Mapletex, my husband and I second this question.
Vessel sinks look great, but...
For one thing I'm thinking height. In order to have the functional part of the sink at the right height, won't the items you are using be too low since the counter will have to be lower than it would be otherwsie, for a regular sink?

I just read that you have to dry them after every use or they get water spots and don't look so nice. That is what I thought of when I first saw them, lots of surfaces to keep clean. They do look very fetching, however. There are so many colors and styles; I am drawn to choosing them for my bath project as well, but still not sure.

I'm glad you asked this because we were thinking of changing our sink in the powder room. I was wondering about all the splashing - do you have to do a lot more wiping to keep the sink area clean? I've seen pictures of stunning vessel sinks and cabinets but are they practical?

Sky

Let me add to the stream of questions without answers. We're thinking of a couple vessels for our master bath remodel, but DW has raised the concern that it will be egonomically awkward to reach for the liquid soap "around" the vessel. We aren't really conscious of how often we move our hand through the airspace just above the built in sink, and that same airspace would be occupied by the vessel. That said, when I was at the granite showroom the other day, I saw that in one of their demos they had the vessel sink inset a few inches into the countertop, which lowered the profile a bit. Anyone have any thoughts on that? DW also has concerns about splashing and thus wants one of the conical vessels, if we get vessels. I, on the other hand, really like the low-sided rectangular vessels, though not the extremely-low so-called "zen" sinks. Can you minimize the splashing by getting a certain type of faucet, such as those that seem to be waterfall types like an infinity pool? The ultimate Q is: is the sexy look worth the practical problems?

I've seen some really beautiful vessel sinks on this website and in other photos.

However, I always thought that it would be harder to keep them clean. I am picturing myself reaching around the back part of the sink and counter and around the faucet handles, and I don't like it...

My new vessels, not installed yet, are oval 14"x17", and they'll only be 4 1/2" above counter height. They're made from vitreous china, which is what many "regular" sinks are made of, so I don't anticipate any extra upkeep. I've already bought a really nice liquid soap "pump bottle" (my brain isn't working well- this isn't what it's really called) that stands a few inches higher than the sink so I'll be able to use it easily even if it's mostly behind the sink.

What's really cool is that my vanities are 32", which is standard height for bathroom vanities, which works well for using "things" on the vanity, and with the sink being 4 1/2" higher, it'll make it sooooo much easier on my poor back for washing hands and face, and brushing teeth.

I second all of the above emotions. I, too, have been lured by the high-style looks of the vessels (and in the past, I wouldn't even consider one because I was SO SURE that in 10 years they would be so-ooo dated). Well, that was 5 years ago and they seem to still be going strong. What caused the change of heart was I found the perfect vessel that had a moving "river-y" feel to the design. It was black glass with clear swirls all through it, and two of them would be striking on my Master vanity counter. I bought one and brought it home, tested it for water spots and cleaning - and it did great.

As suspected, it looked great on the counter, and would have complimented my stained glass window that has a lot of black glass in it. I went to bed thoroughly confused.

The next morning I awoke feeling as though surely I must have labored over the decision all night in my sleep. I went into my current bathroom, put paste on my toothbrush, leaned on one elbow to support my tired ol' bag of bones as I brushed my teeth hunched over my older recessed basin, and "Eureka!" I had found it!

No vessel in the master for Me! If I leaned over the vessel bowl my cheek would be on the glass. Embarrassed, I realized this is a habit I participate in more frequently than I care to admit, leaning on one elbow in the mornings. (Geesh, I must be getting REALLY old) :) Besides that, aren't the vessels kind of tall for the kids, and don't they sort of look like a big salad bowl on your counter? What about hitting your curling iron against it (if it is not metal) and chipping it. Be sure to check the cost of faucets to clear the top of the rim. And although we all yearn for clutter-free countertops, STUFF just seems to make its way to the bathroom counter. I also pretended to wash my face and found elbows touching the sides of the basin. What can I say, call me a Klutz. (sp?)

BUT ... then there's the question of ALL THAT STYLE! I have decided to put the black and clear glass vessel into my Powder Room, with the tiny clear mosaic tiles (I have forgotten their proper name) peeping up through the clear glass as the countertop. Or are the tiny mosaics already dated?

Well, folks, that's my two cents worth. I am so glad someone started this thread, because before the 'leaning toothbrush incident' which did it for me, I had all of the same questions. Good luck with your decisions.

I have had vessel sink in our powder room for about 5 years, was very novelty wen we put it in- it is ok for powder room but not for anything that gets real use. Very uncomfortable and high maintenance.

I just think they are getting so dated and just not practical. They were cool at first, but now that they're everywhere...

Do admit I'm building a traditional house, so in something more modern, might make sense.

I bought two, one for the powder room and one for the guest bath but we're doing traditional undermount in the master. I know they're more maintenance but in low use bathrooms I'm fine with that in order to get the style, but in our regular use master, I want something convenient and easy to clean. The best of both worlds.

We had stainless steel ones in a house we used to live in:

(This was back in 2001, when they were the new thing and really expensive. We had no money, so we made them from mixing bowls we bought at target.) They weren't much trouble to keep clean, but in our new house we'll have wall mounted faucets above them, instead of counter-mounted ones.

My friend just put vessel sinks in all 3 bathrooms in her new home. She and her husband discovered afterwards that the sinks were uncomfortably high to use, and ended up having to have them sunk partially into the countertop - an expensive adjustment.

I love the "look" of vessel sinks, but wouldn't want one in a bathroom I use often. I also would not consider having one in my children's bathroom, but in a powder room I would go for it.

I have never regretted our decision to put a large vessel sink in our powder room. It's not any more impractical than another decision we might have made. The splash problem will be with your choice of faucet and where the water hits the sink. We were told to be sure the faucet water hits slightly off center from the drain and we've had no problem with splashing in that sink. Our bowl is quite a bit higher than the more Asian-inspired bowls, however.
Don't be afraid to go with your wishes and instincts!

I have a vessel sink in my master bath, and one in my personal spare bath. I LOVE them. I have two grown men (hubby and dadinlaw) in the house and they are no more upkeep than my old porcelein sink.

One spritz of windex and a papertowel keeps my sink looking shiney new. Remember, a good vessel sink is "TEMPERED" GLASS -- not regular glass. Tempered glass should be at least as strong as regular old porcelein if not stronger.

Also, when you set the height of your vanity, you should take into account the height of your people! There is no "set height". A sink should accomodate the people that use it! He's 6'and I'm 5'7. Dadinlaw is 5'10.

I had my hubby stand in front of the vanity and myself and measured the height (with sink in mind) that would work for us. You are the person living there right now.

It takes about 5 seconds to clean my sink with a spritz of windex. My hubby is no metro-sexual guy -- he gets dirty and abuses all manner of appliances just like any hard-working man does. Our sink has suffered no undue abuses and has no chips after 3 years. It is black tempered glass and still gets TONS of compliments from visitors.

I'd show a pic, but apparently photobucket is down for maintenance right now. :)

I like the look of them. Here's one I recently did.....partially mounted it in the counter.
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0603/Lazarus/LadiesRoomandBacksplashPics013.jpg[/IMG]

lazarususa - that is fabulous. Do you have specifics on how you did it. How deep is the cabinet? What are the dimensions of the sink? What sink is it? Can you tell I'm excited!!!! Just the different look I'm going for in my kids bathroom.

Here's her photo direct:

Just my $0.02 here. We have been living with two teak wood vessel sinks for over 3 years in our master bath. These are Wm. Garvey sinks and we bought them from Sinks Gallery (SinksGallery.com). We love them! These are incredibly easy to clean (soap and water) with a once a year teak wood finish application. No splashing (we have standard "post style" vessel faucets), simple clean up - what more do you want? ...and they look as great now as the first day they were installed. Will they go out of style? ...maybe - but we always get comments like "gee, I didn't know you could make sinks out of wood" or "those are amazing and so unique".

We also have a hand blown glass vessel sink in our powder room. I cringe when I hear "use tempered glass" because that is limiting yourself to simple glass sinks probably made in Asia. Our sink is a one of a kind hand blown (and signed) by the artist. It is like having an original painting in the room - except it's actually useful. Again, clean up is simple with an occassional windex treatment. Oh, and I can attest to some rough treatment - even dropping a fairly large screwdriver on it when trying to install a light above (I'm kind of clumsy). I was a believer that these glass vessels are tough after it came through that without a scratch.

Good luck and have fun with your project - don't worry about what might happen 20 years from now... :-)

Thanks "Weedy," I'm kinda new herabouts and am still tryin' to get my posts and pics right. I usually hang around the John Bridge Forums.

BTW......I'm a "He," not a "She." (LOL)

I don't know why a vessel sink should be considered either practical or more impractical than any other sink. If you choose the right sink, it works for your application. We have a vessel sink in our powder room, we love it.
Every generation is going to have their time decor period. Vessel sinks might be considered ugly and useless by future generations, but cannot be anymore ugly than bright garish, brassy bathroom fixtures that I have had to replace in our home.
If you want timeless, go to. . . .?

Annie, I totally agree. Yes, I have two vessel sinks, and from time to time I hear how they are "trendy".

However, think about what era they come from. Vessel sinks have been around FOREVER. When you see a pitcher and a bowl on top of a lavatory, that was THE original "vessel sink". It's not a trend, it's been around for two hundred years or more.

lazarususa--what make/style is your faucet, BTW?

Cat Mom~~ The fixtures are "Jado." They are a "high-end" line. The installation pictured was for a plumbing showroom here in Texas. My wife picked the Jado unit to go with the sink & tile. You can see it at:

http://www.decorisland.com/details.asp?optionid=13103&productid=4950

Hmmm....link didn't work. Try this.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.decorisland.com/details.asp?optionid=13103&productid=4950

lazarus (sorry about the gender mix-up):
To post photos directly, type without the spaces before/after the brackets, and replace the url with the whole link starting with the http. Make sure you have the quote marks.

thanks lazarususa! I will see if the place we went to carries that one (I know they carry Jado). It looks great in your bathroom!

We've had one in our powder room for 6 years and guests always comment on it . . . apparently our guests don't hang out on these forums, so our sink seems very "out there." My only problem with it relates to the faucet -- the Kohler Bol -- which has weak water pressure. I assume it's because if it were stronger, the water would shoot out directly at the user.

We'll be using some in our new house as well. I don't find it any harder to clean than the drop-in sinks. Our Solid Surface integrated sinks are WAY easier, but that's another story!

Ahhh to install a vessel sink or not install a vessel that is the question!

I have two in my house, one Zen white ceramic style and the other a more traditional round white ceramic. Both with glass waterfall faucets...love both...can never decide which bathroom I want to use! Clean up is really no diff than any other sink...chances are if you splash in a drop in sink you will splash with a vessel!

In the case of children check out a site htt://www.cribcandy.com (they have thousands of cool bathroom items) I saw a vessel sink expressly designed for children...are you ready...its made of a rubber material in kid colors!

As far as height...that is where some people get hung up ...the "suggested" ergo height for any bathroom sink is 33". However this may or may not work for you with a vessel...in the case of a 7' tall Norseman...he would be banging his knees on the sink...conversely someone 5' tall may not be comfortable with any sink at 33" let alone a vessel. There are a few ways to easily get a custom height just for you but the method depends on which type of vanity you select. I dig custom and I love DIY...I do clever one of a kind vessel sink vanity installations that are cheap, easy to do and look fantastic.

As far as going out of style...well, as one person said "they have been around forever". I will add that if that is your main concern stay away from wild colors or weird sink configurations...think functional with a simple clean look and accessorize it to add some bling. You will create a "timeless" bathroom vanity rather than a trendy one.

My final thought on this is if you DIY the vessel sink and vanity and go to the right sources for the fixtures etc...you will save so much cash that who cares! You can redo the bathroom vanity in 5 yrs and you will STILL be ahead of the game.

If you have some specific questions shoot me an email.
cheers to your install a vessel sink.
Karl Eberhardt
aka The Bathroom Daddy

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom Daddy

I have a stainless vessel sink in our guest bathroom. I love it there and get lots of compliments on it. It's perfect for a guest bathroom. but we are about to redo our master and I am getting kohler undermounts. just easier to sweep any drops and splashes of water down into the undermount and easier to clean around. And you use a master bath so much more often. My two cents!

I do not have any vessel sinks currently but I have used them at other people's houses and in upscale public restrooms. I find that water runs down my arms when I wash my hands (I am 5'-5"...average height). We are building a house and will not be putting them in eventhough they do look pretty.

I'm thinking about installing a couple of glass bowl type vessel sinks in our master bathroom and would like to know if the mounting ring/spacer is required to install these? I like the look of the vessel sitting directly on the counter plus I don't like the added height the spacer introduces. I heard from some that the ring/spacer is highly recommended to ensure a proper seal. Please advise! Thanks!

We have glass sinks and glass vessel sink In our other bathroom. ( the one the kids use). We have a white ceramic vessel sink in the guest bathroom. The glass sinks looks nice and fancy but I would never put them if I had the choice. These were in the house when we bought it a year ago. Yes they look nice. But they are a huge pain in the butt to keep clean. We have hard water and that certainly does not help. I learned about microfiber clothes now, they are your best friend with these sinks. You have to wipe them dry every single time they get used or the water spots look horrible. You can find green microfiber towels at Walmart in laundry section for about $2 each. They work well. Or like I just did order bunch off eBay for like $10 for a dozen. We also have glass wall and shower door for the shower. I got lucky and found a power squigee right as we were moving in. That is a lifesaver for keeping the glass wall and shower door spot free. The microfiber towel has got to be sued in it several times a day also to get rid of any stray water spots and fingerprints. In the end glass looks real nice but lots of work. I often wonder if it may be good thing later on. I am so use to wiping down the entire glass sink and counter now a days. I guess I am getting cleaner habits.

Kinda like a black car. They're pretty, but only right after you've finished detailing it (provided you used a lint free cloth). I have glass sinks but they're undermounted and not clear...well one is semi clear. They're heavily embossed and have a reflective color on the underside. In fact, they hide soap and toothpaste residue quite well.

I am thinking about installing a Kohler facetted glass sink (Briolette), partially lowered into the countertop. Will this look ok, especially looking down to the bottom?

Amy Wazwaz

We have dealt with those sinks in a rental and they blocked usable space on the counter and were kind of a pain to deal with.

I felt like they got in the way more than anything.

I have two frosted glass round vessel sinks for kitchen,and 1 chrome for bathroom,the frosted glass stays clean the chrome one does not,and for kitchen they are so impractical but I love them so much I don't care,I say style and beauty is much more important than practicality,they are surprisingly durable but keep boiling water in winter away from glass sinks,I knew this but oh well , replacement is only $60.00 ,I love them all ,Dennis A.

A glass sink in a kitchen is terribly impractical unless you have a durable sink for washing pans and heavy items. I also question having a swivel faucet serving two separate sinks. It can be left dripping in between sinks and flood the kitchen.

I have a durable volcanic composite vessel sink made by Victoria and Albert in my powder room. It irritates me that it is hard to wipe around it. I did a three-piece tall faucet set that just makes it worse to wipe, too. I recommend wall faucets with vessels.