Sink Choices For Bathroom Renovations

A bathroom sink can come in one of many shapes and styles.  Sinks can be oval, rectangle, circle, or any other shape you can imagine.  Manufacturers are working hard to give bathroom sinks aesthetic appeal by sculpting their form.  Even still, the more simple designs are more practical and easier to keep clean.  Bathroom sinks used to be made of either china or porcelain.  These sinks were impervious to mold and mildew, and stayed bright even after years of use.  Modern advances in acrylics, fiberglass, glass, and metal open up an endless array of possibilities, but they are much more susceptible to scratches and damage.

A good starting point for choosing your sink is to decide whether you want one that is freestanding or one that is built into the countertop.  Freestanding sinks can be mounted either directly on the wall, or on legs or pedestals.  They are available in colors, shapes, and sizes to suit all tastes. They can have flat tops, or raised backsplashes that meet against the wall.

Wall mounted freestanding sinks can look and feel cramped if not given enough clearance on either side.  Pedestal sinks can be stuffed into very narrow spaces, but will look better with open space on either side.  Freestanding sinks can affect the rest of your bathroom layout because you will be losing storage space underneath.  Shelves installed on the wall above can serve as glass holders and soap dishes.  A hinged mirror with shelving inside can double as a storage cabinet as well.

Vanity mounted sinks became popular after World War II when bathrooms shrank in size.  The space beneath these sinks was enclosed in a cabinet to extra storage.  Space was valuable, and every space that could be utilized became a place to hold drinking glasses, toothbrushes, or soap.  Combination vanities and sinks can be as wide as the room or only as wide as the sinks themselves.  For small bathrooms measuring 50 square feet or less, vanity sinks might be the only effective option to ensure enough storage space. 

The way sinks are mounted to a countertop has both aesthetic and practical consequences.  The exposed edge of self - rimming sinks sit on the vanity surface.  The edge can prevent water that is splashed on the counter from draining back in.  This can be avoided with metal rims that align with the sinks edge, but this creates a less elegant effect than the self - rimming type.

Integral sinks are one piece units that mold sinks and countertops together.  They are formed from a single material such as stone.  They are seamless.  Many contain prefabricated back splashes, a built in soap dish, and other design features. 

Above counter sinks are easy to install and odder an arresting appeal. Sometimes referred to as a vessel, they sit on top of the counter rather than down inside a cutout.  The surfaces on the inside and out must be finished.  They are available in cast iron, ceramic, and glass.  The plumbing is the same as with other sinks, but the faucet must be tall enough to reach over the top of the edge of the basin.

There is a bathroom sink style to fit every preference.  There are pros and cons to each variation, so careful consideration must be given during the planning process to overcome and of the shortcomings of whichever style you choose.  The more functional styles tend to be bland and the personality of the bathroom will have to take full effect elsewhere. But, the stylistic pedestal sinks have real functionality shortcomings, creating a need to find more storage space elsewhere within the bathroom space.