When these rare(ish) vintage bathroom sinks show up in old advertisements or actual bathrooms, I often get questions about them. What are they, exactly, and how are they installed? Some answers…
The photo above, from deabath.com, is, specifically, a:
- 1960’s Case Apron Front Hudee ring sink
I was intrigued by it in particular because it has that original metal hudee rim. I don’t recall seeing these very often “in the wild,” and it’s amazing someone actually saved that rim when they took this one out!
- Refresher: What is a hudee ring exactly? See all our stories — we are hudee-central!.
So: This style of bathroom sink is called an apron-front bathroom sink (just like all the apron-front kitchen farmhouse sinks so popular today). On wall-hung sinks including those with chrome legs, the part you lean up against to brush your teeth — that’s also called the apron.
“Apron-front”: because the front edge of the sink hangs over the cabinetry below, ala the photo above.
Apron-front sinks could be either hudee-rimmed or tiled-in. I asked my go-to expert at deabath.com, John, some questions re the sink with hudee that he has for sale:
Q: Do you think this was meant to go on a laminate countertop — or on a tile countertop?
John: Definitely this sink would have been in a laminate countertop. Tile-in applications don’t use a Hudee ring.
Q: If you don’t use the hudee, is the sink then tile-in? That is: Was there one design — either use without hudee and tile it in, or use hudee and use it with laminate?
John: Yes, there is a difference, at least in Crane. The tile-in sinks were a bit thicker where the tile would butt up to the sink. The Hudee ring versions were slightly thinner. That being said, I’ve seen Hudee ring sinks being tiled…
Q. Okay, so I understand they are tiled-in or hudee-finished. But how do they attach to the substrate? Held in place with clips?
John: The tile-in ones are set directly in the mortar on top of ply or whatever the counter in made of. Hudee ring sinks use clips to hold the sink to the ring, and the ring sets on the Formica/ laminate.
Thanks, John — you rock my world!
The one thing I’d add about the hudee-ring installation: If you want this look — that is, apron-front sink with hudee to drop into a laminate countertop — be sure to get the hudee with your vintage sink. While we do have a source for made-new hudee rings, including made-to-order, I can’t imagine it will be cheaper or easier than getting the original with.
Link love: See all of deabath.com’s vintage bathroom and other wares here. Oh, and I see they have more vintage apron-front bathroom sinks, in plain ole white — here.
They are also vintage Crane experts — my go-to place to send folks with questions about that brand and, well, pretty much all others too.
yellow says
Do you know the name for an (upside down) rounded triangle sink? We picked one up today (been waiting almost 4 months for it to be demo’d out), and it’s ALMOST the shade of our bathtub and toilet (a slightly dusky teal). We love the shape and I’d love to see other examples, and I haven’t been able to locate another one online, but I’m sure there’s a better search term. The hudee ring is extra thick. We will look into the reglazing, as mentioned above, and hopefully get it to a perfect match. Here is a photo of the sink: https://imgur.com/a/fjOYY
Pam Kueber says
No, I don’t know the maker of this. Reglazing is going to be near impossible if it’s cast iron.
Debbie Hobdey says
We have a 1960’s apron sink with hundee ring. We’re remodeling our bathroom so is it possible to still use this sink with a resin countertop?
Lizzy says
I have one of these. Desperately needs replacing, but the vanity is only 17 or 18′ deep, and wide. Plenty of space for stuff one wants right there. Also, the shallower vanity makes the bathroom much more spacious! I’ve seen the original room with replacement Big Box store vanity, and it’s awful. You feel claustrophobic.
This set of is also called a recess mount. Just so you know.
Kristin L says
Our 1952 fixer upper had a poorly done 80s bathroom which we updated with a “modern but with a nod to it’s roots” look. We had the quartz countertop fit around our NIS apron front sink as if it were tiled in: http://kristinlaflamme.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Bath2.jpg
Pam Kueber says
It looks great, Kristin!
Paul-CT says
That does look really nice and in a way more modern than those modern bowl on top of your counter sinks. Nicely done! I love combining old and new!
KStacey says
Am I the only one that hates those basin sinks sitting up on the counter? It just looks like unfinished plumbing to me. Although I do understand it when it’s some kind of crazy-unique handblown glass that deserves to be shown off. Still don’t like it though, lol!
Pam Kueber says
They’re called “vessel” sinks. The trend seems to have come and gone.
Kristin L says
Thanks everyone. We’re enjoying renovating without going full time-capsule. Our yellow sink is NOS, found on EBay (darn autocorrect).
Paul-CT says
I forgot to add, that your choice of faucet is perfect. Taking a 60 year old sink and adding modern faucets is a great idea!
Wendellyn says
Hi Pam, We bought our 1965 tri-level about 18 months ago. Slowly but surely we have been attacking one room at a time. I have been looking for a lavender sink for the whole time. I actually saw one on ebay but they want $285.00 plus shipping. It does have the Hudee ring but no clips. I think this is too much money. Am I wrong? On top of that a new vanity would have to be built. So I am still looking. Evidently lavender was not a very popular color. I have seen many mint green, pink, beige and white but no lavender. If any of your readers or you have any ideas I would be most appreciative. Thanks for writing such a great blog!
Pam Kueber says
I do think that lavendar was not a common color. Ideas:
Paul had fiberglass sinks painted to the color he wanted: https://retrorenovation.com/2015/06/02/paint-bathroom-sinks-any-color/
Keep looking…
Kim says
Hi Wendellyn,
I live in Greensburg PA and there is a small lavender sink at the Habitat for Humanity re-store for about $10-$15. I actually found a great American Standard bathroom sink to match my 1969 bathroom wall tile and paid only $2 for it! It probably had chrome legs at one time, but I think I can just mount it on top of a vanity base. My bath is small and I cannot any more inches to the 30 inches of the sink’s width.
So, check out your local re-store.
Kim
Kim says
I meant 1959 bathroom, not 1969! I must have the 60’s on my mind!
Amy says
Hi Wendellyn,
One thing you might do is find a sink shape you like and then have it reglazed to be lavender. We recently updated our 1956 bathroom and found a sink we really liked at a salvage place that was great in every respect but color. A reglazer recommended to us by a neighbor was able to work with us to match the color and have the coating tinted accordingly. It looks great and we’re really happy with it!
Paul-CT says
I’m intrigued by re-glazing as a neighbor also told me I should have done that instead. What did it cost?
Amy says
In our case it did run us about $125 (which included the time it took to match our color – it was a surprisingly in-depth conversation with our glazer to get it just right!) so it wasn’t entirely cheap. But, we’re in DC and things are more expensive here than they are in most of the country, so it might well be possible to get it done more inexpensively elsewhere.
Paul-CT says
That’s not bad. How long did it take? I wish I knew that 4 years ago rather than taking the paint approach.
Amy Lucko says
Not long at all! The actual coating process took perhaps an hour? Our guy does this and only this so he really had the process down. And then it had to dry for a day or so. Now the coating’s absolutely beautiful and looks like an original to me. We’ve only had it for several months at this point but I don’t have any concerns about it peeling or the like – it is really solid.
Chris says
Did he do it “in place?” Or did you have to remove and take to him? We have our old cast iron tub that needs some help, but it would need to be fixed up right where it sits.
Pam Kueber says
Chris, places like Miracle Method do it in-place. There are other such vendors as well. See, for example: https://retrorenovation.com/2013/10/14/lavender-purple-bathroom-remodel/