Sometimes in home repair/improvement you have to make compromises in the name of cost.

This is one of those stories.

Our kitchen sink has been, for some time, crappy at best.    It was probably white porcelain at one point in its life but had since regressed to a brownish-creamy color that no amount of bleach or acid short of Medusa spit would ever render clean again.     In addition to this attractive palette, the cast iron bowl of it was pulling away from the metal edge, resulting in a sinking sink that had to be regularly caulked on the edges and propped up from below with a 2×6 in order to keep it from simply falling out of our countertop.    Add onto this a somewhat leaky faucet and an extremely leaky drain and it was a grisly nightmare to behold.

We made do for awhile.

This past weekend I finally put my handyman foot down and said, “Forsooth, foul basin!   I shall have words with thee!” and then promptly jumped upon my horse and rode to the Temple of Menards to consult with the deities and to pick out some Real Nice Stuff™.

The theme of the day was, “Cheap x 3″ for this basic reason:   At some point or another we are going to participate in the marriage stability challenge that is complete kitchen renovation.   Cupboards, countertops, lights, ceiling, paint, knobs, the whole 9 yards.   However, we simply don’t have the funds on-hand to get into that right now, so…

• 1 stainless steel two-bowl sink — completely free via Freecycle about 2 years ago
• 1 chromed metal and plastic faucet and spray hose kit — $40
• 2 chrome drain baskets on sale — $18
• 1 PVC drain plumbing set — $7
• 2 tubes of silicone caulk — $6
• 2 packages of clips, neither of which worked — $6
• 2 braided 9″ hoses — $14
• 3 brass reducer couplings — $9
• 1 can of triple-expanding foam — $2.50

Total Spent:  $102.50

Results?    A much sexier-looking sink and a ‘bye’ on full-out kitchen renovation for a few years, at least.

View the evidence below!