apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Hi Alex, I would suggest to see if you or any of your friends knows a amatuer/hobbiest woodworker. If so, ask if they would like to make it for you. You would of course pay them something for their time and material but probably a lot less then $500. If you were in Chicago I would go for a deal like that. Pete

It is really unfortunate, but I believe your best bet is to get a custom piece, which will cost you a pretty penny. It is unfortunate, but carpenters rarely like to take job for less than $500. The good thing about a custom piece is selecting a grain of wood that will generally be better than pre-fabricated models. I really do feel your pain; I am in the same situation.

What's the worst part is that's $50 worth of veneered plywood at most. What about smartfurniture.com? You can customize to a limited degree & have a little storage underneath as well. Your other option, which, IMHO always looks cool is to find ANY piece of furniture with the right height to it (it can even be a chair) and drill a hole in the top. Set the sink on it and you're good to go. While it seems like you are shooting for simple and modern, and a pedestal more than a cabinet, why not look at something from westelm or the like? Almost anything can be made into a sink base.

I'm having the same problem. Having a family friend build one for me. Try www.cb2.com or West Elm (they have a "cut-out media cabinet that may work). I would suggest coating them with poly so they don't get damaged by water. It is ironic that the simplest vanities are about 10x more expensive than the ugly ones that you find at Home Depot or Lowes for next to nothing. Seems to be an area where someone with some decent carpentry skills could make good money! You would think the mass producers would see that they are completely missing a market.

You might try gothic cabinet, if one of their existing models don't suit you, they might be willing to adjust the dimensions a little.

Jared: its actually not ironic that simplicity costs more-- it makes perfect sense. Cheap Home Depot vanities use cheap hardware to join the pieces together, instead of cut joinery (which have to be executed perfectly to look "simple" and right.) The ugly pieces use moldings and other details to hide substandard construction-- in a well constructed minimalist piece, there is nothing to hide behind. Then there is the materials issue-- if a minimalist piece were made with HD vanity materials, it would lose its raison d'etre and look worse than if it were merely an ugly big box vanity. I don't mean to attack you personally-- its just that yours is a common misconception, and I gotta stand up for my woodworking peeps. Simplicity (as pictured here)= time + craft + high-end materials = $$$$.

that Barclay version is gorgeous

I bet you can find a carpenter that is *not* on Craigslist to make that up - keep asking around. Or post your location here, you never know.

I had a small tall space for a sink - looked at lots of stuff, including old victrola cabinets before I cut down a birch kitchen cabinet and was done with it.

Marine spar varnish is better than poly for wood in bathrooms. It's the stuff they put on boats.

Guido

We are in Jackson Heights. We saw something at Target that might work if we cut the top and rigged a slot in the drawer, but we were worried about how well the particleboard would hold up in the bathroom and that the finishes could probably not be sanded off and refinished.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_16/602-4471029-5220668?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000BOUMD0

ooo alex, I wouldn't
it looks right now, but as you suspected
that particle board is just going to swell up and look nasty someday

I'm about to switchout the cheap laminate around my kitchen sink for butcher block; I know of what I speak.

what about a metal table - look in the small apartment contest at Ryan's b-room in San Luis Abispo, it looks good - could pay someone to drill the drain hole into any metal table you want?

also, it is easy to build it yourself - I got a book from the library and bought wood at a place that cuts it to size and built my own little storage unit - my place is still a work in progress, so did not enter the contest this year - saved me a lot of money and I feel as though my hands went into the place!

Thanks Naomi ! Most pieces that have a 'simple' look are actually the most complicated to execute. (The piece pictured appears to be a mitered torsion box) Alex, if your pricing this out, and are feeling a little DIY, ask for a price with and without the finish. The price of $800 is actually a really good one. I couldn't do it for that.

I had the same problem--a small space, a vessel sink and a limited budget (or a refusal to pay $600 for an ugly Home Depot vanity). My solution: I went to Ikea and bought a Norrebo add-on shelving unit for $60. Then I drilled a hole for the pipes, bolted it to my wall and polyurethaned it. It's working out wonderfully. I also slid two Norrebo two-drawered storage boxes underneath to hide ugly-looking bathroom supplies.

Try going to Manhattan Cabinetry on Park Avenue South around 30th St. I've always gotten good prices from them.

i had a similar problem and am having my new sinks installed today...

i bought a new sink, 16"x16", at home depot, then couldnt find a nice simple clean stand.

so through suggestings and dumb luck, i walked into a kitchen furniture supply store on the bowery and had them custom build them out of stainless steel. only cost 400 bucks...
and its custom, durable, and fits to a Tee.
i actually had them do two.

they were quick, 10 days, and the detailing is clean, no weld marks, and ground down sharp.
all i have to do is silicone the sink on and its done.

they were very open to any design, and all i had was a sketch...

i say do it...

Naomi, Little Sarah and all,

It's not a matter of fine carpentry costing big money. That is reasonable. It's the fact that there are no cheap versions (cheap materials, cheap hardware to join peices together) for anyone on a budget who enjoys a modern look. Our entire apartment is from Ikea and is simple and modern and we love it. And it's affordable. But they don't do too much for the bathroom.

It's been very difficult finding a sink base for our new place that doesn't cost at least a thousand dollars. And I have to point out that it is not always superior carpentry. We were at a downtown showroom recently and, granted, they were floor models and probably a little worn because of that, but they seemed pretty shoddy for the price tag. But they were modern. Modern costs money because manufacturers have not caught on that it's not only people with money and a giant loft apartment who like modern. It's very frustrating. There are certainly designs and solutions that do not require costly carpentry.

Erin who bought a Norrebo Ikea piece and created a vanity had a great idea. We were thinking of doing something like that ourselves.

We've been thinking about the stainless steel option. We have custom stainless counters made at a place on Grand Street called L&T and they were very affordable. We still haven't decided what to do, but we're running out of time. I'll let you know what solution we come up with.

In my own search for a modern and interesting - and affordable - vanity, I happened across a suggestion on another site to check out www.cabparts.com. This may be a very inexpensive solution for you. Though I haven't used them myself. Thought I'd pass it along as you came to mind when I looked at it.
Good luck.