apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Oy. I do not know why these sinks are supsect because of function. If you are a slob in the bathroom, no specific sink will help you.

From a style standpoint, I think vessel sinks will date the bathroom. I think they are largely overused, but agree that in the context of the contest baths (Enrique's, Jeremy's and Rob's) they can very often suit the room nicely.

My favorite style of vessel sinks is the one pictured... slightly inset.

I also think unusual materials of vessel sinks work best in powder rooms, but Jeremy and Rob proved me wrong on that (personal) theory.

ps-- jamie pup had used vessel sinks to beautiful effect in a past-life bath, but if memory serves, they were squared off, white porcelain, and slightly inset and/or lower profile than the typical "punch bowl."

I have a Decolav glass vessel sink. I haven't had any problems re splashing, etc., and usually the first thing people say when they walk into my new place is "WOW, check out that sink!" (It was placed purposely to be viewed from a couple of points outside the bathroom) I think if it's deep enough you aren't going to have any issue, but I'm not so sure about say the shallow square Kohler ones. I have however had an issue where the water will drip down the outside of the sink onto the pedestal if it splashes. The fix for this? Wipe it up with a towel. For me that extra 2 seconds of effort is worth the cool sink.

perfect! I am just getting in a vessel sink project :-) myself. Got my sink and faucets from ebay. It looks similar to the one pictured here than the typical bowl type and I like this style better and seems to look more stable :) I plan on building the vanity top from scratch or find a table or something at a store. Something that looks modern. If anybody has ideas about getting or building these vanities without paying an arm and a leg I would love some pointers. I also have concerns about splishy splashy spillovers. Have to find out I guess. But it is not in my main bathroom. It is in the 0.5 bath which is used lightly.

I've heard vessel sinks can chip along the exposed rim if they get a bang with something. Not as much of a problem for in-counter models.

Anyway, I think the craze for these sinks is so great that they'll date the bathroom quite quickly...

I have seen a few vessel sinks I do like (mostly in this contest) but, in general, I think most are positively ugly. I agree with KC that they will be dated soon, as well.

I had a vessel sink in an apartment I rented for a year. I really liked the faucet into it, because it was designed with no areator, so the flow into it was a smooth cylinder of clear water.

The main issue I had with the sink was that I'm over 6 feet tall, and I had to back up to make sure that the surrounding countertop was clean. Setting things down around the sink when shaving, was also sort of a pain because the counter space always seemed to be under the bowl of the sink.

I think I'd prefer a cool standalone pedastal sink over the vessel on top of a semi standard countertop. If you are doing a pedestal, you probably have planned where to leave soap and stuff like that.

The good thing about these sinks is if they do become dated (and let's face it, bathrooms usually get dated faster than kitchens do) they usually have a minimal removal impact. Mine for example could literally be removed in a matter of minutes & replaced with a traditional vanity. Rock the vessel sink, rock it.

No doubt, the phrase "rock it" will also be as dated as the vessel sink shortly...

I just renovated my bathroom and selected a glass vessel sink. And I have had no problems with splashing. I suppose if I tried to splash the water around it would be an issue, but regular day-to-day use poses no problems.

Any bathroom will become dated. That is just how it goes with renovations. So pick something you love and enjoy it! If in a few years, you get tired of the look, you can always do something to change it up (new towels, new accesories, new vanity). No worries.

And we shall call this thread... Vessel Sink Urban Myths. No, there are no significant splashback issues for me. But even if it was, isn't that why we have bathroom sponges? No, I don't think they should be relegated to powder rooms. If you love the look of a vessel sink, go for it. It's your bathroom and not one belonging to whichever phantom Emily Post-of-interior-design who puts forth these sometimes ridiculous directives like "no vessels sinks outside of powder rooms, ever!" No, I have yet to chip my porcelein vessel sink, but I haven't taken a hammer yet. Maybe I'll try that next time I shave. Yes, the look will date--eventually, what doesn't? In my opinion, the fact that they are ubiquitous and have mainstreamed in the past couple of years probably gives them a little more shelf-life as a viable design option--unless, of course, you are on of those cutting-edge tastemaker/trendsetting design fetishists. In which case, you have already moved onto something infinitely more hip hand-crafted by a blind artisan from Iceland (or something like that). In which case, the vessel sink was dead to you they day it went into production... Seriously, to answer the person who posted the original question, the good thing about this look mainstreaming is that they have many more options in terms of style and price. And they're more readily available from big-box retailers, high-end bathroom showrooms, and everything in between.

The one time I used a vessel sink (Delano Hotel, South Beach) was enough to convince me never to buy one. When you turned on the faucet, it hit the sink in just the right place to arc right up the opposite side and onto the user. We're not talking full force pressure, either, just turning it on to wash hands. Can't really blame the sink alone - it's the positioning of the faucet in relation to the sink.

Didn't think much of the rest of the room, either - white laquer floors didn't work so well with tracked-in beach sand...

The BAD thing about this trend mainstreaming is that it is creating a lot of hideous variations.

And past "mainstream of trend" have yielded things like conversation pits, macrame, and Avocado and Harvest Gold kitchen appliances.

I love conversation pits!

Rock it with an avacado conversation pit!

I have friends in Palm Springs who actually have one. And it does, indeed, rock.

I rented a house with a vessel sink in the bathroom. I hated it so much I swore never to have one in my own bathroom. It could be that it was too small, or that the wrong faucet was chosen for the sink, but boy that thing was a pain. It splashed everywhere when you turned on the water, and if you washed your face you had to wipe down the counter. Maybe for some people that's ok, but for me it drove me crazy. And the shaver in the house didn't like it either, he made an even bigger mess than I did.

Of course, now we have our own house, complete with blue bathtub, toilet and sink, and a matching burned wood vanity. Just love that oak toilet seat on the blue toilet, but it was that or a white one.

regards,
trillium

No problems with splashing with ours. We actually have another vessel sink in our second bathroom (I hope this doesn't diminish p(other one)'s opinion of my bathroom!). It is a kohler as well, the white porcelain Bateau which is rectangular, in a slate tiled hallway bathroom. We don't have any problems with either. I actually like the low shallow ones as well, but got vetoed by my wife. Yes this may date our bathrooms, but hey I think that undermount sinks date bathrooms as well. To each his own. I say if you like them go for it. If not, do what you think you like. Too many people worry about resale or what others will think about your design choices. My question is are you doing it for yourself or others?

My dentist has a vessel sink in the waiting room bathroom. The way it is shaped it splashes everywhere and since I guess they don't go in there and wipe down after every patient, there are lots of water stains behind the sink.

But it might just be the shape of this specific sink. It's one of those with a very narrow base and a huge exaggerated rim. Not understated like the one pictured above.

1. Love conversation pits
2. Love my almond kitchen (to repeat myself from another thread)

Everything dates, even "classics" - isn't the "revival" of "classic" mid-century modern "dated" already? And "classics" aren't born, from Zeus's head, as "classics" and don't stay "classics" for all time. So vessel sinks will look stupid in 4 years, and then, 37 years later, when you've died, and your apartment, in pristine condition, is put up for sale, some young, non-hip (cuz that will be the new "hip") pretty-boy will come and swoon over it - taking out his handheld videophone, he rings up his husband (now married legally in New York), and says, "we HAVE to buy this place - they even have the original vessel sink in the bathroom, it's SO retro."

I like the possibilities of getting a vessel sink - even the square ones, which I love - and finding something totally unique on which to place it. But I swear, if one more person uses the term "splashback," I'm going to come over and PEE in theirs (right, P2?)

(I'm writing waaaaaay too much today - sorry, I'm home with a headcold)

dimnish my opinion? no.
increase my envy? absolutely.

I think vessel sinks are OK if the shape is right, round ones tend to be awkward. I have a Porcher Kyomi vessel sink that doesn't splash because it is very wide and higher on the sides. Good for washing your face.
Also, getting the faucet that goes with it helps.

They should be called a "recessed countertop," since that's what makes a "vessel sink." Why would a sink with a lowered surrounding countertop splash anymore than a sink with the counter even with the top of the sink? The water doesn't know what kind of countertop is surrounding the sink! If your sink splashes, it's a bad sink or bad faucet install, "vessel" or not. Maybe vessel sinks splash more because they are so hot that they are being designed poorly?

Jon B--
THANK YOU.

"The water doesn't know what kind of countertop is surrounding the sink!"

Oh, but it does...IT DOES....

MUUUUahhh-ha-ha-ha-ha.....

SOMEbody's been taking a little too much cold medicine...

We're currently remnodeling our bathroom and are installing a vessel sink. Here in the 'burbs of Philadelphia, we seem to be a good ten years behind trends, so I reckon our sink will still be referred to as "one of those new-fangled sinks" in 2015! After all, new construction in this area is still "traditional colonials." Oy veah! I say, get what you love, not what you think others will love in the future.

Reef

Any chance those of us in design phase could ask those of you vessel owners in splash or non-splash phase to tell us 1) how many inches is your faucet spout above the sink bottom just below it, 2) how many inches across the sink does your spout reach (or how close does it come to sink center), 3) is the spout angle significantly downward or more like 45 degrees?

I'm trying to pick a faucet to go with a Decolav glass sink. Some expen$ive faucet$ like Danze Parma High Rise have spouts that can reach 7" across, which with its 25 degree angle would put water almost dead center in our Decolav. Others look like they would shoot the water down the side of the sink, which is where I presume the sink would act like a ramp and sloshing would occur.

But as we've seen above, water can be tricky, especially if it knows what you don't want it to do.

We are trying to figure out the same thing. How far back on the countertop do you push the bowl back? You have to get your hands under the faucet, you don't want to hit your head on it, and how much lip do you want in the front?

I have recently had a Decolav sink installed and the problem I am having is that it does not drain. I don't know if this is due to the faucet placement or if it is the wrong kind of a faucet. Any ideas?

I just found this site yesterday and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So glad to have stumbled upon this.
Anyway...
I'm convinced that vessel sinks and pendant lamps alike are totally over priced and unfairly categorized as a design status-symbol. I'm only 23 and just got married and purchased my first home, so there isn't much money left for buying things, so I'm left having to create things if I really want them. My husband works in an antique shop, and they have a lighting guy who comes in to do restorations on lighting fixtures. He told us that he can make a lamp out of anything we wanted. So, I was in the Home Depot Design Expo center (gift certificate wedding gift) and liked some of the pendant lamps they had, but it dawned on me that they're basically like the tops of wine/martini glasses upside down. So, we're having pendant lamps made out of cheap martini glasses that we've aquired from Target, TJ Max, etc.
Along that same line of thinking (sorry for the roundabout speak here), I couldn't help but notice that some of the $2,000+ vessel sinks were basically just a big thick bowl with a drain in the bottom. I'm a firm believer that if you have access to a glass-cutting device, go out and find a thick glass/ceramic/porcelain bowl/basin that you like (minimalist or decorative - whatever) and cut a hole in the bottom and just install a drain in it...and there's your sink.
It's really that simple...no $1,000's - maybe a couple hundred after all is said and done with getting the drain hardware and a faucet.
Is there a D.I.Y. section of this site? If so, hopefully I'll stumble upon it soon!

...just my 25 cents.

amen to that! (morgan 2/16/06)
I don't understand *why* you couldn't just get a bowl you like and cut a hole in it....there are some stainless steel vessel sinks, and that really seems easy!

am i missing something?

I tink vessel sinks are so cool looking. My woman and i are looking to purchase one soon but can't make up our minds which one.

I want a vessel glass for new bathroom reno.
I was discouraged by some who told me that vessel sinks have problems.
I personally believe that it is a bad mix with the incorrect faucet.
You can see from some images on the internet that the water flow with certain facuets is not suitable.
In my search for info I found this site that addresses some of the faucet requrements.

http://www.faucetandsinkconnection.com/glass_vessel_sinks.html

Does any one know why the vessels on ebay are so darn cheap? Maybe they are just bowls that people have converted?

Has anyone ever made a custom vessel sink out of a nice ceramic bowl or other material? Any helpful hints if I wanted to make one?
Thanks!

Finally some like-minded people ask the right question...

I was looking for a white ceramic vessel sink but as I live in Islamabad there isn't much choice.The local market here is full of glass vanity sets (basin, vanity stand, mirror, faucets etc.)imported from China which are very expensive and not to my taste at all.
So I figured I could look for a nice big ceramic bowl as suggested by J Cohen and get someone to drill a hole into it. But before trusting my instincts on this I'd like to know if thats possible and if there is anything I should know befor atempting this. Can anyone tell me more?

We are set to begin a total master bath remodel in a 70s house. We have chosen white porcelain vessel sinks that only sit about 6" above countertop but have a fairly deep well that drops into the countertop. Anyone with advice or that has experienced with this would be appreciated. Also interested in the "make you own with large decorative bowl.

I found a place here in Omaha, NE to do the drilling and protective coat on a ceramic bowl.
You might try full service ceramic shops in your area. Take the drain with you so they can drill correctly.
Paintin Place Ceramics (402)331-1744

HI - Funny, I've been wanting to use a big, nice bowl for a sink since the 80s. My housemates and I agreed on a Decolav porcelain style with overflow, with a table base. We're also using a Fontaine (made in China) faucet because the local big box didn't have much choice in the way of tall single hole faucets. So far, the install has been plenty of problems. The faucet's proprietary supply lines needed kluged-together adapters to go from 3/8 fittings to, I think it was, 5/8. But right now I'm about to install the Decolav 9295 drain (normal drain fittings don't work with the sink) and can't figure out how water is not going to fall from the overflow return and just collect and sit in the countertop hole the drain passes thru. None of the packaged or online instruction sheets (which tend to contradict each other) seem to address this point. Anyone had any experience intalling drains in Decolavs?
-Dubious in Maryland

The problem you will have with creating a vessel sink from another bowl is that most vessel sinks are made with a slight slope at the point where the drain is so that the water DOES drain out. Unless you have a tool where you can create this you may have a problem with standing water. The other thing you will have to look at is if the hole is not the correct size, you may risk water damage to the furniture piece of your vanity.

That is just my 2 cents.

I just installed a vessel sink and one problem I encountered was once I turn on the faucet it would just go over the edge of the edge of the sink. You had to carfeully turn the faucet on to adjust the pressure. I fixed this by adjusting pressure control (hot&cold)under the sink so that even if you turn on the faucet at full blast fast, the water won't spill over.

I'm installing a Decolav porcelain vessel to sit flush on the counter top.

What is the best bonding material to use to ensure a tight fit with no bowl movement.

The instructions say to use plumber's putty or caulk, but it would seem like neither one of those would form a permanent bond.

What about using an epoxy product.

In the 80's, during a van conversion, my husband bought a large stainless steel salad bowl, drilled a hole in the bottom, and installed it in the countertop. It worked just fine for a sink. At a fraction of the cost I might add. Sometimes you just gotta be creative!

Will,
We are installing a Decolav bowl with overflow and had to order the umbrella drain. We caulked the bowl to our vanity and it worked fine for awhile then leaked between the bowl and vanity. What did you end up doing?

Will & Laura,

I also faced the problem of the Decolav vessel with overflow leaking from the overflow return out the bottom of the vessel. In my case, the easiest solution was to sell the Decolav crap on ebay and buy a glass vessel with NO overflow...However, if you do use a Decolav vessel with overflow, I recommend that you use two drain nuts. Use one with a rubber gasket directly underneath the vessel to seal the vessel properly, and then use another nut to secure the vessel to the vanity. Alternately, Decolav does make a "mounting ring" that goes between the vessel and the vanity: http://www.plumbersurplus.com/Prod/DECOLAV-9020-SN-Mounting-Ring-Satin-Nickel/53424/Cat/1188

Whatever you do, don't just attach the vessel to the countertop and fasten it underneath the vanity as the direcctions suggest, as that simply does not work.