Just Vessel Sinks

As you do your research on vessel sinks, there are some important things to consider when trying to determine if a vessel sink is right for you and your home. Vessel sinks are a truly beautiful addition to any bathroom, whether it be in a small bungalow or the fanciest of custom homes. But before adding one to yours make sure you know just how it will affect the look and feel of your bathroom, as well as other things like how much storage space you have.

As you probably know, vessel sinks are a fixture in themselves, meaning they do not really mount inside anything. Rather, they are mounted on top of some kind of cabinet. A vessel sink is not just a sink. A bathroom vessel sink is both sink as well as a piece of art. Most are handcrafted and can be made of things like, porcelain, granite, marble, or stone. But while they are pretty to look at, they do come with complications.

First of all, you do have to have the right kind of cabinet on which to place the vessel sink. This means your cabinet or vanity will be lower than normal. This is because the sink is mounted on top of the cabinet rather than down in it. This means if you mount the sink on a standard cabinet or vanity, the top of the sink bowl would be much higher than that of a standard bathroom sink.

So, your cabinet will be lower in height. This will result in a couple of things. First of all the working surface of the counter top will be lower than you are used to having. Your toothbrush, shaving gear, etc, will all be several inches lower than it has been in the past. This is not a deal breaker to most people. In a short amount of time you will have adjusted and forgotten about the height difference of the counter space.

Here is the first of two potentially bigger issues. Your cabinet is shorter, so you have lost some storage area. Many people find a great vessel sink, install it, admire it, then look under the cabinet and have a “wow, i didn’t think of that” moment. So consider just how big your bathroom is and what other storage you have available, if any, in that room. One positive is your sink will not be hanging under the inside of the cabinet like a conventionally mounted sink, although your drain will still have to come down through the cabinet. This gains a certain amount of space back.

The issue that usually is a bigger deal to people than losing a little storage is the issue of water lines. You basically have two options. First, and perhaps the most stylish looking, is

to have the faucet and hot and cold knobs coming out of your wall directly behind the vessel sink. This keeps the hardware off the counter top and really lets you show off the vessel sink. Keep in mind this positioning of the plumbing will cost you more to have installed if it was not already configured this way. Your water lines have to be run inside the wall and then mounted above the sink. A good plumber can do this in a couple of hours, so you are probably looking at a couple of hundred dollars in labor. The other option for your hardware is to use the standard top of counter top mounting. Chances are you will still have to have adjustments made to the mounting versus what you had with your conventional sink, but this will be a cheaper alternative than the wall mounted plumbing.

Vessel sinks are great additions to any bathroom. Just keep in mind all the little things we have mentioned in this article and you should not have any surprises!