How can I make a vanity sink out of an existing ceramic bowl?

Question

I am interested in transforming an old desk into a vanity for our powder room.

Answer 1

You'll have to find some one who can cut a hole for at least drainage."Pug" and then it just a matter of building the Vanity leaving a nicely cut for the Bowl to sit in with silicone "sealant" Watertight.

Answer 2

Desks are too low to use as a vanity unless you have some plans to raise it somehow. I've seen vanities that were made from antique chests of drawers that were a good height. In that case you will probably have to take the top drawers out and either permanently fix the drawer fronts back in place or modify the backs of the drawers so you'll have room for the sink and plumbing. Then mark your sink location (remember, measure twice - cut once) and install the sink like you would in any other vanity.
I redecorated our downstairs in a Southwestern style and used an old tredle sewing machine base to hold the sink. I had to make a top for it and a base to raise it up about three inches. I trimmed it in decorative moulding and put a talavera sink in it. It turned out to be quite attractive. Good Luck!!

Answer 3

It's a GReaT idea! I've done this in two houses. One time I used an old oak "washer stand" [the kind that was made to hold pitcher & bowl atop- in Victorian times]; and most recently, used a Buffet [originally a dining room piece]. Each time, it turned out Fabulous.

As azinum states, you need to consider where your pipes will be located, etc.
The pipe issues will dictate what portion of your desk you will loose practical use of.

You must also consider the size of your sink in relation to the vanity; [I know this sounds obvious, but I don't know if your question means you already have the sink that you need/want to use, or if using the existing desk is more the issue.] If your quest is mainly to utilize the desk as vanity, then you CaN find a sink that will fit. With the first one I did, I had to special-order a narrow sink because the oak piece I used wasn't very deep [front-to-back]. [It was worth it!]

When figuring placement for the sink in the vanity/desk top, just be sure to:
1. Have room for faucet & accompanying pipes; and
2. Have a "lip" of surface area on vanity top around edge of sink [e.g., you don't want to place the sink 1/2" from the outside edge of the vanity, etc.].

My Buffet vanity has the [old gooseneck] faucet coming through the vanity top, right behind the sink. With the other [oak] one, the sink itself provided [holes] for the faucet installation.

With either one of my projects, I lost practical use of some of the space [beneath top] because of the plumbing. And in each project, I made reusable space wherever possible by retaining the drawer fronts, but removing their sides/backs/bottoms. Then, hinged the drawer fronts to the frame of the piece [this will take specific style hinges, etc, for aesthetics], fashioning a shelf on the interior. [I'm all about storage: make every square inch usable.]

When I cut the holes in the vanity top, I made a template from the sink[s] I was using, simply by tracing their underside inset area. Yes, it's a bit scary; one doesn't want to blow it at this stage. [Geez, I even cut a hole to fit a certain sink, then decided I didn't like that sink, so went and fetched the pieces I had cut, glued/screwed them back in place, allowing me to fit the preferred other sink....Indeed! And no, nobody can tell ~ and I love the Taliferro bowl I placed in to retrofitted hole.]

In yet another bathroom, I made a vanity out of an old craftsman cabinet. This time, I used an old wall-hung sink. This sink has a high back [helpful element]. To fit this one into the vanity top, I simply cut the hole the size of the sink's actual bowl [the drop-down portion]; this allowed the sink to sit atop the vanity, leaving it's 4" sides on top. Just perfect. On this vanity, I had to put a plywood top, then cement tileboard, then ceramic tile; but I had already cut the hole to fit the sink prior to tiling, so didn't have to fit the tile to the edge of the sink; the tile edges are covered by the sink's "lip".

You can do this. Just try to think it through.

Answer 4

I have done this. It works beautifully and looks beautiful. Have the plumber take a look at how the sink and pipes will fit into the desk. What I did was after having the sink partially fitted into the desktop, I had the faucet coming out of the wall to give more prominence to the desk/vanity and bowl.... I could not imagine doing this myself and needed the help of a plumber who gave me a lot of guidance of how to prepare the desk for use in the bathroom.

Answer 5

The "old desk" idea is good but, I would forget the ceramic bowl thing. It would be more trouble if you could do it that it's worth. With the holes that would have to be drilled, the special bits, it just isn't worth it, go buy on at Home Depot for forty bucks.

Answer 6

WHEN U SAY CERANIC BOWL U ARE SAYING A PREVIOUSLY USED VANITY BOWL? IF YES, NO PROBLEM BUT I BELIEVE THE CERAMIC U ARE TALKING ABOUT IS A CERAMIC COSTED STEEL UNIT. CORRECT? IF U ARE TALKING A SALAD BOWL I DONT THINK SO . PLEASE SUPPLY MORE INFO