Vintage Farmhouse Sink with Drainboard

This post contains affiliate links to products I love ♥ See my full disclaimer here!

A vintage farmhouse sink with a drainboard is not only beautiful but functional for our kitchen that is in our 1885 home.

I am sure y’all are familiar with vintage farmhouse sinks, and they have become increasingly popular over the years. I have always loved them & I could not wait to have a vintage sink in my kitchen. Not only are they functional but so beautiful too!

The kitchen layout was not functional

When we bought our home over three years ago, I knew we would change the kitchen layout. We have a decent size kitchen which is not bad at all. But, what bothered us the most about the kitchen was the sink placement. It did not make sense to us. Every time we would have to clean dishes, we had no room on the other side of the sink & it only had a tiny workspace between the sink and the stove.

We had a very small dishwasher between the sink & stove & We had to run that thing a few times a day, then it just leaked. We didn’t want to spend money fixing it when we knew we would be upgrading later. So we decided to hand wash our dishes until we were ready to get a bigger dishwasher down the road. On the other side of the sink was the door that led out to the laundry room. However, we made it work until we had the budget to change it out.

Staying on budget

We decided the best way to stay within our means financially & not go into debt renovating our kitchen, and we would do the necessary projects in steps. We have a lot of ideas for our kitchen. So we started with the sink and replace it with a Vintage Farmhouse Sink with Drainboard. I am so happy we did!

For the three years or so that we have been in our home, I have wanted a vintage farmhouse kitchen sink with a drainboard to add to our old house. Our house was built in 1885; you will find that in those days when plumbing wasn’t even a thing until the early 1900s, then kitchen sinks were being installed soon after. You would find a large sink with a built-in drainboard on both sides of the sink. If you were to find an early 1900s vintage sink, you could be sure it would be pretty expensive or in need of restoration.

The vintage farmhoue sink for my kitchen had to have built-in drainboards & it had to be in decent condition.

We originally had a sink that I had purchased from my client that she stored in their client’s garage until I could find a base for it.

I searched for about two months on the marketplace and reached out to salvage yards, & I could not find one. I was very impatient, but I feared not having my dream sink in my kitchen. Then one day, I was on the Facebook marketplace looking for something else when a vintage sink with the cabinet popped up that wasn’t even listed for 24 hours &. I couldn’t message the seller fast enough before I even talked to my husband, I told the seller I was interested. My husband & I made the 40 minutes trip that evening.

What happened to the other sink?

I reached out to my client & I explained the situation about not finding a base for it & asked her she would be able to sell it? She was so understanding. I was okay with losing the money I paid for it as I know it inconvenienced her.

Can you guess how much did I pay for it?

Are you ready for this? Seventy-five dollars! Yep, that’s right! We only paid $75 for the sink & cabinet. I couldn’t believe it!

When we got home with the sink & we muscled up, carrying the sink into the house. I will tell you that bad boy was heavy! It sat in our laundry room for about two weeks so we could clean it up & restore it. It worked out well because we had to wait for our plumber anyway.

Were there any issues with the sink?

The sink & cabinet was in fantastic condition with a few minor rust spots & it was dirty.

We gave it a good cleaning & it was already looking good. My husband sanded the areas that had some rust, then we got white spray paint with primer & sealed it to keep it from rusting even more. Once the paint dried, you couldn’t even tell where the rust spots were.

How did you choose the faucet?

I wanted the faucet to have a vintage style to it with a classy look. I saw another influencer on Instagram have the same sink & I loved the faucet she had, so I messaged Ashley at @Our1917Farmhouse & asked her where she got it. She was so kind enough to send me the link to Amazon, where she got it. My husband wasn’t sure at first, but he & I agreed on the satin nickel. Once we received the faucet, we were impressed by how well made & sturdy it was & we loved it!

There were a few complications.

First, Upon installation, we ran into a few issues. It was just minor issues, but it was time-consuming. The first issue was that we wanted to have a water filter installed. Not sure why there was a problem, but it all worked out.

Secondly, the other issue was the faucet was leaning forward a bit. I usually wouldn’t mind so much if it weren’t noticeable, but it was very much so. So our plumber had to get shims to brace the faucet under the sink. What a difference it made.

Lastly, upon removing the old sink, we discovered some mold on the wall. Our plumber said we had a small leak. But, it wasn’t too bad. We were able to remedy the issue with a spray for the mold & fix the problem with the leaking pipe.

I love seeing the vintage sink in my kitchen; it’s like it’s always been there. It gives that vintage, farmhouse charm that I have dreamed of for a very long time in our old home!

Did you grow up with a vintage sink as I did?

Until next time,

If you want to follow along on our home restoration/renovation plans and all of our exciting antique & thrift finds, be sure to check out Linen and Wildflowers on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest! And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to receive updates.