“I’ve never recommended putting a concrete sink in a kitchen,” says Cheng. Can you use a concrete sink in the kitchen? Above: One of our all-time favorite projects, The Floating Farmhouse in Upstate New York, enlists a vintage, farmhouse-style concrete sink (and polished concrete floors). It also means that the surface is fairly easily scratched and nicked. Concrete is more like limestone in terms of hardness.” That means it’s porous and must be treated to prevent staining and discoloration. Concrete has natural variations in color and texture that might irk those looking for a uniform look, and it will show wear-or, to use a more appealing expression, develop a patina.īut the main drawback, as Cheng points out, is that “no matter what you put in your concrete, it’ll never be as hard as granite or engineered stone. What are the disadvantages of a concrete sink? And unlike most marble, granite, and engineered stone, which often has to be shipped from abroad, concrete is made of locally sourced material-gravel rock, sand, and cement-and thus has a smaller carbon footprint. The look of concrete works with a wide range of design styles-rustic or contemporary, traditional or hip. You get to choose the size, shape, color, and surface texture, so you can have a sink that fits perfectly, size-wise, into your space and suits your home style-wise. What are the advantages of a concrete sink? Above: A poured-in-place concrete sink in the larder-like kitchen of a DIY home in Maine see The Soot House: Conjuring the Ghosts of Old New England on Spruce Head in Maine. But concrete, a much more forgiving material, is easily transformed into almost any shape you can imagine. “So here’s the chance to use a relatively inexpensive material and finish it into something that’s unique.” A customized sink made of ceramic, for example, is considerably harder to produce, as it requires kiln-firing at high temperatures. “We live in a world of manufactured items, with everything channeled to the mass market,” says Cheng. It makes a statement: The concrete sink takes an inexpensive material, formerly used only for construction and foundations, and turns it into something sculptural and bespoke. Above: An integrated concrete sink in the mostly concrete Casa Tiny, a Walden-Inspired Getaway in Mexico. We asked designer Fu-Tung Cheng of Berkeley-based Cheng Design (who literally wrote the book on the subject: Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath) our pressing questions on concrete sinks: What are the advantages? Can you use it in the kitchen? Are there options beyond plain, sidewalk-colored gray? Here’s the intel. As it turns out, the concrete sink is coming into its own as one of the most versatile sinks we’ve seen, aesthetically. But lately we’ve spotted appealing sinks made of concrete in all kinds of spaces, from a snug house on an island in Maine to an indoor-outdoor escape, available for rent, in Mexico. Icon - Check Mark A check mark for checkbox buttons.Ĭoncrete gets a bad rap: rough, clunky, cold, best suited for brutalist interiors. Icon - Twitter Twitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Pinterest Pinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - Instagram Instagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Facebook Facebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Email Used to indicate an emai action. Icon - Search Used to indicate a search action. Icon - Zoom In Used to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - Zoom Out Used to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Location Pin Used to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Dropdown Arrow Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Close Used to indicate a close action. Icon - Down Chevron Used to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Message The icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - External Link An icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - Arrow Right An icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. The Cult of the Concrete Sink: Remodeling 101 - Remodelista Icon - Arrow Left An icon we use to indicate a rightwards action.
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