Just a question. You want a higher sink now but when you're in a wheelchair, you'll actually need the sink lower?

No, reachable. I need to be able to fit my legs under the counter and reach up to use the sink. That is why I like the idea of the ones that protrude from the counter. With no counter top between me and the sink, I can simply reach into the sink.

I do not know if I ever will be in a wheelchair, my disorder means that I may. I could need one after an injury or surgery, or someday permanently. There is no way to predict.

I do know that I will sometimes need my rollator walker, which sits
me up high and able to use everything at the "normal" height.

Cpartist, any opinion on how sinks function?

Hi Sophie, I have scoped out the sinks and found ones that fit in my plan of having a 12 to 14" or up to 18" deep counter. European companies have plenty! In the years I have been planning this bathroom, the number of narrow sinks available has skyrocketed. Plus, having one of the semi-recessed style ones that protrude out the front of the counter greatly adds to the depth of the sink basin I can have with my counter top of that size. The Nameeks GSI Traccia sink (The first one in my post, on the walnut counter) is 18.1 " deep, but fits on a 11" counter because 7.35" protrudes off the front of the counter. And it meets ADA specs. As for meeting the ADA height specs, ADA specs do not apply in private homes. Since my walker and any electric wheelchair I might have would be higher, I think I am safe. Besides, ADA specs are written to meet the needs of any possible user. This bathroom is being made to meet the needs of one user.

I am stealing a foot from the bedroom and putting in a 38 x 63 curbless shower with a front trench drain. Once I have time to get SketchUp installed in my new computer and the bath built in there, I will be posting it, but that is not today's question. Today I am trying to figure out which sink style is best.

Do you have any opinions on how we use sinks, how we splash in and around them, and how the size of the basin and the position of the faucet affects the amount of water that ends up outside of the sink?

Maybe my sketch will help. This is where I graphed out the placement of the tube sconces and the two mirrors that I already have purchased and figured out that any sink or sinks I get will have to be centered under one or both of the mirrors. I first tried it with two small sinks and saw that it left me little counter space and little space in which to put drawers next to the sinks below the counter.

Then I sketched out centering the 26" GSI Traccia by Nameeks under the first sink. That is the sink in this sketch. The shower is situated across from this counter and the toilet, starting about 4" after the sink. By not having a sink under the second mirror, I have more room for manipulating a wheelchair or walker around the shower and the toilet. The toilet is along the same wall as this counter, and its 30" begins just after the 65" of this counter ends. This wall is 103" long, but the toilet is not as close to the wall as it could be. It is a comfortable distance away.

I am not tied to 12" as the depth of the counter. I can go as far as 18", though that gives me less floor space. I prefer to keep it to 14"-ish. If I used 18", I would not have this sink, I would likely use a long and narrow sink that does not overhang the counter.

So, does that help anyone want to discuss what size or shape or installation method of bathroom sink keeps the counter less splashed-upon?

Nancy, is there anyway to get an integrated wall/hanging sink? It is so nice to have a wall mounted faucet that drops right into the sink.

https://www.dxv.com/product/lyndon-33-inch-wall-hung-trough-bathroom-sink-by-dxv

Below is one of my favorite. I am leery about the legs though because of the trip factor. But it would be great if you could hang your sink with a wall faucet and no counter:

https://www.dxv.com/products/console-sinks

With the wall mounted sink with faucet, you will not have to wipe anything. It's like my soapstone sink setup. With the wall faucet on the backsplash of the sink, and no counter under the handles, there is nothing to wipe!

I wonder if the second sink I've posted could be mounted on top of a low counter, instead of the legs.

Nancy, I have the installation files copied and here they are. It looks like you could mount it on a vanity. In your case it could be like a keyhole vanity so you could get underneath the thing. Then have your shallow counter on either side of the install. Dang these are posted/inserted totally backwards, oh well.

here is the brochure on the sink:

Hi Enduring! It is finally going to happen for me, and I am glad to have your input.

I know myself, and I will grab and lean onto any sink or counter I get, eventually. Even when I am walking relatively okay, a knee will pop out momentarily and I will grab onto whatever I can. I don't want to be leaning on a wall sink or a wall-mounted counter top. That is why I decided upon a thin counter top with legs on each end. I don't mind if it is attached to the wall for stability, but I want the legs to be carrying the weight. Plus, with the legs 61" apart (assuming the legs are 2" wide, they can be more), there is far less obstruction for wheelchair legs to swing around than with any pedestal sink or chrome sink legs. That is how I arrived at a long, skinny counter.

I am no artist, but here is my attempt to sketch a counter that would hold one of the sinks that has the basin that protrudes out from the counter top.

My husband vetoed the console sink with no counter. Being our only true bathroom, he wants a place to set things down. I can understand that.

I get your point about having nothing to wipe with the wall-mounted sink with a wall-mounted faucet. That was part of my attraction to the Kohler Brockway sink, the first one I had planned on using. I bought the mirrors and sconces with that sink in mind. I had to ditch that plan when I also figured out that I needed a 36" door instead of a 34" door. The Brockway was 18" deep all by itself, which left me with no room to have a shelf above and behind it, the only way my hubby really could see using it. With a 36" door, I can only have an 18" deep counter in the bathroom.

Another big consideration with a wall-mount sink is getting close to it. If a sink is right on the wall, a wheelchair can't pull up to it and use it because your knees smash into the wall. You need some counter or a deep sink to be able to sidle up to a sink in a wheelchair. I am not sure that 12" is enough, which is why I am favoring a 14" deep counter now.

I have looked at some wall-mount faucets. The biggest drawback to them is reaching them if I have to use a wheelchair, but I did see a few where the hot and cold faucet handles do protrude from the wall. Some of the sinks I am considering have one faucet hole and can't be ordered without one, which is why I got into asking this question to everybody. I was thinking I might prefer a wall-mount faucet, and I was stuck with a hole in the sink! I t was one of the larger sinks, so I thought about getting two wall-mount faucets, so two could use the sink at once, then using the center hole in the sink as a soap dispenser. That was for a 31" wide sink, I think. Then I was at the Duravit site where they had the variety of sinks next to each other and it just struck me that maybe if I asked about how people liked the different styles of sink, it might help me to decide what to do. Part of me says to get an undermount sink that does not protrude out the front of the counter and that is so easy to clean around and be done with it. Another part of me says that the sink that comes out from the counter will be a lot easier to use from my walker or a wheelchair.

Enduring, that Oak Hill sink does look nice! Thanks for going to all the trouble of posting all the specs for me. I could see mounting it as you suggested. My only problem is that it is four inches too deep front-to-back. If I try to use a 22" deep sink, it will cut into the aisle space and will get hit a lot more often than the smaller sinks I am looking at. Renovator's Supply had that steel Alape sink from Switzerland that projected only 14", but I don't see it there any more. I did not like the tinny quality of it, either. I will keep it in mind, though and look at these type sinks as I do my searches.

I did find a sink similar to the Oak Hill. Mine is by Duravit, so I may be able to get the nice WonderGliss finish on it. It is in the Vero line, so is very square. I was avoiding square sinks because I thought that the corners made it more likely to chip or break if it is hit by a walker or wheelchair. Here it is:

I was going to put it with the GSI Traccia by Nameeks I keep posting or with this Zero Tondo by Catalando that is 24.41 wide and 18.1 deep and that I also can get with no faucet hole. It is 6.3" tall. I can get a nifty towel rail that can be removed as needed if I need a wheelchair and it is in the way. I wish I could copy that photo, but it is only on the spec sheet, which is a PDF and I would have to do too much to get the photo separated from it.

Here is the oval Duravit Foster. It is 12.25 x 18.125 from outer edge to edge. I can get it in WonderGliss, too, which takes 12 to 14 weeks, which is why I am wanting to get this settled. These Duravit sinks with WonderGliss have a long lag time between order and delivery.

Once you see how difficult it is to get a big sink that is not too big front-to-back, you see why I like the big sinks that hang over the edge!

Here is one that I would consider if I did not mind giving up 35" of length of counter to the sink. That is just too much sink, though it would solve the baby bathing issue for a house without a bathtub, and would also give me a nice clean place to hand wash things. I can treat it like a farm sink and have a few inches hang out the front.

The Axor Hansgrohe faucet you show is the very one I have with my soap stone sink. It comes in lever handles too, for ADA compliance. This sink is too deep for you, but it is 18" square, outer dimension. That's from the back of the backsplash, to the outside front of the sink.

Here is a pic with a chair (18" high) in front of my 18x36 vanity with the 10” deep sink (outer dimension). The counter is 36” high. The sink top rim is about 35” high. The bottom of the sink is 25” high.

How much clearance from the floor do you need, sitting in a wheelchair?

I'm posting my pictures to help you visualize a 6" depth sink set into a vanity or counter that is 18" front to back. Click on pics to open them up in full view.

Side view of the base. 18" along that stone sink, so a smidgen less for the vanity, because there is a bit of a reveal going on with the design:

the white cabinet is about 15" along that face front.

Here's the Duravet installation instructions, screen shot, shown with counter installation. It would work, you wouldn't have to have such a large counter, as they show. Pop the image open for a larger view.

Nancy,

Here's a photo of a Duravit sink similar to one you described; although you would need opening in lieu of cabinets under the sink.

Enduring, thank you so much for those photos. Even if the chair and wheelchair are not quite the same height (and I don't have a wheelchair, so don't know what height one would be for me), it was quite helpful to look at the set-up as you photographed it with the yardstick. I printed that photo and sketched out how the Nameeks GSI Traccia sink would sit. There is plenty of room for my legs underneath it.

I studied the instructions for the Duravit Vero Washbasin. In order to install it, I would need to have wood to attach the front edge to right up to the front edge. We could do that, I guess, and sink the mounting surface for the sink down so that the counter top is fairly even with the top of the basin. I would have the counter be 14 inches deep with this sink. I have to think about this.

I have a pale gray wall tile for the room walls, then polished marble chair rail. I have also purchased some little marble bricks (2 x4 maybe?) in a sparkley carrara-like marble that I had once planned to use as a deco strip. The chair rail came from Craigslist with some pencil molding, but I would have to count to see if there is enough to do the whole length of the room. I believe that I am short some, and that I would have to buy a few, but thought the lady I bought them from said she got them from Tile Shop, and they do not match their tiles. So I am not quite certain if I will have the deco strip, since I don't have enough pencil molding for the bottom of the strip. If I do, I really do not want to have this sink's backsplash interrupting it. Your sink's backsplash is lovely and distinctive, so it looks great interrupting the deco strip. Also, you have an unfitted look, and the backsplash ends in exactly the right place. So I have reservations about the Duravit sink with the backsplash. Since I have the tile backsplash, I really don't need the sink with a built-in splash, either. The counter was planned to be Cambria quartz in Parys, which looks good with Carrara and the gray tile. I imagine the Cambria people will come template the counter and will scribe it to fit tightly against the wall.

Hi Nancy, the reason I brought up my integrated backsplash and sink into the equation is because there is nothing to wipe down after using the sink. In my other bathroom I have a small rag that I keep at the ready to wipe up the counter, behind the faucet, and on top of the faucet to prevent water spotting.

I think your other sinks would be very nice in your narrow counter idea. @plan2remodel posted some nice ideas too.

Very pretty soft colors in your plans. I'm looking forward to seeing your progress and your sketchup renderings.

I have found a sink that is smaller, but plenty big, and has a raised back that will reduce splashing. It is ADA compliant. It looks easy to reach into from the front, yet because it rises to be higher in the back, it will also reduce splashing. It is just a sink, no extra ceramic platforms. I would use the wall-mounted faucet with it.

It is 15-7/10" front to back, x 19" wide x 7" high in the back. It is narrow enough f-to-b that I could have the whole counter top be the same depth as the sink. Or just have the sink extend out a little from the front of the counter. Here is a picture of it naked.

It is a nice big size for a sink, without being so huge that you would never want to fill it with water to wash something in it, as the 26" wide sinks were. It gives me more counter top and more drawer space in the drawers below the counter than those large sinks did, too.

Can anyone see and cons to using this sink?

This might work very well. I don't know about the tile with the sink over the tile. The wall will need to be very flat, so that a nice caulked seam can be made. I have mine pushed up against the tile, but I'm not caulking the gap, and the gap does fluctuate along the 36" span of vanity.

I'd still like to see a flat wall from faucet to bottom of sink.

I like the sink though. Your idea is a good one too.

I do see the advantage of the high backsplash on the sink. It totally solves the drip problem I was asking about. I think my resistance comes from two issues with it.

1. It takes up valuable front-to-back space that is so much an issue with my countertop problem;

2.My 1978 ranch has taken me by the shoulders this summer and given me a good shake. The swirly sheet Marmoleum we installed in the hallways, foyer, kitchen, and family room had a hard talk with me and said, "stop fighting me and the big brick wall with the little fireplace in it. Admit that this is a modern house and stop trying to make it a Victorian!" When the stupid Mini-Dachshund started peeing on the family room rug and I pulled it up, I was converted fully and I started the conversion of my Family Room, which was done in Craigslist Overstuffed Eclectic, to sleek Modern with lots of Walnut and Orange! So the new sleek bathroom vanity just is fighting with all its might to not go there with the sink with a backsplash on it. Although the last sink I posted does try to be a farm sink in the front, its asymmetry does a good job of fighting that.

I think the sink looks more contemporary than farmhouse.

I think you will need a front counter for it though, because I doubt that the exposed depth will be glazed like the bowl. The image you posted of it on the counter doesn't look too deep.

Here is a sink. I will tell you it looks very much like the hospital
sinks they put in the hospital where I work, in the 70's. LOL. So thats
mid century.

http://www.justsinks.com/models/jbp-1924/

heres a photo

Specs:

here is a sink of the copper sink site Racheile:

https://www.rachiele.com/

See this sink. It will forever have puddles in the back, because of drippy hands reaching to shut off the valves. If the spout is too short it will splash water back there when washing hands too.

Look at this integrated sink in the counter. I wonder if something like this could be made out of a long countertop as well. I could see a beautiful solid surface working:

You could do a side mount faucet and not worry as much about the drips in the back of the sink. It would be easier to access for wiping up.

I like these two inspiration pictures. My rationale: This style sink -- did you call it a belly sink? -- allows you to scoot up close to the sink, and it allows for more space in the bathroom. Yes, it's a loss of cabinet space, but I don't think the back of the bathroom cabinet is all that useful anyway.

As for the faucet, here's one thing I don't think you've kicked around yet: A side faucet. This might be useful for your particular situation because it'd be easier to reach from a seated position. As much as I like a wall-mounted faucet, I think it's your worst option. Why? Harder to reach from a seated position. I assume a foot-operated tapmaster is completely out of the question?

I don't love this example because this sink is too small, but consider the faucet:

I don't like this one because it'd be difficult to reach the cold control -- if you go to the side, I'd definitely go with a one-handle model:

I think this one's my favorite:

Hi Mrs. Pete. Those are nice inspiration pictures. I like them, too. Houzz just does not bother to say what the products are in a lot of their pictures, and these are two like that. I am wary of sinks with sharp corners. I think they will chip or break more easily than the rounded ones I started off with. It has to do with how the forces in a curved object will transfer along the curve of the material and how the walker or wheelchair might slide along the curve instead of striking the sink corner hard and concentrating all its force there. I may be wrong about it. It is just an idea I have.

I really am not concerned at all about storage in a vanity. I am tentatively planning on a single row of drawers below my vanity top, a leg the same width as the top on either end, and perhaps some wall supports along the length of it. The rest of the space will be open I have been planning on a Parys by Cambria quartz top. I have found a Wilsonart laminate for my contractor to use to cover the vanity with. It is one of their High Wear laminates, called Satin Stainless.

I have found quite a few interesting wall-mounted faucets whose on/off knobs are at the end of the spout or on the spout itself somewhere. Most of them are at the Quality Bath site, which is closed for Sabbath every Friday at 7 pm until 7 pm Saturday. So I can't access them until tomorrow evening. It makes reaching them very easy. I only found two on other sites today, this Axor:

I did consider the side faucets, and like you, prefer the ones like the last one you posted. It works well in that position because it is near the wall. My sink will be sitting out over a foot away from the side wall, so the faucet on the side is not my preferred placement. I have a towel bar that will be off to the side and a faucet there will interfere with reaching for the towel. I did wrestle with having a faucet at 10:00 or 2:00 position around a sink, and it is a possibility, but I struggle trying to imagine turning on the water with my left hand, so 2:00 seems better. Hubby is very lukewarm about both. I am liking the wall-mount ones. Tomorrow I will have to come back and post some of the really nifty designs I found.

Can't wait to see :)

Enduring, I do like that last solid surface sink that you posted that goes right up to the wall. I have been thinking that I would like to talk to the people at the Cambria fabrication place and find out just what my options are. I got my windowsill through a showroom, and they seem to be keeping the actual supplier for Cambria in my area a secret, so I will have to do some sleuthing to figure it out so I can talk to them directly. It just might be okay to cut a "U" shape out of the back for the sink and leave 2 inches in the front. I could live with that. Three inches in the front would be too much for me, though! They might not be able to transport something that is completely cut out in the back, though, without breaking that little two inch strip in the front. I just don't know.

The problem with the copper sink from Rachelle (other than the price) is my old problem of making the bathroom uncomfortable to use for non-handicapped people on the chance that I may need the handicapped feature of having the faucet in the front where you are going to hit it all the time when you are not handicapped. See my dilemma? I don't want to make the bathroom awkward to use for the 90% on the chance that I will need the 10%. It is a delicate balance, and certain things do the job both ways without being a problem for either. Some of the faucets like the two above and more I can post tomorrow fit that bill.

I agree that the Decolav 1489 CWH does look more contemporary than farmhouse, it is just that rim that gives me the farmhouse idea. When I found that picture of it "naked" on Wayfair, it was a relief to see that it does look fully glazed all down the front, not with a dull pottery look part way down like some sinks have. I would like to have the front lip on a counter, too, but I fear how much counter the stone cutters are going to insist upon. And whether they will insist on a back stone ledge for it to sit on, too which makes the sink too big for my bathroom, in that case.

So, I guess that talking to the Cambria stone fabricators is the next step.

Your mid-century hospital sink would get me a dirty look from hubby! He dislikes it when I try to bring a "clinical" look into the house. Luckily, it is a bit too deep at 19.5". I can't have over 18, maybe 18.5" deep. It does have the advantage that I could not break it by hitting it with my walker, though!

Are you ready for a parade of wall faucets?We start with the Axor Montreaux, the level-handled twin to the faucet in Enduring's sink. Advantages? Adjustable depth faucet nozzle and "hot" and "cold" word buttons on the handles (just like the shower will have on the on/off valves for the shower, hand-held, and rain-head). Trusted brand of Hansgrohe.

The Jee-O Pure. The ring is something to hold to rotate the on/off cylinder right or left, I think. I searched for pictures on line of it working to learn this! I found one where the ring was rolled over toward one side and the water was on. Jee-O is a company from the Netherlands. This is the oddest turn-on mechanism I have seen!

Nancy, I've found Faucet reviews useful. I like all your selections, especially the Dornbracht because of it's simple lines and looks easy to work the handle. Some of these are on the high-end, such as Newform and MGS. Here's a few more brands to consider: Kallista and Graff.

What style are you going for: classic, contemporary, traditional, or minimalist?

If you are considering high-end faucets, look at the electronic Vola wall-mounted faucet with battery-operated sensor for hands-free operation.

Hi, Plan2remodel, I looked at the electronic ones, but I have no experience with them except at places like rest stops, where they seem unreliable. Also, what about when you want to fill a container? Must you stand there with your hand in the right place? And what happens in a power outage? If you have any experience with an electronic faucet in a home setting, please share, I do find them interesting. I was fighting with a metered commercial one at the movie theater today, and I know they are different beasts, but I do not know if they are totally reliable at home.

Thank you so much for the Faucet review site. I have used them before and was going to look through my bookmarks to find it, but you have saved me the trouble. I will enjoy looking up some of these names that are new to me. This site is GREAT.

Because my last two vanities have been old-fashioned, if not Victorian, I have been getting Traditional plumbing. The shower is done with Sign of the Crab Rio Grande Thermostatic Control Valve and three Volume controls, one for the Shower, one for the Hand-Held, one for the Rain Head, and there are buttons for each valve that say those words on them.

On the other hand, I can see that a flat, round very modern trim against the wall would not match the style of this faucet. Maybe I should consider the one I left out - nope very modern now that I see it, even though it is a bridge faucet. I looked through the catalogue at Strom and there are no lavatory wall faucets, only kitchen ones.

Then I would consider something more traditional, but with levers instead of cross handles, e.g., the Kallista Hampstead wall-mounted faucet with porcelain lever handles

Yes, I did go looking and found a few to chose from like those. Thanks! I have been on a bathroom vanity rollercoaster ride, looking at the Lacava catalogue and their ADA vanities and matching sinks (around $6k for the size that works best for us!) and then thinking about wall-mounted porcelain sinks with brass legs (and there goes hubby's counter top). I have several possibilities and options and it is all a swirling mess in my head. My favorite used furniture store has...

I have even been contemplating using the victorian lady's vanity I have in the garage, but cutting off the legs and maybe the last set of drawers, hanging it on the wall by a cleat, getting my Cambria counter on it and one of the sinks I have looked at, and Ta Da, I am done!

I recommend brand new hardware on drawers. I worry about opening and closing dresser drawers of old. They can be so hard to operate. I picture hanging and pulling uneven setting drawers.

Enduring, I have already purchased new glass and chrome knobs for the vanity and then I got some chrome plates for behind the knobs, too. I probably have $150 invested in new hardware for the blue vanity. I have filled the old screw holes, filled the areas where the veneer was chipped away, and sanded the whole thing. It is about ready for primer.

Then I injured my knee, went through a summer using my rollator walker, and realized that this vanity will take up too much room and be too hard to get my legs into the leg hole if I ever need a wheelchair. On top of that, the only sink my husband liked for it was a vessel sink that a wheelchair user would not be able to use. I was exhausted and gave in, instead of fighting for a more practical sink. So a couple of weeks ago, as I was waiting for our appointment with Jim, our contractor, I just panicked about using this vanity and the leg levelers, sink, faucet, knobs, and backplates I have bought for it. I told hubby I would use the sink and faucet in the half-bath (which I could never use with a walker or wheelchair anyhow) and that I was going to have to sell the vanity.

I have already sold one vanity that I bought for the bathroom when I decided that I had to widen the doorway to 36" and had to limit the vanity to 18" deep. A second "vanity" I bought is actually a dresser and is now holding our bed linens. I wish I had room for this one! It is going to be so pretty! I have the mirror for it. Since I don't do make-up, I really don't need it, though.

I was going to put the original handles up for sale, someone who wants originality is likely looking for them.

That’s too bad about the vanity not working. They are pretty made into bathroom vanities.

So where are you now with the vanity plan?

I looked at everything online, thought hard about a wall-hung Eurostyle vanity only one drawer deep. I just don't think a wall-hung is a good idea. I will at some point end up having a knee or hip "go out" temporarily and will need to grab the counter and put my weight on it. If I do that on a wall-hung, I can pull it off the wall. So I am back to having a vanity with legs. No matter how I look at them, the sinks with legs that are 18" deep and under just do not have the counter room or "presence" that I need. That brings me to Console sinks that do come in 48" widths. Some of them will work with my walker, but I am not sure they will with a wheelchair. I even visited a showroom yesterday on my way home from an appointment. The salesman agreed that I should not ever lean on a wall-hung cabinet, and said he had not seen anything like what I need. I was going to recommend a cabinet maker, but I told him that my builder could to the job.

I do really prefer to have my Parys counter top, since I already have it installed as a windowsill. I think that my best solution to maximize floor space, get some drawers, and have a counter in front of both of my mirrors is to have Jim build it. Here is my attempt to draw it with my poor perspective skills. I suggested the Parys top and Wilsonart laminate for the legs and drawer fronts. Jim was worried about the laminate chipping off, so I looked only at the Heavy-Use Wilsonart. I found a metalic silver-gray that seems like a good fit with the Parys.

If I use the asymmetric sink that I found above, the counter would be 16" if I want it open to the front of the sink. I believe I have identified a Cambria fabricator where I could go to discuss the issue of how much lip of Parys I would have to leave in front of the sink. And ask if I can leave the back of the counter open, taking the sink's opening to the wall. They have to be able to transport the counter top safely. I might be able to fit the sink in an 18" counter if they let me leave the back open. That is the deepest counter I will consider.

If I use any of the sinks that protrude out, then I will have the counter made 12 to 14" deep. I guess my next step is to go talk to the stone guys.