Your bathroom sink (or basin) is more than a merely functional fixture. It’s a key focal point of your bathroom, and a critical feature that helps to define the design of your space. Choosing a new basin is about finding the perfect balance between function and style/aesthetics.
But, with so many styles and shapes available, in a wide range of materials, spanning affordable mass-produced models to the luxury bathroom basins we offer at Parker Howley, identifying the ultimate model for your bathroom can be tricky.
In this guide, we’ll help lead you to make the perfect basin choice for your unique application. So, let’s jump in shall we?
If you’re looking to replace your existing pedestal sink, want to keep installation simple and affordable, and aren’t planning to embark on a larger bathroom renovation, your options are likely to be: another pedestal sink or a wall-hung basin. Remember, pedestal basins are wall-hung. The stand is merely additional support.
While pedestal basins, to some, may seem like a feature of a bygone era, for those looking to achieve an authentic traditional bathroom design, they may still be an excellent option.
Pedestal basins are available at a wide range of price points, with even major brands like Armitage Shanks selling models for under £100, to models by brands like Burlington and Hudson selling for £200-£600, to luxury models costing over £1000. There’s a pedestal bathroom basin for every bathroom and budget.
Before the popularity of vanity units exploded, wall-hung basins were the ultimate choice for modern bathrooms, helping to create a clean, spacious, spa-like feel.
If you’re looking to replace your basin without the expense of bespoke vanity unit cabinetry, and are aiming for a contemporary bathroom design, wall-hung basins may be the perfect option.
Wall-hung models are available at every price point, ranging from a huge number of models for under £100, to luxury, beautifully shaped, or coloured models ranging from £200-£1000+. Be sure to take advantage of the wider range of wall-hung basin shapes and colours available today, to really make a feature of your basin.
We offer a number of Crosswater wall-hung basins. Explore our range today.
The list goes on! In fact, the basin market also includes freestanding, corner, washstand/console, and semi-inset basin-types.
At Parker Howley, we don’t just sell basins. We design and manufacture bespoke vanity units and bathroom furniture in Yorkshire, UK. We even manufacture vanity units designed in collaboration with leading interior designers. View our range of Sanderson, House Nine Design and Sophie Paterson-designed vanity units today.
As such, there’s little we don’t know about luxury countertop and undermount bathroom basins, and helping customers find the perfect pairing.
So let’s tackle perhaps the most critical point when replacing or buying a vanity unit basin : countertop vs undermount?
As the name suggests, countertop basins sit on top of your vanity unit (or countertop), and introduce an additional impressive focal point into your bathroom – beyond that provided by your vanity itself.
Countertop basins are perhaps the crème de la crème of design versatility, looking equally at home in a traditional-style bathroom as in modern or contemporary-style spaces.
At Parker Howley, we offer a huge range of countertop bathroom basins from the luxury bathroom market’s biggest brands, such as Crosswater, Villeroy & Boch and Victoria & Albert and more. Our countertop models range in price from £130 to over £900. Explore our countertop range today.
Undermount basins are recessed into your vanity unit or countertop, creating a clean, crisp, spa-like aesthetic.
These basins are the ultimate pairing for modern vanity units, and contemporary bathrooms, contributing to a modern, spacious, airy, open feel.
Parker Howley offers a wide range of undermount basins from Vitra, Crosswater, Victoria & Albert, and Villeroy & Boch, in a huge array of styles and shapes. More on this later. Our undermount models range in price from £130 to £560. Explore our undermount range today.
Sometimes, both practically and aesthetically, a single basin is not enough.
At Parker Howley, we can create any of our bespoke vanity units in wall-hung or freestanding orientation, and as a single or double model. Simply use our online tool, or work with our specialists, to choose a double model and the perfect bathroom basin to use within the unit! Easy.
You can expect to pay more for a double vanity unit due to the additional carpentry, materials, and with double the basins, taps, and wastes to account for. Our double vanity units start at £1399, ranging to as much as £5799.
The luxury bathroom basin market offers incredible versatility. Whatever your chosen bathroom design, you’ll find the perfect basin style to bring your dream bathroom to life.
Explore the following basin shapes to find the ultimate piece for your space, and specific application (countertop vs undermount basins).
At Parker Howley, we offer a huge range of all these basin styles, spanning models that scream quiet luxury, to statement models. Browse our range of luxury basins today.
When it comes to basin material – choose wisely. Different materials offer their own practical, functional and aesthetic benefits. Some may be better suited than others for your application and chosen bathroom design.
At Parker Howley, our huge range of basins spans models in all these materials and more. Browse today to find the perfect piece for your bathroom.
Firstly, let’s answer “what is a waste?”.
A basin waste has two key functions. The first is to seal the basin’s plug hole to enable you to fill up your basin, and the second is to guide water safely down the basin’s waste pipe.
There are typically two core waste-types:
The rules are simple:
For more information about basin wastes, read our blog.
View our huge range of basin wastes here.
When it comes to pairing your basin with the perfect taps, there are a few key considerations.
Identify how many holes are in your chosen basin
The rest (materials and handle design) is down to you, and your choice of bathroom design. Learn more about choosing bathroom basin taps in our guide here.
View our huge range of standard, tall, deck-mounted and wall-mounted basin taps from the market’s leading luxury bathroom brands.
If you’re in the bathroom planning stages and haven’t yet started your renovation, we can help you with so much more than giving you access to the finest bathroom basins.
As market leading bespoke vanity unit and bathroom storage unit specialists, we help thousands of homeowners every year to create the ultimate focal point for their bathroom.
We’re committed to 100% bespoke manufacturing, where each piece is made by skilled craftspeople, customised to your most exacting tastes, in our Yorkshire UK workshop.
With a huge network of partners and suppliers, we can not only design and manufacture the perfect bespoke vanity unit and storage unit for your space, but design and supply your entire bathroom suite.
Contact our team today to discuss your bespoke bathroom project.
So, you’ve browsed our collection of luxury bathroom basins, you’ve seen our vanity units other bathroom furniture, and accessories, and want to see how we can help transform the other rooms of your house? – We can help!
Browse our range of bedroom furniture, designed in collaboration with interior designer Emma Merry Styling, to elevate your bedroom with beautiful bespoke bedside cabinets.
Also explore our bespoke kitchen islands, offering a stunning and practical solution to serve up the wow factor in your kitchen.
Also called a bathroom sink, a bathroom basin is found in bathrooms, cloakrooms and en suites, and is used for hand washing, face washing, and daily grooming.
A vanity basin is a basin/sink within a vanity unit – either situated on top of the counter, or mounted under it (countertop or undermount). A vanity unit provides more than merely the utility of a basin, combining this with stunning cabinetry and storage.
Bathroom sinks range in price significantly, from ultra-affordable models costing under £100, to luxury bathroom basins like those we carry, which range from £149 to £1,045. Explore our collection today.
The drain in your bathroom sink is called a waste. It has two key functions. The first is to seal the basin’s plug hole to enable you to fill up your basin, and the second is to guide water safely down the basin’s waste pipe.
Wastes are available as slotted or unslotted models. If your basin has an overflow, you need a slotted waste. If your basin does not feature an overflow, you need an unslotted waste.
Explore our range of wastes today.
Bathroom sink plugs, or basin wastes, are a standard size. The choice comes in the form of deciding between a slotted or unslotted waste. If your bathroom basin has an overflow, you need a slotted waste. If your basin does not feature an overflow, you need an unslotted waste.
Explore our range of wastes today.
Your bathroom sink doesn’t require an overflow. However, if you don’t have an overflow, you need to ensure you purchase a slotted waste.
Learn more about basin wastes here, and discover our range today.
Bathroom sinks are available in a wide range of sizes. Smaller basins, for small bathrooms, cloakrooms and ensuites, are typically around 300-400mm wide, while basins for larger bathrooms can be from 500-600mm wide.
Today, bathroom sinks are made from a huge range of materials, including:
Discover our wide range of countertop and undermount basins today from the luxury bathroom market’s top basin brands.
