I’m obsessed with sinks — especially modern powder room sinks and how they create a mood.
I’m starting a powder room expansion project and, as I look for ideas, I keep finding such intriguing modern powder room sinks. Our existing sink will remain, and it’s a traditional console. But I’m drawn to modern baths that understand how to use the fixtures as a kind of sculpture.
Three of the most interesting and innovative modern powder room sinks I’ve seen lately come from Chicago designer Tracy Hickman. In a client’s South Carolina guest house with khaki shiplap walls [top], she designed a stunning sink installation with an interesting mix of neutrals and metallics. The basin itself is of a size normally reserved for use in a kitchen — a deep custom metal square with a pronounced lip and incising on the sides. Instead of sinking it in the vanity cabinet, it sits on top. The lowered cabinet acts like a base to help show it off. Another genius idea was to modify the weathered mirror frame, adding enough space at the bottom to make it a backsplash for the wall-mounted bridge faucet. The mirror is wide enough to frame the sink and extend below the lip so there’s no awkward wall gap with enough space left over for a pair of sconces. One interesting note which also seems quite smart for a guest room. If I’m reading the little control panel on the left side of the vanity correctly, there’s a single-drawer dish washer in this powder room — so it’s double duty space. But getting the scale right here was key.
In a minimalist bath, also by Hickman, a curvilinear granite sink, with a curved linear drain, is cantilevered against a tiled wall. The drain at the front does, in theory, keep water from cascading onto the floor. It’s rare to see a ink this minimal and the design is daring. I would love to use it and see how it functions.
The opposite of minimalist — but modern in a different way — this stunning upholstered “chest of drawers” vanity has nailhead trim and a stone top. What a mix! The low, square stone vessel sink could be mistaken for a tray if it weren’t for the bridge faucet with spoke handles on the wainscot just above it.
Stone on stone takes on an organic look with a sink that resembles a scooped out rock. Set simply on a marble vanity top, with a matching marble backsplash, it has a wonderful tactile quality and a sense of craftsmanship.
Larger, and even more dramatic, an oval, angled white basin sink provides visual balance for the two-tone vanity. With textured walls as the backdrop this sinks works very hard and makes the bath memorable.
Another clever mix of sink, faucet and mirror hails from a South Carolina bath designer. The simply constructed plain wood vanity is notched out so the blocky zero-radius porcelain sink sits proud of the front and three-quarters of the way down. That elevates the lip well above the wood. The sink also boasts an integral apron that allows the Delta Vero faucet in Champagne bronze to be mounted on top. The Drake French Country Rosette Metal Framework Large Mirror provides a vintage-industrial look while the Arteriors Sahara sconces keep things sleek. What’s great about this powder room console is that it isn’t especially expensive to put together provided a talented carpenter is available.
(Hickman Interiors, amymaydesigns, sdh studio, palmettocabinetstudio)
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