@jtennr, I am some way off with a kitchen as we're still building but I decided to put my sink into my bench because it worked there for me. I can see into my lounge, even watch tv and also look outside my lounge window into my back yard. If I'm working on my island, I can look out my dining window into my front yard. My kitchen is in the centre of my open plan, so I don't actually have a window right at my bench. You need to draw up your proposed kitchen just basically on paper, make sure everything that is going to cross over into this new area has a spot or home, like an appliance cupboard for example, for the chip maker, or toaster, coffee machine if you like such a thing. Remember storage for all things great and small including the plastic stuff with lids and the bulky casserole dishes, right down to that draw every kitchen has for a screwdriver, or masking tape, a few biro's or extra notepads etc...etc... Work out what you might be looking at when you wash up for example, will it be a nice view??? I expect you will have a dishwasher so the wash up tends to be more, washing hands, or rinsing the lettuce etc... whilst preparing and where do you feel you want to be doing that as compared to the rest of your open plan??? Your prep area should be close to the sink and fridge, as most things come from the fridge and you don't want to be walking a long way with a hanfull of food. I drew up a plan and placed every single item into a location and made sure I had room for everything and almost forgot the microwave, such a big item too!!! Best advice is to search for a kitchen in the style and colours you think you want on Houzz, there are literally thousands, but you can narrow it down by selecting style, colour, shape, even floors and you might get down to a few hundred. You can save the favourites on your own profile page or even print pictures off to perhaps compare them and decide that you like this bench with that colour etc...etc... It's fantastic to see something you like and incorporate some inovative designs into your new build at the same time, so don't forget to search for the newest kitchen gadgets like a slide out knife block or a place for garbage bins or draw organizers, all these things can be viewed on Houzz. Best of luck. Cheers, Barbara

Early Settler has fireclay ones for around $1000.

Hi Reta, the oliveri spectra sinks are a stainless steel sink with a coloured coating. Yes they will scratch just the same as stainless steel sinks do. Oliveri do however supply these sinks with bowl protectors as a standard inclusion; which will help limit this wear. I don't know if your are aware that Oliveri also have a black sink range called Santorini which are made in the same way as Reconstituted Stone Benchtops are (like the materials such as Caesarstone is) with the same durable wear properties too. If you are concerned about the patina with stainless scratching over time, then the Santorini range may be an alternative to consider. The Santorini is very Scratch resistant as well as stain resistant, bacterial resistant, heat resistant, impact resistant, and colour stable over time. These are a great alternative to Stainless Steel sinks for those concerned about scratches in stainless over time. Hope this helps, Malcolm

I need a double sink for doing dishes, but it’s a bad job and I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a pantry doing it. For me pantries are for storage and maybe for having larger appliances set up for use. If you are entertaining you can hide dirty dishes in pantry if you need to.