Ours is an umbrella. There is a "grid" below the umbrella though into which the umbrella attaches via a post screw. Ours is exclusively for washing hands in a powder room. It does flow a bit slowly but I believe that is due to a plumbing grade issue that I choose not to repair right now as it will involve opening the wall.

I love ours (it sits on top of the counter). My recommendation is to make sure it's plenty deep and wide to contain any splashing. If you're doing a vessel that sits on top of the counter, then you will want the top of the counter height to be about 30" from the floor. Any higher and it can be challenging for anyone less than 5'8" tall (give or take and inch) to use the sink. Hope this helps!

We've lived with a hand blown glass vessel sink in our powder room for close to 10 years. We've had two teak wood vessel sinks in our master bath for about 4 years. We love the look and the fact that all these sinks are artisan crafted and the focal points of both baths. They are very functional and I don't buy into the "it's a trend that will pass" comments - vessel sinks have been in use for over a century... If your faucet height and spout locations are correct, splashing should not be an issue. As for copper vessels, check out CopperSinksOnline.com - we have bought several copper sinks from them and they are a great company with awesome products. When you go to their home page, check out the "Copper Sinks 101" article. These sinks are simply soap and water clean up with an occasional (maybe once every few months) "waxing" that takes all of 60 seconds. We are redoing a guest bath right now and just ordered a free standing copper tub, double wall copper vessel and vanity from them as well. I have put a link to the vessel - they are very cool! We bought our faucets from them and got 10% off for some special they have going on right now. It may be a few months, but I'll post pics of this remodel when it's complete. Here is a link that might be useful: Acorn Copper Vessel

I'm surprised that more people don't seem to be looking for this. It was definitely a priority for me in our Master BR. I tend to do a fair amount of hand-washing delicate items, and thought that having a sprayer would facilitate rinsing out. Just doing online searches (couldn't find anything in person anywhere), my favourite pullout was the Green Tea by American Standard, but in the Brushed Nickel finish it was almost 10X more expensive than the one I found on eBay by Pfister. I splurged on many things in this bathroom, but just couldn't justify that cost to myself...in the States I think it's probably more reasonable. Anyhow here are two pics, first one the Green Tea, isn't it pretty? The second, the Ideal, which is pretty enough...and not installed yet, so can't comment on how it works...