| As the bathroom fixture that gets the most use, a | | | | have become popular with the advent of |
| sink may deserve the most care and planning. It | | | | solid-surface materials. This style of sink presses up |
| must serve your needs, from toothbrushing to face | | | | under the counter and is held in place with clips that |
| washing, fit in with the design style of the room, and | | | | screw into embedded inserts. A water-tight seal is |
| have a color that will please the eye for years. | | | | created by applying a bead of silicone onto the rim of |
| While there are some folks with Olympion bank | | | | the sink before tightening the clips. |
| accounts who change their bathroom fixtures often, | | | | Integral: the best solution for stopping water from |
| most of us don't. that's why, though you can buy | | | | leaking between a sink and its countertop is to form |
| sinks and tubs in pastels, bold colors, and even | | | | the sink and countertop out of the same material |
| patterns, some 90% of fixtures sold are white. The | | | | and glue them together with a special adhesive. Even |
| reason is obvious: White goes with everything. It's a | | | | simpler is to find a sink/vanity top that's formed as |
| lot easier and less expensive to update wallpaper and | | | | one unit from a single piece of material, such as |
| towels than fixtures. To select your new sink, | | | | acrylic sink. |
| consider first how it's mounted, what it's made from, | | | | Wall-mount: any sink that is solely supported by a |
| and the size of the bowl. After that come the | | | | wall is considered a wall-mount sink. These sinks |
| choices in color and style. | | | | attach directly to the wall or hang on a bracket |
| Bathroom sinks are defined by how they're mounted: | | | | attached to the wall. Although they offer plenty of |
| drop-in, under-counter, above-counter, integral, | | | | leg space, they don't provide any storage, and the |
| wall-mount, pedestal and bowl size. | | | | plumbing lines are usually visible. |
| Drop-in: also called true self-rimming sinks, drop-ins are | | | | Pedestal: pedestal sinks have gained popularity as a |
| usually made of cast iron or porcelain. They're held in | | | | way to make a small space look big. These sinks |
| place by their significant weight, and a thin layer of | | | | may look like they're freestanding, but the sink is |
| sealant or plumber's putty that forms a watertight | | | | actually mounted to the wall; even though the |
| seal under the small flat section on the rim. The | | | | pedestal does take on some of the sink's weight, the |
| advantage of installing one of these is that you | | | | bulk is handled by the wall. The pedestal basically |
| simply cut a hole in the vanity top, apply the sealant, | | | | serves to partially conceal the waste line and trap. |
| and drop in the sink. | | | | Supply lines are usually visible on either side of the |
| Above-counter: a fairly recent innovation, | | | | pedestal. |
| above-counter sinks are mounted in the vanity so | | | | Bowl size: the size of the bowl itself depends on how |
| part of the sink, or the entire sink, sits on the vanity | | | | the sink will be used. In a tiny powder room, a |
| top. This brings the sink up to a more comfortable | | | | shallow, three-sided sink could be fine for washing |
| level for use. Although attractive, water spills onto | | | | hands. In a sprawling master bath suite, though, the |
| the vanity top are common, so extra care is needed | | | | double sinks might each be oversized, with wide |
| to keep these looking good. | | | | ledges and deep bowls. |
| Under-counter: under-counter, or undermount, sinks | | | | |