If you’re planning to update your kitchen with a new Ikea Domsjo apron front, white farmhouse style sink, this is everything you need to know before you buy one and install!
We recently finished up a kitchen refresh project in our house and I’ve been meaning to spend a little bit of time talking with you about some of the details about the room, why we chose what we chose, and how we’re liking everything so far. So today’s going to be all about our new Ikea Domsjo sink!
There it is! Our brand-new-ish IKEA Domsjo Sink! I say brand new-ish, not because we bought it used, but because we actually installed it over a year ago. I’ve had some time to live with it and put it through the wringer a few times so now I can report back to you in a more complete way that you will hopefully find really helpful!
If you don’t have an IKEA store nearby, their online shopping has gotten pretty great in the last couple of years, so that’s always an option, or you can find a lot of great alternatives elsewhere online.
It’s Amazingly Beautiful
OK, first of all, if this is something that you’re going to be ordering online like we did, you should know that it’s a thing of beauty. It’s way way way prettier in person than on the website. The way the light reflects off the glaze makes it look like a million bucks and it really has become the focal point of our room despite the fact that it only cost $259 (Canadian! It’s way cheaper in the US!). Sorry, gorgeous $4000 stove/range hood combination! I still love you, but the show seems to have been stolen by the Ikea Domsjo sink in the court of public opinion! Or at least with most people who visit our house. 🙂
More White Farmhouse Sinks That Caught my Eye
It’s Pretty Tough, But Not Completely Scratch-proof
Of course, I’ve been pretty careful with my new Ikea Domsjo sink. I don’t want it to get all banged up, but life definitely happens and things like big heavy pots and pans get tossed in there sometimes in the heat of the moment during the dinnertime rush. Actually, I would have said it was amazingly tough and almost scratch-proof BUT I happened to notice one teeny tiny scratch last week, so I can’t lie. It’s not completely scratch-proof, but it really can stand up to a lot of real life, despite it’s pretty, shiny appearance. You can protect it when you’re washing really big, scratchy items by putting an old tea towel down in the bottom first before you fill the sink.
It Gets Dirty
This is probably the number one thing that will surprise you if you’re switching from a basic stainless steel sink to a white porcelain farmhouse sink. Of course, you knew that your old stainless steel sink got dirty, and of course you cleaned it, sometimes super thoroughly, but you probably didn’t realize just how many stains were building up on your sink. Stainless steel tends to kind of darken slowly over time, where as stains build up on a white sink really quickly and then they just sit there, clear as day for the whole world to admire, or stare at in disgust at how filthy you are and how it looks like you never clean your sink. So yes, you will have to do a really good job of cleaning your sink much more often. The good news is that it’s really not hard and it cleans up beautifully quite quickly and then it’s good as new! Find out exactly how I clean my new sink here or check out this video:
Go With The Single Sink!
You may think I’m crazy to say this, especially if you’re used to having a double sink. Surely, two sink must be better than one, right? I thought I was going to get the double sink initially too, but it was just too wide for our current base cabinet and we didn’t want to have to do anything super crazy like move the dishwasher, so I ended up ordering the single and thinking that I would just learn to deal with it. Ha! I totally lucked out on that one. It turns out that one really wide sink is actually way more useable than two smaller sinks and the overal width of the single Ikea Domsjo sink is about 8 inches less than my old stainless steel double sink, so I ended up gaining 8 inches of counter space! That’s quite a lot once you look at it person. It really makes a difference. Plus I feel like I have so much more sink space too! It’s a win-win! I can easily fit 3 or four big pots in my sink now all at the same time with lots of room leftover, whereas before with my two divided sinks, I was only able to fit one pot in each sink and all the rest would just end up on the counter. The useful space just feels huge now with this new single sink. I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true!
It’s Super Super Heavy
OK, so the one downside to getting the Ikea Domsjo single sink that was slightly smaller than our current base cabinet is that we had to add some bracing inside the cabinet under the sink because that thing weighs a ton! And once you add water into it? Yeah, you definitely want some extra support, just in case. Usually you have a sink that fits right into your base cabinet and rests on the sides of the cabinet itself, but since we went with a weird size we couldn’t do that. Of course now that we often have a sink full of water, filled with tractor toys, and with a four-year-old leaning on it while he plays, I’m definitely glad that thing is really solidly supported and not going anywhere!
The Drain is Honestly a Little Wonky
Chris installed this sink and if you’ve been coming to visit me here on the blog for any length of time, then you know he’s kind of a perfectionist. OK, he’s really a perfectionist. Like, it’s painful to watch sometimes. So the way he installs everything is always well thought-out and researched from every possible angle for an excruciatingly long amount of time before he begins. So basically what I’m saying is that his plumbing is good. We got the IKEA drain that goes with this sink though and it’s not completely water tight unless you fiddle with the stopper a lot and somehow magically get it into the exact perfect position. Most of the time though, if you fill the sink it slowly drains out even if you have the stopper in. I’m sure Chris could mess with it and fix it, but I haven’t said anything to him because for me it’s not really worth the hassle right now. But what I’m saying is that part of the sink isn’t totally fool-proof so that might drive you a little crazy if you like a big sink full of nice hot soapy water.
You Will Get a Million Compliments on it
Well, if I’m being honest, this is maybe my favorite thing about the sink. 🙂 It seems to be the first thing people notice and I’ve gotten so many “Oh I love your sink!”s that I can’t even keep track. I’ve had other things like that from IKEA before, like our old bed, and it always makes me feel so smart when I know that I’ve picked out something so inexpensive but that turns out to be such a feature in my home. So many of us love the look of these sinks and have been kind of dreaming of having one in our own kitchen and it makes me feel pretty lucky that I’m the girl who has one.
Have you been thinking about installing a white farmhouse sink in your kitchen? If you have any other questions about my Ikea Domsjo sink, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments section below or by sending me an email!
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.