Bowled-over baths
Eye-catching vessel sinks capture a niche in high-end remodeling
In days long gone by, it was called a wash basin.
In 21st-century home décor catalogs, it’s known as a vessel lavatory.
In common parlance, it’s a sink – albeit a fancy one.
Vessel lavatories, which consist of a bowl or basin sitting on top of a counter instead of being mounted in or underneath it, remain something of a niche product, area home décor experts say. But despite some functional drawbacks, vessel sinks don’t seem to be sinking much in popularity in Fort Wayne area homes.
“Do I sell hundreds and thousands? No. Is it for every person? No. But do they sell? Yes, they do sell, and some very well,” says Joe Smiley, sales manager for Eagle Tile in Fort Wayne.
The company’s showroom at 220 Fernhill Ave. brims with polished and unpolished stone and glass vessel sinks, and catalogs yield pictures of copper and stainless-steel models that can be easily ordered.
Eagle Tile, Smiley says, sells about one vessel sink a week, mostly to people building or remodeling upscale homes.
“Most of the ones I sell are for powder rooms or a master (bath), where they want the bling-bling,” he says, noting vessels seem to have survived the recession.
“I think they’re more than a fad. People are still remodeling and spending money. They’re deciding ‘We’re going to stay put, and we’re going to put in what we want.’ ”
Cindy Friend, the interior designer and owner of Cindy Friend Lifestyle Studio in Fort Wayne, agrees that visual appeal sells the sinks.
“I always say it’s like jewelry for your bathroom,” she says, showing a visitor a recent Oceana Decorative Glass catalog featuring vessels in swirling gem tones of cobalt blue, sea green, amethyst and topaz – plus gold, platinum, copper and pewter.
The sinks come in 12-, 15- and 17-inch rounds, plus ovals and fanciful shell and free-form shapes with wavy, pebbly or swirled textures.
“They’ve been popular for probably 10 years. I don’t see them going out of style,” Friend says. “If anything, there are more adaptations (now). I see them becoming more artistic and more unique as people use them in more ways.”
Friend says she’s used the vessels “hundreds” of times in designs.
“A lot of people have replaced a pedestal-style sink with a furniture-type piece with a vessel on it. You have a very updated look and one that’s good for a small space because of (having) storage. That’s a neat way to update a powder room,” she says.
But Steve Neeley, owner of Serenity Kitchen and Bath Inc. in Fort Wayne, says actual neatness might not be the vessels’ strong suit.
“They’re popular because people see a lot of them on home and garden TV,” he says. “But what a lot of people don’t think about or understand is, they’re not real functional where they get used every day.”
The reason, according to Neeley: Users have to reach outside the bowl to turn the water on and off, leaving behind messy water spots. The vessels’ height above the countertop also makes them difficult for young children to reach, he says.
Abby Foreman, designer with Colvin Kitchen and Bath in Fort Wayne, agrees.
“It’s not very functional,” she says of a vessel-style sink. “People have to reach up into it instead of down to wash their hands, and it’s not very convenient when you’re brushing your teeth. We have a lot of people come in thinking they’re wanting that and then they change their mind. They were really popular a few years ago, but I think they’ve died down a bit.”
Then there’s price. “I’ve seen them for up to $40,000,” Neeley says, adding that would be for highest-end marble.
Still, a homeowner can easily pay $500 for a quality art-glass vessel; the Oceana catalog, for example, offers its Zen style for $542 for clear crystal, rainbow crystal, sea green and champagne gold. The price jumps to $2,034 for the same model with a 24-karat gold infusion flashy enough for Donald Trump.
A round stone vessel in honey onyx that Smiley says is his current favorite was priced at $384 last month at Eagle Tile. Another piece there, a vessel from China with the look of Italian marble, was about $400.
Smiley says prices have come down somewhat in the last couple of years with the advent of Chinese-made vessels, and even mass-market plumbing manufacturers have caught on to the look.
Local Lowe’s and Menards stores each have about a dozen vessel models on display in the $200 range. Still, a pedestal-style vanity with a granite top and vessel sink and faucet was marked at nearly $1,200, while an ordinary wood vanity, sink, laminate countertop and faucet could be had for about $400.
Area plumbing supply stores such as Central Supply in Fort Wayne also carry a wide array of vessels.
Friend agrees that the practicality of the sinks can be limited and says she wouldn’t recommend a vessel sink for a heavily used bathroom.
But she says some variations are more practical. For example, there are rectangular vessels called farmhouse sinks for kitchens, which are mounted partly above and partly below the counter.
And styles are diversifying.
Oceana, in Jeanette, Pa., now sells glass vessels with a lip that can be mounted under the counter like a conventional sink. Friend says she’s seen such sinks lit from below for a glowing effect. Oceana also makes matching glass tiles that can be used as a backsplash or as a zing of color in a tiled wall or floor, she notes.
Homeowners buying a vessel sink need to know that they require a faucet high enough off the counter, something that can add more to the price tag than a regular faucet, Friend says.
The job of cutting a clean and properly-sized drain hole in the countertop, she says, is best left to professionals. But many do-it-yourselfers can handle the actual installation, she says, whether it’s for an off-the-shelf white porcelain vessel or a hewn-stone one with a polished interior that looks straight off a volcanic island in the South Pacific.
Friend chose side-by-side stainless-steel vessel sinks made by Elkay for a restroom at her design studio’s show house at 4203 W. Jefferson Blvd. The sinks, flanked by clusters of silk calla lilies, look more like art deco accent bowls than grooming necessities.
She says she liked the sinks for their clean lines, which gave the room a “spa feel.”
“That is a very current style that people ask for a (master) bath. They want it to be like a spa,” she says, adding that vessel sinks pair well both with granite and quartz countertops by maintaining their uninterrupted look.
“I think the popularity is that it’s just like a piece of art,” she says of a vessel sink. “It’s a focal point, and you look at it, and your first reaction is, ‘Wow.’ And then it becomes a conversation piece.
“It’s like a fashion statement. It’s not like it’s a sink in a hospital somewhere.”
Tours of historic homes often focus on mansions with sparkling interiors, immaculately pointed brick and manicured hedges.