 Fabulous, fashionable, functional, fun sinks
BY PRISCILLA KOHUTEK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FUNCTIONALARTGALLERY.COM
Building a new house? Remodeling an old one? Have
you considered how many sinks you’ll need and
have you seen the great styles available? You may be
surprised at the number of options out there. So before shopping
for sinks for a bathroom, kitchen, utility room or bar,
decide where you want to spend the most money and where
you can cut corners. Today’s sinks are designed to suit every
room style and budget — who knew the variety of designs and
materials would ever be so extensive? Who knew sinks could
be so much fun?
Kitchens
Gone are the days when kitchen sinks were simply necessities
for washing dishes and cleaning vegetables. Today the
demand is high for statement-making designer sinks that function
in different ways. For example, the main sink in your
kitchen may come with accessories that can convert
it into a chopping board or an additional work area.
Inserts can raise and lower the sink’s depth, too,
adjusting to accommodate the different heights of
the people using it.
The most popular design for kitchen sinks is
the farmhouse or apron style. They are typically
large deep rectangle sinks with exposed fronts of
white porcelain or enamel. However, as the popularity
of farmhouse sinks grows, manufacturers
are offering more material choices, including fired
clay, stainless steel, copper, natural stone and
wood. These sinks now come in both single- and
double-basin designs and can be mounted either
above or below a counter.
For many homeowners, one kitchen sink isn’t
enough, especially in large busy kitchens with several
prepping areas. A smaller, second sink is
often installed in an island where another pair of
hands can be cleaning vegetables out of the
cook’s way. A second sink may also function as a
multipurpose, prep/entertainment sink that
becomes an ice bucket for chilling the wine and a
staging place to mix drinks.
Designers recognizing the need for designs
that can accommodate
all the
possible uses of
a second or third
sink and came up
with the “trough”
sink. Its long thin
shape can even accommodate
several faucets for
added convenience. Trough sinks
are perfect for kitchen islands.
Another style trend is the vessel sink, which is available in
several materials suitable for kitchen duties. Proponents of this
style say these attractive sinks that sit like a large bowl on a
counter are easy on the back, as you needn’t stoop over the sink
while you work.
 Shopping Tip
When shopping the aisles of the Internet, don’t
forget to consider tax and shipping costs. What
may look like the best deal online may not really
offer such savings after you add the additional
charges. Some local retailers offer free shipping,
so what looks like the best price on the
Internet may not be your best bet when buying
a sink after all.
But for a truly glamorous cutting-edge design, be the
first in your neighborhood to have a sleek kitchen sink
with LED lights mounted in the sides or with an LED
faucet that spews colored water. These make a statement,
day or night, in any kitchen area, bathroom, or
powder room.
Bathrooms
Our current obsession with personalized bathrooms
is constantly challenging designers to develop
with new sink styles utilizing interesting materials.
Bathroom sinks today call for creative designs that
will wow our guests and please our families.
But beauty isn’t the only consideration in a bath room — durability is a necessity in a room
we use so often each day. For example, if
your husband whacks his razor against
the side of the sink, you might want to
rethink a hand-blown glass sink for the
master bathroom. And if you have small
children, vessel sinks without overflows
are not a practical choice in their bathrooms.
But fear not: Savvy manufacturers
are moving toward making sinks from
more durable materials, such as natural
and engineered stone and wood, and
many of today’s vessel sinks are
equipped with overflow drains.
Style trends are rich and varied,
including a sensuous porcelain sink called
Pure Stone that looks like a smooth
round rock with a hole in the middle, a
mesmerizing space age design called
Liaison that you have to see to believe,
hand-painted theme sinks for the kids
and a made-in-France hand painted wall
fountain for the powder room.
Vessel sinks, with and without overflows,
are still highly popular. Perched
atop a variety of surfaces — transparent
glass and natural materials such as granite,
marble, slate and wood — vessel sinks
for the master bath and powder rooms
are especially popular in formally
appointed homes. Both vessel sinks and under-counter bowl
sinks are well suited to such
spaces, but one of the hottest
new styles is a vessel sink with an integral overflow,
something akin to a pool with a vanishing “infinity” edge.
Other sink-friendly spots
Don’t neglect the laundry room and the basement where
deep utility sinks are useful. These days, laundry sinks are available
with adjustable jets to shake things up.
If you have a bar, a sink is a necessity there too.
The uber-luxurious his and her master bath suite might also
include a shampoo sink — wouldn’t that be fabulous?
And finally, doesn’t Fido deserve his own sink for baths and
quick clean ups? You can get him one that also has gentle jets
to soothe and comfort him.
Whatever space you are remodeling, redecorating, rebuilding
or building anew, don’t forget that water is the stuff of life — and you’re likely going to need a sink or two. How nice,
then, that such useful fixtures can be both functional and flattering
to your home’s décor.
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