the installation will be the easy part

I mentioned in a previous post that our bathroom desperately needs a new sink--the mottled, peeling faucet, the rim-to-rim bowl cracks from a dropped (full) beer bottle, and the occassional kamikaze diving off the wall (once onto a toddler's toe) were not enough to get D to replace it, but the re-occurring drip that finally became an unstoppable stream finally forced him to concede that something must be done.

But fixing all that ails the bathroom is not as easy as just getting a new sink--the sink is just the starting point. At least we did make a decision on that, so we have a starting point. The sink is hand-carved soapstone, to match that in our kitchen and our fireplace hearth. See the gorgeous pic. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. When it arrives (the San Francisco location did not carry the kind we wanted, so we had to get it from the New Jersey store--at least I wheedled them into knocking off additional shipping fees) we will drive up to SF to pick out a soapstone slab to complement it, which D can cut to our needs. But we still have not decided whether to undermount the sink, or make it a partial-height vessel, or to make it a drop in. Undermount would be ideal, for looks, easy clean up, and maximizing counter space, but while D and his dad did an excellent job on our kitchen counter slabs, those were mainly straight lines. Cutting a radial in stone, where you cannot nicely hide any mistakes, and you have to get it right the first time? The odds are not in his favor. Drop in would be the easiest--same hole needed, but the lip of the sink would hopefully cover flaws in the cutting. Half-raised vessel is my least favorite option, but the one D likes best.

Then there is the issue of what to put the sink on. My idea was to get nice 1" x 6" boards, cut them into a half round shape, and then lay the half-round slab counter over them with an inch lip. The whole thing would be supported by a lovely pair of brackets I found on eBay--see pic. I would probably paint them white, to give them more of a cottagey look, and with the supporting boards white and the walls white behind it, the effect would be fairly understated but unusual and hopefully a little shabby chic. D is not sure we can make that look good, and so we are also looking at vanities--but there is almost nothing out there that will fit into our teeny, tiny water closet, so I think we will end up building something ourselves.

Then there is the issue of the wall. Currently, our entire house is single-walled construction; this means on the other side of that one inch bathroom wall behind the sink is the backyard. Nowhere to hide plumbing. And the structural 2"x 4" that runs the length of the wall supporting the window gives very little clearance for fixtures. Do we build out the wall and insulate it but then lose precious inches of body-getting-around space and counter depth? The depth of the space between the walls will still not probably be deep enough to house all the plumbing (old houses are not built to the modern standards, of course) but the room would look better and be warmer to boot. And we could put in a wall outlet, which is always nice in a bathroom.

Obviously the related issue is the faucet. Do we go for wall-mounted fixtures and run the plumbing outside? Do we go for a deck mounted faucet--but have to go for a one hole fixture mounted to the side of the sink, to maximize counter space and not worry about the wall issues? Then of course we want the best fixture, one that will last and look good a long time. Some things are worth the extra money, and we think plumbing fixtures are in that category. We know we want brushed nickel finish in PVD--but to get this finish in an old-fashioned looking, one-hole counter mounted solid brass, ceramic disc faucet? There are only, like, three such faucets on the market, and they are all fairly ugly.

Oh, the trials and tribulations of being particular, I mean, having good taste! ; )

Susan, I know you are rolling your eyes at this point. And for good reason! Oh, but it gets worse.

Being us and all, it is not possible to just go out and buy a sink and hang it on the wall. It has to be the right sink, the right faucet, etc. This in itself is not bad. The bathroom is the most pathetic room in the house, and desperately needs an entire overhaul, and I am estatic that there is finally enough reason for D to let me start work on it. But of all the problems we are facing in the whole decision making process, the worst one by far is my husband. Who is clearly schizophrenic and crazy to boot. (And who will be reading this, in case you are wondering! ; ) See, he has not wanted to make any improvements to the bathroom because, in his mind, it would all be money thrown down the toilet, so to speak, since if we ever add on to the house, as we intended when we bought it, that part of the house will probably be torn off and the new built in its place. Key words there being "if" and "probably." Realistically, we will not be adding on to the house for a long, long time. We will most likely have to move before we ever add on, so I say we should do the remodel now and be able to enjoy it, and have the house in better condition to sell in case the need should arise. But D is loathe to "throw away" time, effort and money on a remodel that may be torn down again someday. I agree completely with his stance, just not his perspective of time frame.

So he is coming to this remodel with part eagerness (he has been visiting bath and kitchen showrooms on his lunch break) and part reluctance. Hence the schizophrenia comment--he is clearly torn and that makes decision making all the harder. And now comes the crazy. So yesterday he took us all to a couple of kitchen/bath showrooms in Santa Cruz and it was productive, and I was feeling pretty good about the whole thing until in the car on the way home he starts talking about how in most countries people may not even have a bathroom sink, they just have one sink to do everything in. He wonders why we really need a bathroom sink at all. Especially, he notes, when the kitchen and bath are really only about 20 steps apart from one another. Having a bathroom sink in addition to a kitchen sink, in his words, "Is a little extravagant, don't you think?"

Good thing I am not a drinker.