Are you looking for a very small bathroom sink? Sometimes this is necessary in a tiny bathroom or in bathrooms where the vanity countertop depth is constrained by a door opening or other impediment. One of the places I’d look first for a solution: Bates and Bates, which offers a number of petite ceramic bathrooms sinks. Above: “Gloria” is just a bit over 16″ wide and 16.5″ tall. And as you can see, it comes in color — you can get all these sinks in real color-colors: almond, biscuit, black, bone, desert bloom, ice grey, innocent blush, jersey cream, linen, mexican sand, rasberry puree, seafoam green, teal, white, and wild rose.
Gloria is Bates and Bates’ only petite countertop drop-in sink — the kind with pre-drilled faucet holes right on the sink rim, so that you can install it on laminate. Bates and Bates also has Doris, but it’s about as large at the Kohler Tahoe with hudee rim (Amazon affiliate link)…
Mind you, I’m seeing that on some selling sites, some of these tiny sinks are being called bar sinks. Indeed, the Gloria sink shown in the photo at the top shows a bar sink faucet. Hmmmm… but put a bathroom faucet on it, and I think you’d be okay.
The rest of the petite sinks in Bates and Bates’ lineup would require a solid surface countertop that could be drilled for the faucet. Bates and Bates also has small undermounts, but I don’t show them here, as that becomes even more contemporary and less retro. That said, even I appreciate the seamlessness of undermount sinks.
The following three Bates and Bates sinks also look to be pretty tiny, even once you make room for the faucet:
Once you get to about 15″ tall, (front to back sitting on countertop), seems like once you add the faucets, these will be as tall as or even taller than the Tahoe. I’ll put these out there, though, especially since they come in all those color-colors:
Link to check out all the styles and sizes:
Danita says
I would like to comment about bathroom sinks. My husband did many under counter mounted bathroom sinks in the late 1950s & 1960s. This type of mounting was done in the high-end homes; Hudee rings used in regular homes. Most counter tops at that time were either mica or marble. Faucet spread was 8″.
A side note: my husband helped his Dad in the later 1950s, learning the plumbing trade. We enjoy all the older bathroom articles – brings back lots of memories. Thank you for a great site.
pam kueber says
Reader Sharon emailed me and wanted to add this comment:
“I really did not want to take out the nice sink in an oddly laid out bathroom, but really needed the shallow depth for better shower access. I found a rectangular sink in the small bathroom series at Ikea. Not really in the style of the house but the only 10 ¾ inch depth made everything fit so much better. The faucet is on the side of the sink instead of the back, so the bowl is not much smaller than average. Only in white, but with beadboard cabinet doors it works. “
Mad Girl Retro says
I’ve been looking for a tiny white vintage sink. I actually found one for ten bucks! But then, sadly, we left it outside, it filled with rainwater, then we had a freeze. And the porcelain cracked! My heart also broke! I’ve been searching for another one now for over a year. The ones I found were too expensive. Those new sinks are just not retro enough for me.
Holly says
These are beautiful! Does this company make the taps?
pam kueber says
I’m not sure…
Mandrake says
Only a single hole sink? That’s a bit disappointing. Limits the number of cool faucets that pair with the sink. 🙁
David in Marietta says
Peerless Pottery only has sinks available in white and bone. No other colors, unless I am looking at the catalog wrong.
Paul in Omaha says
Don’t give up hope. Track down every single salvage yard/ Habitat ReStore in your area, and visit them on a regular basis. You should find a colored dental sink after a while. If you don’t feel like waiting, purchase a white one and have it powder coated in the color you want. It’s not a permanent solution, but it should work in a pinch.
pam kueber says
I do not think powder coating will work on china…
Paul in Omaha says
I’ve heard it can. I mean, I haven’t done it, but I’ve seen it on tile.
pam kueber says
David, this is in the text of the story:
“According to their catalog, Peerless doesn’t offer any of their sinks in colors other than white or bone, however when I asked Matt about getting their sinks in colors, he replied:
We offer all of them, however, availability is not very high since we do not have many requests. It would be best to call Trumbull Industries and have them place one on their next order. If they get enough requests they may begin stocking them.”
Tracy says
A laminate counter top can be drilled for faucet holes, provided the entire inside of each hole is coated with silicone- just like the sink cutout would be. I sell laminate counter tops and we do it all the time for counters with undermount sinks.
pam kueber says
Okay, I’ll leave this up there but I’ve never heard of that before — how do you trim the inside edge of the laminate around the top of the sink? Doesn’t it get destroyed by the water????…. Readers: Consult with your own pro to decide including warranty issues. Thanks, Tracy!
Tracy says
If we’re talking about the sinks shown above (Jane, for example), installed as drop-ins, with the faucet installed directly in the deck of the counter top, the silicone forms a barrier between the water and the particle board inside the sink and faucet holes exactly the same way it does with any other drop-in sink. Although a properly installed faucet and sink should not be allowing water to drip or leak into the faucet holes (imagine the water damage you’d have inside the cabinet if it did), we still recommend taking this step just in case something breaks.
As for under mount sinks in laminate counters, it definitely can be done, but not with most sinks (and not those in this article). There’s one brand that manufactures sinks specifically for this purpose. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to send you a link, but don’t want to post here and appear to be advertising.
pam kueber says
Sure post the link. I know of kitchen sinks designed for installation onto laminate sort of like undermounts (they sit at the level of the countertop though) like this — https://retrorenovation.com/2014/04/23/mid-century-modern-kitchen-remodel-jetsons/
But, I am not aware of any bathroom sinks with this feature. So if you do, please, yes, let me know1
Tracy says
Oh, I remember that kitchen-it’s beautiful! These use the same technology as the Wilsonart sinks, but there’s a wider selection:
http://karran.com/models.html?subtype=Acrylic+Series&type=list_all&submit=Continue
That acrylic line has 4 different shapes of vanity sinks, but only in white and bisque. They also make a couple different models of stainless steel vanity sinks, but I haven’t sold many of those.
pam kueber says
Well there you go! You taught me something today! I will do a story on these. Thank you!
David in Marietta says
This is great news except……. I need a small wall hung sink aka dental sink. I know Ikea makes some that we have looked at but I am wanting a color other that white. Ideas out there besides waiting for a vintage one to pop up?
pam kueber says
Hi David, Peerless still has some colors: https://retrorenovation.com/2016/02/15/pink-gold-blue-beige-toilets-where-to-buy/