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Source for tiny vintage-look sinks?

16 years ago

Ya'll are so snazzy I feel shabby just asking this question.

(Pure artistry on this forum. I am in awe.)

I live in a 1916 home with just one full bath. Amazingly enough, we're trying NOT to add a bathroom or a master suite... but the bathroom we do have is in definite need of a remodel, as the decor is something like "1920s bathroom is defeated by a 1960s handyman owner with a flowerlovin' wife and bare-bones budget."

However, I would like to trade the 1980s cabinet vanity for a couple of tiny wall-hung or pedestal sinks.

I have a vintage photo that is a bit overly rustic but gives the idea of the "look" I'm after. Finding a pair of matching antique sinks seems like a LOOOONNG shot, so I'm wondering if anyone's seen something similar (in size or vintage look, and hopefully both!).

If I can't find two sinks for the bathroom, I'm considering adding a tiny vintage sink to my daughter's bedroom (on the same wall as the bathroom sinks, so plumbing should be fairly simple). I lived in a 1930's dorm in college w/ a sink in each room, and it was amazing how little a woman needed to be in the bathroom if she just had her own sink. :) There's a thread here about a 1950's toothbrushing sink. THAT would be ideal.

Please share if you have any sources, ideas or opinions! Thanks!

Comments (12)

  • 16 years ago

    My husband is from northern Europe. At my in-laws house all the bathrooms have sinks in them. I don't know why we dropped that custom in the US. What you say about having a sink in the bedroom is true. Much of what you need to do in the bathroom only requires a sink and a mirror. I think it's interesting and great that you're reviving that in your house. Maybe it goes back to the days pre-plumbing indoors when everyone had a washstand in the bedroom...don't know. Just wanted to say I've been there, done that, and it really works.

  • 16 years ago

    Did you see the wallmounts at Kohler? A few have pseudo-vintage styling.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler wallmounts

  • 16 years ago

    Actually I see sinks like this posted on craigslist all of the time being pulled out of old schools and buildings. Granted some are in rough shape, but if you want an actual vintage sink, I would check out craigslist.

  • 16 years ago

    I meant to mention that often they are pulling multiple sinks out of bathrooms so you can sometimes find posts with multiple sinks.

  • 16 years ago

    Love that photo! I'm old enough to remember when *everyone* was told to rip out their wall-hung sinks by their hapless Realtors when selling their house so their property wouldn't look "dated". So out went the priceless rustic porcelain basins (and the cross-hatch faucets attached to them) and in went the flat cultured-marble top over an oak or white vanity cabinet (1980s), an unconvincing imitation of a vintage pedestal sink ('90s) or a vessel sink precariously balanced atop freestanding furniture ('00s). And the elegant pre-WWII sinks and tubs were unceremoniously tossed in the scrapheap left out with the trash to be collected. Ironically, the sinks that most resemble what you're looking for I've usually seen in inner-city slums that escaped the housing-bubble flippers of the last decade. I wish I had taken more pictures - I rarely think to photograph the bathrooms I use at my (impoverished) friends rowhouses. All of my wealthier friends seem to live out in the 'burbs with the attendant boring bathrooms, or older homes like yours that have had all their charm renovated out of them. If I come across any exceptions, I'll let you know.

    Meanwhile, with all the old-timey styles the p1umbing manufacturers emulate, it's unfortunate that they rarely capture the elegance of their own designs from bygone eras.

  • 16 years ago

    At our plumbing supply store they have some of these on their sales wall. I'm not sure if they are new or vintage, they sell both. They are American Plumbing Supply in Des Moines, IA. I'd be happy to give their phone number, but I'm so not sure on etiquette and you can google it and get it, so I guess I'll leave it up to that. Their customer service rocks. Small Mom and Pop operation.

  • 16 years ago

    Search Google shopping for wall-mount bathroom sinks and you find DOZENS, many of them small and vintage looking.

  • 16 years ago

    You all are fabulous. I have so many options now!! Thanks. We have no definite date on the remodel, but when it happens, I'll be sharing photos here for sure.

    I appreciate the help SO MUCH!

    (I'd tried google but was searching for small, tiny, or antique sink.. the "wall mount" phrase is what narrowed the field appropriately. Thanks!!)

  • 5 years ago

    I see a lot of these tiny, vintage sinks on Facebook market place at really reasonable prices.

  • 5 years ago

    This thread is over 10 years old. Why the need to bring it back up?

  • 4 years ago

    Any one know where to get the sinks in the photo?


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