basins

Basins: Old Cast Irons versus Contemporary Vanities

Remember, back at your gran's house, those old cast iron wash basins? All pure white, plain, bleak, and huge washbasins, wherein the enamel had already chipped away and, in places, there's the slightest patch of newly formed mold. That was then.

Today, bathroom washbasins and vanity sinks are much different. There are too many designs to choose from that, in fact, you could easily get confused while picking which one to install in your bathroom. Vintage basins are still there, but more only for effect, than for function. What's "in" now are vanity sinks from materials of all sorts; corian, copper, vitreous clay, cast iron. What's "in" now are vanities carved like pedestals, pillars, overhangs. Some are made to reflect creativity, while others are just plain warped.

Bathroom basins have truly evolved from simple monotonous cast iron, to something more elegant, extravagant, and attractive, not to mention expensive. Since there are too many to choose from, it often gets hard to determine which are durable and which are not, which are more expensive than they appear, which are rip offs, and would break a day after you install them.

Since durability is in question, deciding between old designs of sinks and contemporary ones gets even more difficult. Perhaps the one way to tip the scale is to base your decision on the house you're going to install it to. If you live in a modern condominium, then old cast iron is out of the question. It's simply out of place, to say nothing of being out of trend. If, on the other hand, you live in a vintage house, one that has stood for centuries and preserved only through laborious renovations, say, an old mansion, then older designs would fit right in. Old basins wouldn't seem out of place here, but quite the opposite rather.