apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Of course laminate isn't as nice as stone - but it's just a bathroom, so I don't see the problem...
...I also don't understand why you're changing the tub and toilet from grey to plain white.

I'd install a grey drop-in sink, paint the walls grey, install brushed chrome fittings & handles and call it a day.

Go with a white silestone. The vanity is a keeper.

Keep the vanity and replace the counter top to white-whatever.

Can you find a sink that matches the tub/toilet? That would look good too.

Okay...Deep Breath....

I'm in the midst of a remodel, so I know where you're at. *wry smile*

I think your problem is that the vanity is too monochromatic. If you want a white sink, IMO you should toss the counter and get something darker, maybe even black, like what is in the picture of the sink. With a white sink, this will be a nice scheme of dark, gray, white. A nice color on the walls will keep the room interesting.

A word on the vessel sink: if the vanity is a standar height, the vessel sink might be uncomfortably high. Usually these are installed on lower height vanities. You might consider a nice modern inset sink in white, instead.

yeah, replace the counter only. the vanity is bulky, but nice.

and hey, we just used those same gorgeous tiles in our little halfbath reno!!! :)

here, look:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3583/3459093959_0c02275aff_o.jpg

Agree with monroe and ECB - the vanity is great. The white siletstone is would be nice and safe but why not try a darker color to add some contrast? I think a deep espresso (similar to whats under the sink in the photo) would be really sharp. I also dig the sink.

What do you mean by retile?....If you are talking about the floor underneath the vanity.....the whole bathroom floor should be uniform....as is...no tiling up to the vanity...moisture and water can collect in the area between the tile and the vanity

The vanity looks nice with the floor. I guess you have to replace the toilet and tub if you're doing the white sink, but I'd rather match a sink to the color of the tub & toilet.

I'm not sure if it looks different in person, but the greys seem to have different undertones--the vanity looks like it has a bit of brown in it. That would throw me off a bit. If, however, you're able to find a countertop that has a bit of both tones in it, then I think you are fine with the existing vanity. With such a high style sink, I think you need to upgrade from the laminate.

kdkaboom - where did you get your skinny sink and tiles?

why would you tile around a toilet you were going to replace?
or even before you had the tub reglazed?

The cheapest solution is probably to replace the laminate.

The vanity is fantastic - but definitely ditch the top.

Silestone is pricey for such a small chunk, I'd stick with a laminate, but go for a super high gloss white like Formica 949-90 with a simple square edge.

If you pick handles for the vanity that echo the faucet I think you can really make it look fantastic.

AlexanderB is right about the vanity possibly being to high. I like the idea of a darker counter top too. It's starting to look a bit washed out. The white fixtures are a good choice. You could also do the wall behind the sink in a dark gray and through in splashes of color with accessories. This would give you flexibility to change things up without repainting.

kdkaboom,

Your bathroom looks spectacular! I love the way you carried the tile up the wall.

I personally like the vanity. The counter is indeed a little dull and grey for the vanity. I would totally do white if you can afford it. A nice white granite with some specks would be neat.
http://www.wishihadthat.com/corian/himacs/WhiteGraniteG05med.jpg

But a sleeker cut? Maybe something more beveled or a straight boxy cut.

The white sink would be nice but I just did a bathroom reno too and vetoed that standard vessel because it's just everywhere: in hotels, at clubs.. I would suggest looking for something in a vessel but in a different shape or something more unique.

In fact, I did what kdkaboom did and went with a wall hung in the end that has some counter space on one side. Just suggesting to go with something more interesting than that vessel even though it does work.

My other suggestion is to possibly look at some backsplash for the sink to liven things up if you're feeling that your bathroom is so monochromatic. Backsplash is not expensive for such a small area.

Good luck.

I recommend this Canadian company for faucets.
http://www.selection25.com/
They do ceramic cartridges and have a lifetime warranty.

Their faucets are great and are at the fraction of the price of something by Kohler or an Italian brand. I would stay away from big boxes when shopping for a faucet.

As mentioned, backsplash can liven up a really grey bathroom. I had a budget so I only did a backsplash for a specific area because everything was looking too dull and blah:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3644/3314156307_3be70f1a3a_b.jpg

A tall vessel faucet was $199 (50% off) on sale the last time I checked but it can be more at higher end places. I went to my local plumbing place and ordered it for this price.

hey, thanks for the side-line compliments :)

as requested, here is the sink i used in my little half bath:

http://www.nextag.com/Toto-Single-Hole-Wall-549747065/prices-html

it's a toto! i got it for about $150! :)

it was a huge find. we returned the generic one we had originally purchased at home depot.

i got a great price on the tile through homeandstone.com here in brooklyn. they're down the street from me and have really bizarrely competitive pricing!

Sunnydark, i like the sink you chose!

if it were my bath, i'd go with stone before silestone. white silestone in particular can get very smudgy in a bathroom setting. i found myself constantly wiping my silestone top down. also a small piece of silestone can be very expensive because most of the fabricators have a minimum charge that will be higher than the cost of the sq footage you'll need. head down to the stone yard and look for drops "remnants" of granite or marble, which are much reduced as they are leftover from larger jobs. i agree that the vessel sink may be too high for comfort, an undermount or semi recessed may work better.

We just did several bathrooms in a new house, trying to upgrade from the builder's standard materials but not TOO far. Turns out that Home Depot and Lowes both sell granite pre-fab bathroom counters with white undermount sinks already installed. They come in various standard sizes to fit pre fabricated vanities. Price depends on the particular granite you choose, but we spend something like $150-200 per counter/sink, including the backspash. You still have to add faucets, and these counters required faucets that are three separate units (faucet, hot, cold) rather than the one unit faucets, so buy the counter first.

Our master baths got Blue Pearl, the basement got black, the lavatory got kind of a greenish-brown speckled look. You can get individual slabs of matching granite for side spashes, if your application needs them.

We are very happy with ours, and they were WAY cheaper than custom, including custom Silestone.

Another way to get a nice counter cheaper is a remnant at a granite yard. We got some really high end granite (the more than $200 a square foot kind) for $7 a linear inch of width, and they cut the hole for the sinks we supplied (recycled), when we fixed up our old house to sell. We installed the counters ourselves, since they were small and the vanities were already in place. Just used silicon calk. You have to choose from what they have leftover from other jobs, but this place had a huge selection and all beautiful.

the only thing I don't like is the counter. But I think silestone is way too expensive and overkill for this situation. I would do a black laminate with a non-radiused edge if I could get it (I think IKEA has one with a stainess look edge...very cool) White would work too, but if it was off from the color of the white porcelain of the sink, that would drive me nuts and you'd basically have the same issue as the counter/vanity/floor.
I was also going to mention the potential issue with a vessel sink on a standard ~28" high vanity BUT, it's more common now to use taller ~32"ish vanities anyway, which is much more convenient and comfortable to use, for adults at least. With that in mind, a vessel on top of the "old" standard height will probably work out just fine.

Agree w/ replacing the countertop only - Carerra marble would look nice too, but I'd vote for a undermount sink.

QUESTION:
Where did you get the floor tile? It's great.

Well I'll be...them there's me same floor tiles! Double whammy! same as kdkaboom's too. And kdkaboom, we've got the same colors going on in our bathrooms with the dark grey and black.

As far as the vanity top goes. If you don't like it, lose it. Do something else. You are the master of your master bathroom.

The grey vanity you have chosen is not appropriate for a vessel sink, as it is already too big and bulky. Just imagine it with the sink on top! So, even with a change in countertop it is not going to work.

Your options are to go with an undermount sink (and change the top to stone -- a vote for Carrera marble), or go with a different vanity, do some retiling and go with the original vessel sinks.

The burning question is: how much do you want a vessel sink?

art, i hope you see this! i want to see pictures of your bathrooms :)

here's some more of our new little bathroom. it's so dreamy! i want to see more uses of these beautiful tiles. hinthint art! :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdkaboom/sets/72157606056205748/

I love the vanity (and the tile!). I would change the vanity top, probably go with something with a straight not rounded edge, to keep with the modern feel of the space. Good luck,I know how much work a bathroom reno is, it's going to be BEAUTIFUL.

Thank you kdkaboom. I wanted a vessel for a long time before seeing different versions of this and just fell in love with how unique it was.
And it was just cheaper in the end because with a vessel, you have to look at height and the right faucet. Those can get expensive depending on height and design..