Will composite sinks overtake stainless steel as first choice in premium kitchen specifications?

Schock Cristadur Green Line sinks are made from natural, renewable or recycled raw materials, including Kallio M-175 in the Day finish

Tapping into the trend for colour, texture and natural materials or biophilic design, composite sinks are coming to the fore in kitchen projects.

Offering a raft of colours, and boasting practical features such as heat, stain and scratch resistance, as well as hygienic properties, composite sinks have broad appeal.

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Lauren Goodbrand of Kitchens International on winning the Kbsa Concept Designer Award 2024

Procurement manager at Clearwater Daniel Boulton comments: “The wide range of shapes and colours available with composite granite gives them the choice of either co-ordinating into an overall colour theme or creating a contrasting statement.

“The flexibility of composite granite allows it to be formed into any shape and colour; at one extreme it can take the form of a softly curved undermount, at the other extreme it could be a strongly contrasting and minimally sharp architectural features. The joy of composite granite is its flexibility and breadth of choice.”

Black holes

Interestingly, with such a choice, the majority of composite sinks specified are in the same colour spectrum with “darker shades, blacks, near black and greys, sometimes with a touch of sparkle” leading sales, as head of marketing at CDA Carrie Bell explains.

Franke Maris MRG undermount kitchen sink features a large, single bowl and is shown in a Matt Black finish

Whereas sales and marketing director at Franke UK Jo Sargent states the colour selection is even more focused: “Matt Black is bar none the popular choice in kitchens due to its ability to deliver a chic, timeless and premium aesthetic and granite is a material that nails this trend.”

In fact, such is the popularity Franke offers a choice of six inset and undermount Matt Black Fragranite sinks in a range of bowl sizes and recently introduced it to its new Maris MRG range and existing collections.”

Jo Sargent of Franke UK adds: “We have also introduced the Matt Black Colourline waste kit to offer a true integrated black option for the design purists, but we are also seeing a trend for customers combining them with white sinks too as a contrast detail.

“Granite is the only sink material that offers this design scope for personalisation.”

Format variety

While there may be little differentiation in popular colour choices, there does seem to be greater variety in choice of sizes and installations of granite sinks, perhaps to suit differing types of dwellings.

Abode Aspekt Single Bowl & Drainer in Black Metallic Granite (also available in White Granite) is a compact model measuring 716mm in length.

Carrie Bell of CDA points out: “The one and a half bowl style is the popular choice in granite, in either sit-on or built-under formats.”

While design manager of Abode Paul Illingworth reports: “Our fastest-growing model is the Denton – a compact design ideally suited for smaller installations or perfect as a second sink”.

However, larger sized bowls are significant for Franke UK’s undermount granite sink sales, explains Jo Sargent. She points to roomy bowl sizes of the Maris MRG, enabling handwashing of larger items that won’t fit in a dishwasher, as being important to the sink’s success.

Neatly combining both trains of thought, CSO of Schock Sven Funck explains there is growth at both poles of format sizes, when he adds: “Compact single-bowl sinks for smaller urban households or single flats are gaining popularity, but there is also greater demand for large basins with integrated steps for matching accessories for ambitious hobby cooks.”

Colour ties

With the ability of composite sinks to meet the project demands and fashion desires of most kitchen sinks, will this be reflected in a continued growth in sales?

Quadra sinks, by Reginox, are available in a choice of sizes and in Titanium and Black finishes.

Paul Illingworth of Abode believes so, as he comments: “As more designers and end users appreciate the look and feel of composite granite, I think they will only rise in terms of popularity and prestige.”

And his view is supported by Jo Sargent who says the growth in coloured taps will support future sales of composite sinks, as she comments: “We saw the sales line start to increase before the trend for coloured taps really took off, but now they complement each other and perhaps fuel each other.

“The fact that we have invested in a level of stockholding that gives faster access to the product, rather than it being on a lead time, has also driven sales growth.”

Succeeding steel?

But will composite sinks ultimately supersede stainless steel in terms of appeal for kitchen interiors?

The multi-level Blanco Etagon sink is available as a composite Silgranit or stainless steel model

For a younger demographic, it could be a possibility says Daniel Boulton of Clearwater. He explains: “Its image is more youthful and exciting than stainless steel, and it is now starting to vie for position in terms of prestige.”

Whereas Franke UK reports stainless steel still remains by far the most popular sink material, and Reginox UK says stainless steel sales are holding firm.

Commerical director of Reginox UK Dave Mayer adds: “We have seen significant increase in sales within our composite/granite products but this hasn’t been at the expense of our stainless steel products.

“Reginox UK, continually sees stainless steel as the number one choice when it comes to choosing a kitchen sink material.”

So accomplished kitchen retailers won’t throw out the stainless steel sink with the dish water, but will recognise the growing design significance of composite models.