serves more practicality than a single bowl one.
The double bowl gives you the feature of two sinks.
You can use the second sink for drying purposes or cleaning purposes or can use it to re-water the already cleaned crockery.
Drainboards
A drainboard in a kitchen sink is a board that keeps your countertop clean and dry.
It’s a board that is attached to your sink.
You can utilize it by keeping all the wet or dirty crockery or objects on that board.
The water of those crockeries will pass through the sink while keeping the countertop clean and dry.
The drainboards in vintage-style kitchen sinks are usually made of metal because they’re
- Cost-effective
- Resistant to water
- Easy to clean
- Give a vintage look
Drop-in Style
A drop-in style sink is a sink that has a lip that spreads to a small extent on the countertop.
The whole sink is based and attached through that lip, or you can say it’s a support of the sink.
These sink types are good in aesthetics and style, but their lip is one problem.
Their lip is lifted from the countertop, making it difficult to make the water pass from the sink.
Otherwise, they are good and give a good vintage-style theme.
Drop-in-style sinks are good to go if you can manage that issue!
Faucet Soap Dish
A faucet soap dish is a two-in-one kitchen sanitary.
It serves two purposes, a faucet and a soap dish where you can put the soap.
If your kitchen has space issues, or you don’t like to put your soap away from your faucet, you can buy this two-in-one faucet soap dish.
The faucet soap dish is low in cost, a space saver, and has better cleaning efficiency.
Troughs
A trough is usually used in vintage sinks where the number of sink users is high.
They are generally used in industrial sides like restaurants, public washrooms, and laundries where there is increased usage of sinks.
They consist of a simple yet effective mechanism.
There’s one long sink that passes from the multiple facets.
In this way, one sink serves numerous faucets.
They aren’t used in the home as unique sinks because their primary purpose is to benefit industrial sinks, nor can they be fitted in the home sink.
Function and Form of Vintage Style Sinks
Vintage-style kitchen sinks are the same as any other regular sink.
Their primary purpose is to serve a water solution to your kitchen.
Where you can wash dishes, clean and wash crockery, or any other thing with water and soap.
However, their design is changed from a standard sink.
Unlike regular modern and simple-looking sinks, they look vintage.
These sinks look vintage and antique, like those used in Europe and the USA in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Affordability of Vintage Sinks
Since these sinks aren’t so popular and cover a tiny portion of the audience, they don’t fall in the affordable option.
Not because of the supply and demand chain, but vintage-style kitchen sinks are also challenging to make.
Their design, technique, and creativity styles require much more effort than a regular, simple, modern sink.
Therefore, they fall into the premium category sinks.
Another thing that adds to their higher pricing is the cost of material required to build the vintage sinks.
They are usually made up of hardwood, an expensive wood in the furniture industry.
Related Reading: Reglazing Cost Of Kitchen Sink- Read More.
Vintage Style Kitchen Sink – FAQs
Some questions and answers might pop up in your mind regarding these sinks.
That’s why below, we’ve covered a detailed FAQ regarding vintage style sinks:
What is an old-fashioned sink called?
Nothing.
There’s no official name for an old-fashioned kitchen sink.
It’s just a sink that looks like an old-school sink.
However, it seems like an antique-style or a vintage-style sink.
But still, there’s no official name for an old-fashioned sink.
What was old kitchen sinks made of?
The old kitchen sinks were made with wood, e.g., cider, pine, oak, and walnut.
These woods are expensive, so the sink.
However, in the late 20th century, manufacturers started building the sink with iron and ceramic so that a regular person could afford the sink.
This revolution in the sinks made them the most common sanitary in almost every house.
Before that, the sink was only used in inexpensive homes.
Why is it Called a Farmhouse Sink?
A farmhouse sink refers to a sink that is a part of the countertop.
Standard sinks are fitted inside the countertop, but a farmhouse sink is attached separately from the countertop.
Moreover, this type of sink is always bumped outward from the sink and is usually more prominent in texture than standard sinks.
Why Choose a Farmhouse Sink?
There are many reasons to choose a farmhouse sink.
The first and most highlighted reason to choose a farmhouse sink is its size factor.
No wonder a farmhouse sink is enormous and about 30% bigger than an average sink.
Additionally, it’s bumped outwards, which adds contrast to your countertop and looks better aesthetically and attractive.
What are the Drawbacks of Farmhouse Sink?
The only drawback of the farmhouse sink is its size. It’s too massive in size.
Additionally, it bumps outward the sink, making it unconventional for some people.
The farmhouse sink might not be a good option if you want a simple, compact, and sophisticated sink.
Are Vintage-Style Kitchen Sinks Suitable only for Vintage Kitchens?
No, but using your vintage sink with the vintage-themed kitchen is recommended.
Using a vintage-style kitchen sink with a modern or straightforward style kitchen will give a weird look to your kitchen.
Like somebody has forced the old design sink into the double bowl kitchen sink.
What is the most popular kitchen sink style?
It depends on your choice and design preference.
However, the double sink is the most widely used kitchen sink in the world.
First, the double bowl serves more practicality and utilization because of its split sink design.
Additionally, it makes the cleaning and managing of the dishes easier.
However, according to your requirements and needs, it depends on what type of sink you want.
What is the difference between a farmhouse sink and an apron sink?
Both are relatively the same.
Both sink fronts are bumped outwards, and both have the same design.
The only difference between an apron and a farmhouse sink is the horizontal tip of the sink.
The apron sink’s top flat information equals the countertop, while the farmhouse’s top is lifted upwards than the countertop.
Are apron front sinks out of style?
Nope, it all depends upon your needs and requirements.
If you like the apron front, go with it.
The sink style and fashion never end; it depends on the consumer’s mind and requirements.
However, only a few people apron fronts because of its outward front, making the sink weird, like an installing error.
Why were old sinks so shallow?
In the older times, women usually used stools to sit inside the sink for cleaning and work.
That’s why, in ancient times, the sinks were shallow.
However, as time passed, the sinks got deeper and managed their place inside the kitchen countertop instead of on the floor.
How do I know if my sink is ceramic or porcelain?
Porcelain is the same as ceramic but more processed than ceramic.
You can’t find the difference between ceramic and porcelain by hovering your hand over it.
The only difference to see between them is visually inspecting them.
Ceramic sinks are simple looking, plain, and have a uniform color.
On the other hand, porcelain sinks can be
- Multi-color
- Etched
- Designed
- Non-uniform.
Additionally, you can find the difference in their cost; porcelain is about 60% more expensive than ceramic sink.
How can I tell what my sink is made of?
The sinks are usually made up of three materials:
- Iron
- Porcelain
- Ceramic
For iron-made sinks, have a visual look; you’ll find it easily if your sink is made of iron.
Or, hover a magnet over your sink.
If the magnet sticks with your sink, it’s a 100% iron-made sink.
For porcelain and ceramic, read the above section.
Are double kitchen sinks outdated?
Nope, who said that?
They are the most selling and standard sinks globally, used by 80% of homeowners.
They are efficient and serve the best utilization of usage.
You can use the additional sink to separate clean and dirty dishes, rewash the clean dishes, and for any purpose you like.
Are white kitchens out of style in 2020?
Yes, they are.
White kitchens are no longer the trend.
They look weird, like a mourning place where everything is white and colorless.
Moreover, they get dirty quickly, and the dirt is evident in the white-style kitchen.
Blue, yellow and red kitchen themes are trending today.
Any colorful and contrasty theme kitchen will look fantastic and is in the trend.
What is a Butler sink?
The butler sinks are the same as farmhouse sinks.
However, the only difference between them is their region.
Farmhouse sinks were manufactured in the UK, and butler sinks were used to manufacture in France.
However, France made some changes to their farmhouse sinks.
They added more clay or ceramic in the sink than in the farmhouse sinks so the butlers could wash the dishes more efficiently.
What is an apron sink?
An apron sink is a sink whose front side is moved outwards from the countertop.
Moreover, the top horizontal is also lifted from the countertop in apron sinks.
There’s no practical use of this design, but a design.
That’s why it’s not too popular in the market these days, as due to its lifted top, cleaning the countertop is difficult.
Are Butler sinks practical?
Not that much. Butler’s sinks are too heavy because they use a lot of ceramic.
This excessive use of ceramic increases the cost of the sinks, which eventually makes them not worth buying if you’re looking for a budget-friendly sink.
Moreover, being bulky in size, they are not good if you got a rental home.
Since you’ll have to de-attach the sink, again and again, to move your sink from the older house to the newer one.
What are fireclay sinks?
The design of the fireclay sink is the same as the famous butler sinks.
However, the only difference between them is the composition and manufacturing process.
Unlike other sinks, fireclay sinks aren’t put into intense heat for drying purposes.
Instead, they are left in a mild heat area for up to 2 days.
With this technique, the output is a durable and long-lasting sink and can absorb intense pressure without any issues.
Why is it called Belfast sink?
You can call them the opposite of the apron sink.
Unlike the apron sink, whose top is horizontal and the front is lifted outward than the countertop, the Belfast’s top and the front are more inward than the countertop.
This design makes the cleaning of the countertop and dishes convenient.
However, design-wise, it might not look good.
It seems like someone has roughly cut the sink and forcefully attached the sink to your countertop, but that depends on person to person.
What can you do with an old sink?
Here’s what you can do with old sinks:
- You can sell those sinks to the recyclers.
- You can re-sell that sink on eBay or any other classified marketplace.
- You can use that sink as a storage box in the laundry, store, or any other place you like.
Which sink is more expensive: an iron sink or a ceramic sink?
Of course, iron sinks will cost less than ceramic ones.
The time, resources, and efforts required to build a ceramic sink are much higher than the iron sink.
The iron sinks only take about 3 hours from the raw material to the sink, while ceramic sinks take at least three days until the sink is ready to be shipped.
The ceramic sinks use clay, manpower, design, drying, molding, and finishing, which comes at a cost.
Why should you use an iron sink?
First of all, iron sinks cost much lower than ceramic ones.
Iron sinks are also very lightweight, making them good if you’re in a rented house since reattaching will be much easier and cost-effective.
Moreover, unlike ceramic ones, their maintenance is not that high.
They merely pick mold or fungus. In the last, the repainting of the iron sinks is much lower than the ceramic sink.
All these factors make the iron sinks a better choice than ceramic ones.
Which sink is the most expensive one in the vintage style?
In the vintage themes, double bowl sinks might be the costliest one.
It’s because the double bowl requires a lot of clay, workforce, and design competition.
Which increases the cost of the double bowl sink and makes it one of the most expensive sinks out of all the other types.
However, the cost of the sink always depends on its quality, design, and brand.
Related Reading: Reason Why My Kitchen Sink Gurgle – Click Here To Read More.
Conclusion
Whether you need old-style sinks to match your antique kitchen theme or want to have a sink that matches your vintage requirements.
Buying vintage kitchen sinks might be a good option for you.
Their old and vintage looks make them unique from other regular sinks, and their antique aesthetics give them an edge over today’s modern-looking ones.
This article has written a complete guide on vintage-style kitchen sinks.
