That Sinking Feeling

Homeowners love the idea of having something unique in their homes. There are thousands of ways to give this to them, but few are as unusual as a sink that doubles as a sculpture. Whether it’s in the powder room or kitchen, a special sink can let the family show off their creativity and style.

Glass Sinks
Charles Priestap, owner of Celestine Homes, a Louisville, Ken.-based luxury homebuilder, invites his clients and their kids to “go play in the sand.” Not at the beach, but at Vitramax Group, a local custom-glass manufacturer where families get involved in creating their own unique glass vessels. Even kids can get involved and paint with the sand to create their own special sink.

“It’s the latest trend,” Priestap says. “Our sinks are almost always custom, and we team the sinks with Moen hardware because it looks great.” These custom-glass sinks are transferred from one home to another, so when a family invests in a unique piece, they can take it with them when they move to a new home.

Brass Sinks
Brass sinks are typically hand-hammered, making each one completely unique. Brass sinks require “old-time skills,” says interior designer Ann Saavedra, who has worked in the Bay Area around San Francisco for the last 25 years. “It takes an artist to make one.”

The hammer marks on the sink are like fingerprints: Because the marks on every sink are different, they make each sink special. But that’s not the only feature that can make a brass sink unique. While some clients will leave the industrial finish on the brass to keep the sink shiny and new looking, others will rub off the finish so the brass can darken naturally. “You can polish it up for a bright color or let it get a patina. It depends on which way you like it,” Saavedra says.

Stone Sinks
Stone sinks are available through high-end kitchen and bath showrooms. Because every stone has its own veining and shape, a stone sink will be as unique as a snowflake. Just compare two granite countertops. Says Colleen Eastman, a Minneapolis interior designer for MA Peterson Designbuild: “Each stone sink has its own character. Each one is individual.”

Eastman pairs stone sinks with a wide variety of mixed metals and hardware. For her most recent client, she used hardware that seems to float out of the mirror, giving the powder room a magical, dreamy feeling.

An alternative is a composite stone like MoenStone granite sinks. These products look like granite, but are made with a blend of 80 percent granite and 20 percent resin. They’re easy to clean, plus they stand up well to harsh cleaners. They also resist scratches and high temperatures, so you can put a boiling pot directly in one without damaging the sink.

Pottery Sinks
Pottery is a favorite souvenir of an exotic vacation. But once a family gets a piece safely home, it sits on the shelf, collects dust, and eventually meets a tragic end with a stray baseball. Saavedra worked with a couple who put one of their favorite souvenirs from China, a large clay bowl, to work as a vessel sink. It’s a natural conversation starter and the ultimate in individuality. No other home will have the same piece.

Any local college’s ceramics department can point you toward a craftsperson who can carefully drill into a piece of pottery to retrofit it for plumbing. One tip: Make sure the homeowner has two pieces that can work for the vessel sink in case one gets damaged in the process.

Whether it’s glass, copper or a found object, a sink can become a functional piece of art that makes a home as individual as the people who live in it. Priestap sums it up best when he says, “Today there are no limits as to how we can design and use our creativity.”