Kitchen decorating tends come and go. Currently “farmhouse” sinks are popular. They are deep sinks which have a finished front that also serves as the front of the cabinet which houses it. Sometimes they are called apron sinks.
Farmhouse sinks have been around for a long time, and a hundred-years ago a Woman’s Home Companion reader submitted a suggestion to a household tip column about how to make an attractive built-in sink.
Under the Kitchen Sink
Our kitchen is very small. There was absolutely no place to keep scrub pails and such unsightly paraphernalia except under the sink, which had open plumbing. So, in order to hide these things from view, I had a carpenter build lattice-work beneath the sink and drain board, with a door. This is painted white and makes a light, airy place in which to store many housekeeping necessities. As one of my friends said, it’s the most effective “piece of furniture” I have in the house!
Women’s Home Companion (March, 1916)
A Hundred Years Ago 
So, I’m sitting here doing a first scan of my email, and see what looks to be a disaster headline: “Farmhouse sinks a hundred years ago.” What happened? I wonder to myself. Did a sink hole open up? Did it get its foundation washed out from under it in a flood? Did anyone get hurt?
Oh, my. What a good laugh, when I saw what the actual topic was. And actually, that sink looks much like the one I had up at the cabin in the hill country. We used an old door for the top, cut out a hole for an old fashioned porcelain sink, and laid the whole thing over a 2×4 frame. There were shelves beneath, and I made a burlap curtain to hide it all. It was just like this one from a hundred years ago. Who knew my little project would be blog-worthy?!
LOL “disaster headline” indeed 🙂 and, the project sounds nice, too!
I’ll never make it as a headline writer, but at least my “disaster headline” got your attention. 🙂
LOL – I love it. I suppose that I should pretend that I’m brilliant and intentionally wrote a clever title with a double meaning; but the reality is that when I did this post I never thought about how “sinks” can be either a noun or a verb. 🙂
Another interesting article from days gone by. “Scrub pails”
Just the use of the term “scrub pails” in this piece makes me think about how hard people worked a hundred years ago. I clean, wipe, and wash–but I seldom scrub. 🙂
And in those days in our area, most folks pronounced it “zinc”.
Until I read your comment, I’d totally forgotten–but my dad always called those silver-colored pails, zinc pails. Thanks for the memory.
I actually had an opportunity to use an ancient farmhouse sink when visiting lovely people we met on a trip years ago. I felt the specialness of the sink and insisted on doing all of the dishes each night. A privilege for me and a lifetime memory.
I’m glad this post reminded you of that really special trip. It sounds wonderful.
At home in the laundry room we had a sink that had the two spigots,with a wooden base around it. I forget what it is like to have hot and cold not being able to run together.
I recently read an article that said that people were happier when they found things to be grateful for each day–and that it didn’t really matter whether the things were little things or big things. Today I will be grateful for having sinks in my house with just one spigot that gives me water on demand that is hot, cold, or warm. 🙂
So nice! Everything old is new again.
I continue to be amazed how old styles inform new trends.
Me too. My neighbors have a sink like this. He is a genuine foodie! So, I guess it’s in style again.😊
That’s my sense, too. I’ve seen several recent kitchen-design articles that show photos of lovely dream kitchens with this type of sink.
That’s a rather clever idea! And I admit, I do like a kitchen that looks a bit old-fashioned.
I find it amazing how people back then apparently just got their hammers and saws out when they decided they needed some kitchen cabinetry.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. She was ahead of her time. She would have a show on HGTV nowadays ; )
. . . or a blog with household tips. 🙂
Awww touche` Sheryl! Truly enjoy this blog! So many fond memories. Also with the “zinc” bucket/pail, perhaps they were actually made from zinc, similar to what is now aluminum foil used to be tin foil.
From your headline I was expecting to read an exciting century-old diary entry about how a farmhouse was slowly subsiding into a limestone sinkhole. Oh well.
Sometimes headlines oversell a story. Maybe I have a future writing headlines for the supermarket tabloids. 🙂 But to be totally honest- somehow the double meaning totally escaped me until you and several other people commented on it.
My daughter has a farmhouse sink in her kitchen, very spacious.
Farmhouse sinks look intriguing. I’m not planning to remodel, but sometimes I think that it would be wonderful to have a nice large sink.
This was already so cool! It is great to be back after being ill for 2 weeks, I had a viral throat infection! Now, I am back to see how many posts I missed of you! xxx
I’m glad that you are feeling better. It’s good to have you back.
🙂 xxx
Love this as it reminds me of my grandmother’s place and also a sink we had in a house when I was tiny.
It’s nice to hear that it brings back memories.
It’s funny how fashion comes and goes. These sinks are now in every design show 🙂
I had exactly the same reaction when I saw this drawing in the old magazine.
A decorator ahead of her time!
What goes around comes around. 🙂