While the layout of the guest cottage bathroom is still up in the air (much to the dismay of my electrician and plumber) the overall vibe is clear and consistent. I really want it to be a medium-dark wood and a richer, more saturated color (maroon, red, blue, green, etc.) so having white plumbing fixtures will draw so much attention to you and really feel like high contrast. I’m not alone in wanting colorful plumbing fixtures, and I’m happy to say that every year more and more companies fill that void in the market. Caitlin wrote a great post about the revival of this trend. I guess since I didn’t go through this colorful sink and toilet trend the first time around (in the 50’s and 60’s), I’ve liked them a lot whenever I’ve seen them (in good condition). I think the reason these have to be high quality is that they won’t age the way they do (a cheap fiberglass hot pink sink might look questionable in 10 years). But in the right environment intentionally painted high quality porcelain, concrete cast or cast iron will have longevity, I promise.
Vintage/rescued colorful sinks in the store
burgundy, Hippo Hardware | powder blue, Aurora Mills
My first instinct was to find a vintage sink at a salvage store and I immediately found 6 at Hippo Hardware in Portland. Sadly they were all purchased over the next few months (after I told the story about them) before I actually bought mine (so stupid!!). Recently Aurora Mills listed this powder blue, but it is being sold with the tub for $1695 (and the tub is huge, a big square). I could just buy the sink but that would cost too much.
etsy, shiny cast iron sink | etsy, vintage steel sink
We went online to see if there were any on FBMP or Etsy and we found these two that may work for different reasons, but I’m not completely desperate yet so I’ll keep shopping to find something local.
Water Monopoly: Ceramic Color Sink
Rockwell Basin | rockwell wall hung | Rockwell Basin, Backsplash
Caitlin introduced me to this brand, Water Monopoly and oh my god, they are so beautiful. I could absolutely go in this direction (and go very well). They also have a matching tub (although I’m not sure we even need a tub anymore, hahaha).
Kohler: Color Sync
Kohler welcomed this moment by re-releasing some of its original colors. I like that teal, but I’m not sure I want a chair. I’m really, really hoping they launch more colors (especially matching tubs and toilets).
colored concrete sink
concrete, terracotta | Concrete, dark blue
It’s hard not to love these concrete sinks. They are definitely fabulous but the colors are fantastic, they come in so many different sizes and shapes and again, so many colors too.
Cast is another new brand to me that is probably too contemporary for this project (I still want vintage!) but they look fantastic when I put these into mood boards or layouts. I don’t believe that all of your plumbing fixtures should be timeless, but I’m just attracted to the sweetness of vintage that places us a little more in the past.
Nude Company, Copan Blue | Nude Company, Musk
But if you’re building a mid-century or contemporary home I like these, especially for a powder bath – somewhere guests can use it to please them.
Our vintage sink, but reglazed or powder-coated
After poking around to find the perfect vintage sink I realized we already had a great one. We won’t have bathrooms up here anymore (converted them into closets) so we can take this sink and bring it into the new bathroom.
Now, this sink is a cast iron base with porcelain glaze (we think) and so technically it is not recommended to powder coat porcelain. The general consensus is that in 5-15 years it may chip or crack (not the sink, the paint). The quote I got from the last place said it would be $300-$400 total and they would fire it multiple times for best results. They still can’t guarantee it will last forever, but my thinking is that this sink won’t get much use outside of hand washing (my crew during the week and maybe a few teens and tweens on a few weekend nights and 5-10 larger summer gatherings). To be able to use what I already have and get the exact color I want, I might be ready to try it out and report back in 5 years to see if it’s still in pristine condition. This was told to me by a local who really knew:
“Old castings with porosity tend to gas out: meaning once the temperature gets right the air is forced to form tiny pinhole sized imperfections where air escapes. We can mitigate this by pre-baking the item, sprinkling powder while hot, and doing multiple coats (which we would need to do anyway to try to fill out the cast texture.) If you end up with areas that continue to pinhole the sink may not have proper rust protection. That being said I remodeled all the small bathroom sinks for a boutique hotel (I think 50 rooms) and I’ve never heard of any homeowners who were happy. The suggested process was to remove any/all of the old finish and then apply 4 coats of epoxy. Can be between 300-400 dollars.
Looks pretty professional to me! I think if the sink size works with the potential floor plan (which is still up in the air – so much fun) I’m going to try it. If the shape won’t work then obviously I won’t work either. Still I love learning about it all and reporting back. If anyone has experience painting ceramic or cast iron let me know!
by photo Caitlin Green
