I just don't get it- what do people like about vessel sinks?

I have to admit, they look nice, but probably a flash in the pan.

Many are also inherently slow to drain as there is no vent.

So that's what they're called. I'm with you wishhouse, there's something about the look of them i just can't stand, and I think they'll look dated in 5 years time.

[first ever comment!]

pretentious puck ass bathroom jockeys....need I say more?

i always felt my total hatred of those might be irrational. it's nice to know i am not alone

i always felt my total hatred of those might be irrational. it's nice to know i am not alone

This too shall pass.

Fortunately bathroom sinks are easy to replace.

Dark porcelain is a close contender for looking cute until you think about it, then silly.

i had one that looked and worked great at a bed & breakfast i stayed at, where the sink was tucked into a corner in the room itself (while the shower and toilet were in the bathroom proper). it was a nice way to dress up the problem of putting a small sink in a very tight space. likewise, i think they're fine for a guest half-bathroom or something like that.

but bottom line, they just hope to distract you from the problem of having a sink with no counter space, which is so very annoying. in short, a cute idea but hardly functional.

Ah, yes. The asshole bathroom. Complete with 'vessel' sinks, travertine tiles and 'rain' showerhead.

I like "rain" showerheads in theory but in practice, who wants to be drenched over the head nonstop while trying to shower? The St Regis in SF, where I usually stay when there on business, has the rain showerheads but I usually end up using the angled wall-mounted handheld showerhead so I don't drown.

DETEST them. All of them. Fad that'll be funny and scream 1990s/2000 in no time. Just AWFUL. In 2007-8 I went to 75 open houses while looking for an apartment. Those with vessel sinks invariably had taste-level issues throughout. BLEEECHHH.

but that's just my opinion...

How they justified ever increasing Real Estate prices. After a while it just gets tired.

"DETEST them. All of them. Fad that'll be funny and scream 1990s/2000 in no time."

Beat me to it.

They're just horrid, aren't they? I'm not sure I've actually used one but they are just so odd. It's novelty for the sake of novelty; someone trying WAY too hard. Plus, as you've mentioned, they're awkward & with nowhere to put anything. These foolish sinks & stainless kitchens, glass tiles, too, perhaps, are dating, badly, as we speak.

You guys are saying you don't like them because you don't understand them, but it's part of a larger problem with your whole crowd: you just don't "get" anything about tract housing in Ohio. Ignoramuses!

"scream 1990s/2000" - that's funny because I associate them with
1) new condos built after 2003
2) candle-lit bathrooms in overly trendy restaurants starting in 2006
3) hotels in the midwest renovated in 2007 or later
One positive might be that when you're washing your face, you're less likely to splash since they sit higher...
Aesthetically, for me, the worst are the glass one... the colored glass ones... that look like cheap glass earrings I bought from mall vendors in 1990 (and I'm from NJ, so you can imagine)

Oh! and HGTV bathroom renovations NOW

I love them, especially the ones that you can get your body right next to so you don't drip everywhere. They have been using them overseas for decades, so they are really not that new of a fashion statement. If you like modern decor, they are great, although I also have a limestone one in a transitional powder room and it takes on a Tuscany feeling. I'm so happy to have so many choices.

wishouse: by the time condo developers pick up on a trend it is past. By 2003 Home Depot was carrying the things and they were passe. I think Philip Stark used them in the 1990s sometimes when no one had seen them before. And I agree 100% about the colored glass bowls--my gosh, whoever thought spitting toothpaste into a blue glass bowl sitting on what looks like a cheap dresser or plumbing contraption of pipes was a good look?

NYRENewbie: vessel sinks that are 200 years old in a farmhouse in Tuscany that sit on a 300 year old chest are one thing. But let's not pretend that "oversees" these silly things are the norm. And they are about as tasteful in "modern decor" as that furniture from the Long Island company where the brothers and their mother and family used to advertise "Just 'Round the Corner!"

drdrd: while you may not like stainless appliances, at least the stainless ostensibly serves a function and is not a novelty for novelty's sake. I have a tough time understanding why a white or black appliance is less foolish than a metal one. Function is not ignored for the sake of form with a metal appliance. As for glass tile, at least they are often beautiful things in and of themselves when made and installed well and the colors are selected by someone who knows what they are doing. They may be the turn of the 21st century version of basketweave bathroom floor tiles or the pink and black bathroom look that my grandparents house in Brooklyn enjoyed from the 1950s. Dated? Yes. But remaining fun and sort of cool over the years. What I mean is that while some design choices speak to a particular time, that can be okay. It's about how you do it. Any great material can be used poorly. Alas, the vessel sink, imo, is an unsalvageable design choice and evinces a serious taste level problem no matter how employed.

smudgy steel

Sorry, but stainless is going to look just as dated as bowl sinks. It's not that it is functional, it is that everyone has stainless which of course means that some tastemakers will decide on something else. Which will then cause the herd to change their kitchens which will leave the stainless kitchens looking dated.

Yeah yeah, stainless is classic because it is standard in commercial kitchens, but if you stick stainless among granite and cherry it is still dated and not commercial looking at all. However, go truly commercial by throwing in some stainless counters and sinks and metro racks and you will be golden for years.

Then again, it is your kitchen and not an investment so who cares? I adore glass tiles and 1930s pink and black bathrooms. In fact, I'm about to move into one right now.

Kylewest, isn't it nice that not everyone has the same design concept as you? Yours', I believe, is wonderful, and I really do appreciate it. But it doesn't make it right for everyone. I think you will agree that you are not the design God. Diversity in design can be appreciated on many levels. I would hate it if I walked into every home and it looked the same.