Powder Room Week : Sinks

I don't have a powder room at CDLV, and most people with houses built prior to 1960 don't, unless they or a prior owner retrofitted a hall closet, or kitchen pantry, thereby rendering them without a place to hang coats, or store food. But, many of you have powder rooms, or some sort of secondary bath reserved for guests. This week is for you!

Of course, toilets are a necessary part of any bathroom - and I'll spare you a day of 10 pictures of toilets. Not only do I not want to source toilets, I don't want to bore you with a pictures of something we all would rather keep private. I will however give you a couple of notes about toilets.

• Buy the most expensive toilet you can afford. You won't regret it. You will, however, regret skimping on toilets in favor of the decorative. Cheap toilets don't have the water efficiency, or the lifespan of a good, well-made, and sometimes expensive toilet.
• Most people who are using your powder room will appreciate a comfort height toilet. A normal toilet has an overall seat height of 15-inches, a comfort height overall seat height is just under 18-inches, the height of a dining room chair. 
• Lastly, guess what trend is back? Wood toilet seats. But don't think of that old oak number your grandma had - think highly polished then lacquered mahogany and walnut toilet seats ala Michael S. Smith for Kallista, Kohler's high end sister.

Designer Credit: Phoebe Howard

Ok, Ok ... I said no toilets. But I couldn't resist showing you this bathroom with the trendy wood toilet seat by Phoebe Howard. (P.S., I bought her book today - enjoying each page.) Now that I've shown you - what do you think of it? Is it clicking now? You're probably thinking to yourself, I saw one of those in last month's Veranda. I told you - trendy! Now, sinks!!

First, I want to open your mind to console sinks. I have one, and I love it. And in a powder room, they make much more sense than in a daily use bath. Because you don't necessarily need storage of toothpaste, mouthwash, hairspray - the list goes on - in a powder room you can go with a prettier sink. 

Console Sinks

Designer Credit: Ted Tuttle

Designer Credit: Mark D Sikes from here

Here, metal leg porcelain console sinks, each of them with horizontal towel bars, the top photo with the towel bar in use, the bottom without - the beauty doesn't change. 

Found: Coastal Living

Found: Elle Decor

The second type of console sink is the all porcelain console. Not only is your sink porcelain, the legs are too. This is what we chose for our bathroom at CDLV. They can be expensive, but I got a great deal at Signature Hardware on a Nottingham Brass console sink. If you like the look, give them a gander. Lastly, a take on both the console sink and the vessel sink:

Designer Credit: Brooke & Steve Giannetti found here

Designer Credit: Melanie Pounds via HouseBeautiful

Pairing up a console table that fits your aesthetic, along with a vessel sink makes for the perfect powder room solution. If console won't fit, or isn't your thing, try this on for size:

Pedestal Sinks

Designer Credit: Rita Konig

pssst: There's that wood toilet seat again! I know, I know!

This is your traditional pedestal sink. A two piece sink made from porcelain with different designs or molds on the base and surrounding edge. But there are other types of console sinks that are a little more ... well, original:

Designer Credit: Barry Dixon

Here, Barry Dixon uses an antique marble urn as a bathroom sink. It's the PERFECT solution for those of you who (1) find this appealing and (2) are doing a total bath redo. Because the plumbing for your faucet must come from the wall - not a common plumbing grade in typical homes. Worth the effort though, wouldn't you agree? And lastly ...

Decorative and Hand Painted Under mount Sinks

Found: Kohler Catalog here

If you don't have a single piece, cultured marble top to your existing vanity, you likely have a removable under mount bowl attached to some sort of solid surface. You can get a whole new look, and have your guests asking: "where did you get that sink?" each and every time by switching out your current one for something hand painted or even hammered metal.