I meant kgwlisa!

Hi, thanks!

I came up with the idea of using the console sink because I REALLY wanted a second sink but I didn't want to close off the area next to the tub too much. There was no sink there before and long stretches of tall wall are at a premium in my bathroom due to the sloped ceilings, so the only choice was adjacent sinks.

Originally I was thinking of doing a pedestal sink combined with a matching wall hung, like in duravit's 1930's series but then I realized I really needed the storage for at least a few things in the vanity, and I fell in love with the cartwright line. BTW empire vanities biltmore line is virtually identical except 1) their single is 36" instead of 32" (the smaller vanity worked better for me actually) and 2) there are no exposed hinges on the doors (they use euro hidden hinges). That turned out to be a detail I really wanted so I bit the bulled and paid RH's prices.

As far as the console goes, it's not antique. There are several places that have them now. Restoration Hardware has their version but the prices are INSANE. You can look at their gramercy collection for inspiration (they also have a more modern line too). Their 36" washstand is on sale for $1395 just for the legs, the slab is another $600 (I'm not sure which piece the sink comes with though - my vanity actually came with the sink even though I did not get the top). These are made out of 1 1/4" tubing.

www.deabath.com also has console legs that they fabricate themselves out of 1" brass tubing. They will cut to size if you want it a bit smaller than the standard too. Polished chrome is $645 + shipping.

dea bath consoles.

I did not end up using them because they were more expensive than what I did use and I thought the 1" legs were just a touch too skinny.

I also checked out baths from the past. This guy sells on ebay and also maintains a website with a paper catalog. In the end even though they were the least expensive I thought they were a little too chunky, 1 1/2", although this guy was also willing to customize for me.

I ended up going with console legs from Newport Brass, the 10-57 (model number). Newport Brass makes the RH stuff so it's a very similar look/proportion with 1 1/4" tubing. Where RH only had it in 36", NB has a 30" version for less than half the price of the RH version. I bought it on homeclick for about $500 shipped, the price has gone up a bit. It was $550 before 10% off coupon and now it's $600 (in polished chrome, they have about 30 finishes but most are an upcharge). That's just for the legs, no sink or slab.

For the slab I went to a local granite place and picked out a remnant large enough for both the vanity and the console so that they would match. That was back in may so I have no clue if they are still holding it for me, I need to go down there and find out.

There are a few more places that sell console legs. If you want to really drool (just don't look at the prices - they are in the THOUSANDS, but exquisite antique reproductions (still their prices on things, even for what they are, are utterly ridiculous) check out urban archaology washstands. They no longer have their big marble washstand with shelf though but still some neat stuff.

Also waterworks makes some legs, I did not care for their styles (or prices either). Pottery barn has a version now but you have to buy it with their slab. I didn't care for the style of the wall escutcheons either.

The other thing to remember is that you need to find a sink that is fully glazed, which is not as easy as you'd think. Since it's exposed you don't want the nasty unglazed underside of a sink (I did not anticipate this problem when I bought a toto undermount sink for $20!) In the 30" wide console I decided I wanted a smaller sink and went for a round bowl. These are nearly impossible to find - I have only found two sources for them. One is at deabath linked above (I believe they even have one with an overflow) but their prices were very high. If you're interested in a round sink I can dig up the brand I ended up getting, I believe in oval bowls there are more choices for fully glazed sinks. You don't want one with a front overflow either because it will show from the bottom and is not a great look.

I think that's everything I know about console sinks. Sorry to be so long but hope that helps!

Wow, this is so helpful! Thank you. I will go check everything out as soon as I get to the office. :-)

I can tell you that you made the right decision by biting the bullet on the Cartwright. I did some minor upgrades to my one daughter's bathroom and really, really coveted that Cartwright. I couldn't use the Empire because I was limited to 32", but even if I could have, it just didn't make my heart sing. I was torn between the Cartwright and the PB beadboard vanity, which they have in (antique) white on the PB Teens site, although funnily enough, not on the regular PB site (only rustic honey or whatever). I really agonized over the decision and finally went with the PB based on cost alone, although I tried to tell myself that the beadboard worked better with her "cottage-y" room. I also had a 10% coupon off PB. It's installed now and it looks good. (I also upgraded the knobs.) I'll probably re-paint it with a true white eventually.

But I was at RH yesterday and spent some time gazing at the Cartwright. It is just a really nice piece; it is more solid that the PB and has a thicker stone than most vanities I've seen. It's also honed marble, which I prefer to polished. I think you will be very happy with it.

kgwlisa- hoping you can give me some feedback. We just finished a kitchen and master bath remodel. Now my daughter's upstairs shower is leaking and it lives right above my new kitchen. So another redo is in the works, but needs to be more budget without completely sacrificing quality (false economy to put in something I will need to replace again before I sell in a few years). Do you have your RH vanity yet? I am anxious to hear how it is holding up. I would also like a link to the pictures of your tile, etc. I can't "see" this room in my head the way I did the others, so I really need ideas. Thanks for helping.

I do have the RH vanity but it's been sitting in my living room since last summer (ugh). I did not buy it with the stone top and am having a custom top made for it and for the console sink (same stone) for a fraction of the price of the RH top (though they have some of their tops on sale now - not the case when I bought it). I can't comment on how well it's held up because it's been in the box but I am not particularly hard on things either.

The tile guy is still working on my bathroom and things have been nutty so I don't have any more recent pictures but I'll post what I have. We splurged a bit (for us) on some of the fixtures (one piece toto toilet an the like) but decided to go very inexpensive on the tile - we had to cut back somewhere.

I wanted to do a classic black and white bath with more punches of black than you normally see in new baths but due to budget constraints went with very inexpensive tile from the big box stores - subway tile from Lowes for $1.60/sf, some 6x6's for the base, black 1/2" liners that were $1.28 each (the same exact thing at the tile store is $3.59 each, can you believe it?) and a 3x8 vine deco tile that was a reasonable $2.67 a piece (those embossed deco tiles are a FORTUNE). I ordered black chair rail from my local tile store (lowes only has white) and it was actually less expensive than the off the shelf chair rail at lowes - I think $3.29 a piece. By going with very very inexpensive field tile and basic pieces available at lowes I was able to get a ton of trim pieces that would have been thousands of dollars in many other lines.

Here is a picture of the field tile, liner, vine deco and black chair rail:

I did not end up going with the hex tile as it would have been around $12/sf with shipping. I ended up going with super cheap off the shelf Home Depot octagon and dot tile for around $2/sf after 10% off coupon. I am really crazy for borders and a border was much easier to work into octagon and dot than it was into a hex floor anyway.

Here's an elevation I drew as part of my planning process. My wall tile consists of a 6x6 base topped with a 1/2" x 6" black liner, 13 courses of subway tile, another liner, the deco tile and then finally the chair rail:

and finally I'm kind of hesitant to show these pictures but I will anyway. RH's white is a bit cleaner and brighter than my tile but with flash it photographs as a REALLY different color. In person the difference is not nearly what it looks like in the pictures. Yes it's a little cleaner and brighter but it's not as stark and the tile is not as "dingy" looking next to it as it looks in this picture. I'm hoping with natural light i can get better pictures (it was daytime but my windows are covered for privacy). I have to say that if you want an exact match for color, you should probably more carefully shop your field tile. We just did not have the budget to spend 3x+ as much for the tile - as you can see it's a large bathroom and we need a LOT of tile. In my head the "narrative" is that the wall tile is old and has always been there and the woodwork is freshly painted. If you want your whites to match perfectly, it will be a nightmare to find ones that do. I thought I might paint the RH stuff and the trim to match the tile after seeing the pictures but honestly I barely notice the difference in color anymore when I am in the bathroom in person.

Here are a few of the decos up. I don't mind that it's 3x8 instead of 3x6 as I just loved the pattern:

for whatever it's worth the difference between the RH mirrors and the wall tile in color is about like the difference between the toilet and the wall tile in that picture. The toilet is also a brighter white than the wall color and that picture was taken in natural light and is truer to color. These pictures are of course unfinished and ungrouted except for the wall behind the toilet, which has grout but is unfinished. This weekend I can update with better pictures, I think the tile guy will finish up tomorrow and come back to grout on monday (I think just the rest of the shower needs to be done).

Here are some pictures of the floor before he covered it up and filled in the rest of the tile around the edges, but it gives you a better idea of the border design:

That's about all I've got on tile and RH stuff right now - but I hope that helps a bit!

Wow lisa. You clearly have a gift for both the vision and the details of a project. Wanna come design my bathroom? I saw that octagon tile at Lowes, it comes on a mesh sheet right? I was thinking about the white with the cobalt blue, but I love your idea of using that only as a border. Genius. I am actually considering the 52" RH Cartwright white birch cabinet. The stone top turns out to be about $700 more than just the base/sink. I am not sure I can get a granite remnant fabricated for much less than that, given CA labor prices. My GC is a doll and willing to go whichever way we decide. Of course we just gave him a king's ransom to do our new cherry/travertine kitchen and master bathroom.:) I was also thinking blue walls, and you have a perfect shade. What color is it? For what it's worth, I would never have even noticed a different in the whites if you hadn't mentioned it. I think you have selected classic yet individual details that come together perfectly. Thanks so very much for taking the time to post those pictures. It is a real help.

Wow kgwlisa, it's looking GREAT !

I think we are remodeling along the same direction and timeline :-)

SNAP ! LOL :-) I really like the border you put around the floor.

Hopefully my hex tile floor goes down today ....

Ohhhh! So nice to see all these great vintage style bathrooms coming together!

kgwlisa--what brand toilet is that? Looks nice! Its a one piece, isn't it?

Speaking of vintage inspired bathrooms, the cabinets for my vintage-y bathroom project are FINALLY arriving on Tuesday! Whoo-hoo! My project is very small--just replacing sink and toilet, and putting in new cabinets above sink/toilet--but nevertheless it has been moving VERY slowly. In fact its been so long since I posted about it, I'm sure you all gave up on me. I'm ashamed to say that I pulled out the old vanity probably a year ago, and have been brushing my teeth in the kitchen sink since then. (Lesson learned--it's not good to be an impulsive remodeler AND a procrastinator when you live in a one bathroom condo!) Anyway--here's what the finished project should look like. I considered adding subway tiles on the wall, but (with the help of this forum) finally decided to let the original base board and floor tiles stand on their own. Pretty tempting to change my mind, though, looking at kgwlisa and flatcoat 2004's pictures!

Sorry to hijack--just excited that my cabinets are finally arriving! :)

Here's what the cabinets will look like (I hope!)
{{gwi:1394642}}

My 'new' sink (from the salvage yard!):
{{gwi:1394643}}

Leaving original tub, floor tiles and base tiles in place...
{{gwi:1394644}}

Yeah! Oh, it will be nice to be done with this project.....

Still no new pictures but we are about 90% done on the tile. Probably areawise much higher than that but it's just the hard parts of the shower left. I have a sloped ceiling in there too and of course nothing is ever simple in my world - the ceiling is getting herringbone, the walls are getting a baseboard and then the deco crown at the top and of course a niche. In a little bit I will take down the plastic bags and take some pictures though. Right now I'm catching up on breakfast and online stuff.

Also, I guess this is as good a place to vent as any, the granite place where we put a deposit on a remnant disappeared! I drive past them on the way to work every day and over the weekend they packed up all of their stuff and left. No sign saying where they were moving. I'm SO glad I only put a $100 deposit on the remnant rather than the 50% they wanted but sheesh. Part of me is thinking that this is a sign to get what I REALLY want - soapstone. Now at the end of the project i just don't feel like compromising anymore. This is what makes my heart go pitter patter:

{{gwi:1394645}}

momskitchen, thanks for the kind words. The truth is, I spent months and months designing this thing. I was ready to get started and then my grandmother passed away last June (I was VERY close to her) and it just took the wind out of my sails for months. I couldn't just dive right in so a few months later I started rethinking the floor to save some money and then spent another several weeks chewing on that. But if you post ideas and questions there are lots of talented people around here who will help you figure something out.

We just can't afford, nor can we really justify given our very working class neighborhood, some of the absolutely gorgeous high end finishes you see around GW. It's not that I don't love them, they just don't really fit in with the modesty of our house. Still I am expecting this bathroom to last a lifetime and we splurged on most of the fixtures as you will see if they ever get installed because I think the higher quality will be less trouble in the long run. I still can't believe how much this bathroom has cost, even with being pretty careful on expenses. It's kind of crazy!

The walls are actually aqua, not blue, and in person read far more green than blue. They are Ellen Kennon's aqua (check out the home decorating and paint boards for more information) and the photos do not do them justice. They are a beautiful, clear, perfect aqua with just enough blue to keep them from looking yellow.

I see that RH's stone tops have gone on sale (some of them anyway) and now they are a reasonable price. When I bought the vanity they were twice as much. I LOVE the 52" and wish I could have fit it, I especially love the way it bumps out in the middle. I don't think you will be unhappy with your choice if you go for it. I did check out some of the pieces in that line in the store and they seemed pretty well made. The finish is lovely, it's a silky smooth lacquer - part of the reason I don't want to paint it to match the tile more closely (though in natural light it's not as big a difference).

flatcoat, my twin! I see you designed your bathroom to match your doggie. Very important in my opinion (says the woman with the couch the color of cat vomit - er I mean camel colored couch)). If you run short of chair rail, let me know. I over ordered. I was planning to originally do the job myself and I have the eye for detail but not the skill level for perfection without a lot of slop so I ordered 20% extra. My tile guy seems to have wasted no tile except a couple of slivers here and there so now I am swimming in extra. Everything is returnable to the big box stores except for the chair rail, which was special ordered from my tile store.

I thought your bathroom layout looked familiar too and had to search back to see if you were the person I thought you were, posting about tile casing. I recognized the sink. You might be interested in seeing my tile casing around the shower door (but no operable parts there, just a curtain). It's actually up now. I LOVE the graphic and deco punch the black chair rail gives the room though! You do make me wish I could have gotten the recessed medicine cabinet though but unfortunately the plumbing runs up that wall and it would have been a fortune to move it. The previous owner's bath remodel had a recessed cabinet that stuck halfway out and I just opted to go with the surface mount. Sigh!

klb, i remember you well and I still vote NO ADDITIONAL TILE!!!! None. Are you retiling the tub area? I forget. I can't wait to see how your bath turns out, maybe we will all cross the finish line together :).

Okay, here we are. It's going to be picture heavy so apologies in advance but I'm just so pleased to see so much progress!

Oh and klb, I forgot to say that it's a one piece toto guinevere. I LOVE MY TOILET (I was without toilet on the bedroom floor for 3 months!)

And here are some shower pics, not done yet but getting close:

The shower has a custom corian base in silver birch, which reminded me of terrazzo. I love it now that it's exposed. It's filthy but should clean up easily with some soft scrub (yay corian). The "casing" around the door is made of a 2x6 bullnose and a piece of chair rail. It sort of matches the wood casings I have which is essentially a 4" wide flat with a 2 1/4" profile around the outside of it. Still waiting on the custom profile to arrive (had to match the old stuff) so no pictures. My goal of the shower was to try to keep it mostly simple while adding some architectural detail like you'd find in any room - a baseboard, casing around the door, a frieze at the ceiling (not really a "crown" but sort of) and a "picture" on the wall which is the niche. The niche shelf and shower seat are both black corian as well. The herringbone ceiling was inspired by old pictures of the city hall subway station in NYC with its herringbone vaults.

OMG that is SO MUCH TILE !!!! And I adore the herringbone ceiling ! Mine is so very tiny and simple in comparison ! I'm definitely going to file that pattern away for some future remodel.

They are finishing tiling the floor right now, I am sure my neighbours (whose bedrooms are about 8' from my deck) are completely thrilled with the sound of the wetsaw on the deck at 830 on a Saturday morning :-) ...

lisa--your bathroom is looking amazing! Oh, I am jealous of those great black liners and caps--such a nice touch.

Glad to hear you like your Toto. I bought a one piece Toto a while back (I think it is the "Supreme" model or something like that--a fairly inconspicuous model)--but I can't decide if I really like the look of it. I was going for 'compact' since my bathroom is so small, and while it is narrower and lower than my old toilet, it has kind of a thick middle that makes it look bigger to me. Plus, since I'm trying to match (sort of) to the 'old' white of the tub and salvage sink, I went with the Toto version of white that corresponds to American Standard white (not the brighter Kohler version of white). But looking at the sink and toilet side by side, the sink looks greyish and the toilet looks yellow-ish. Not nice. I might have been better off just going with the Kohler white-white. Ah, toilet anxieties. Oh well---fortunately I didn't spend that much for the Toto toilet, so I guess if it looks awful it won't be too horrible to replace later.

I do plan to replace the ugly tile around the bath tub, probably with tiles from Subway Ceramics (which are scheduled to be installed as my kitchen backsplash April 7th--FINALLY! My kitchen has been nearly-done for about 2 years now....). But those Subway Ceramics tiles are so friggen expensive, I decided I had better wait and see just how in love with them I am before I commit to using them in the bathroom. Even just doing the tub surround adds up to quite a few square feet. So--the tile and tub/shower fixture replacement phase of the project will trail behind a bit. I think you'll be crossing the finish line a bit before me!

Just want to thank you again for taking the time to give advice. We went to see both the PB and RH stuff in person today. The Husband will not buy anything without dove-tailed corners, so RH is out. The PB stuff has those, but doesn't have the exact size we need,
As it turns out, it is moot. I had a HVAC guy come yesterday to tune up our AC (we already know that the heater is on its last legs). He opened up the unit and found it completely rusted and corroded. Bottom line? A new HVAC system will bump the leaking shower. When my daughter comes home she will just have to share our shower with us. With 100+ degree summer heat we don't have a choice. Even so, at least we aren't at risk of losing our house like so many others around us. Always good to keep a solid perspective, even if it seems that your own reality sucks.:)