Which white marbles are carved into vessel sinks?
The quickest way to choose a white bowl is by the color of its veins. Carrara White, New York White and Calacatta White have gray veining on a white ground, the quietest look of the group. Calacatta Viola adds violet and charcoal streaks, often in thick bands that sweep across the bowl. Calacatta Gold and Bianco Gold have golden veins, and the round bowl in Afyon Sugar marble has a creamy white base with gold and beige veining.
Carrara White is offered in the widest range of shapes, from 15.5 and 16 inch rounds to an oval at 16x21, a square at 17x17 and a long rectangle at 16x32. Calacatta Viola comes as rounds, an oval at 14x18x5, a ribbed square at 16x16x6 and a carved leaf at 20x24.
Black stone bowls, plain or veined
Most of the black bowls are Toros Black, a deep charcoal stone crossed by fine white and gray veins. It comes as 16 inch rounds at 5 or 6 inches high and as a polished circular bowl at 17.5 inches. The 16.5 inch round is Sirius Black, a polished charcoal stone with natural striations. Other black marble pieces are cut as an octagon at 16x5 and as a gondola, a long bowl at 14x24x7 whose ends rise toward the rim. Bowls in other dark stones are in black vessel sinks.
Gray, beige, brown and red stones
Gray choices include Tundra Grey, with lighter and darker veins in a 16.5 inch round and an 18x40 honed rectangle, and Sirius Silver, a soft gray in 15.5 and 16 inch rounds. Maya Grey, a gray marble with brown tones, is a 16 inch round. Among the warm stones, Botticino Beige has soft brown and cream veining and comes as an oval at 16 in x 20.5 in and a 16 inch round. Cappuccino Beige is a milky beige with darker coffee tones, offered tapered and as a rectangle at 18x21.5. Giallo is cream and amber, Crema Marfil is cream to beige, and Emperador Brown is a warm brown with cream veining in a 16 inch round. For red, Rosso Levanto is a red marble with white veining, carved as a tapered 16 inch bowl and polished.
Polished, honed or textured marble?
Most bowls are polished inside and out, which deepens the color and brings the veining forward. Honed bowls have a smooth matte surface with no shine, as on the Botticino Beige oval, a Carrara White rectangle at 16x24, the Tundra Grey rectangle and some Calacatta Viola pieces. Semi polished is in between, on the Botticino Beige round, the Cappuccino Beige rectangle and one Toros Black round, and the Crema Marfil tapered bowl has a high gloss.
A second group pairs a polished basin with a textured outside: hand split face on some black marble bowls, combed on Toros Black, rough on a Calacatta White round and hand chiseled on Carrara White. The basin stays smooth inside, and only the outer wall is textured.
Round, oval or rectangular: sizes and depth
Round bowls run from a 12 inch New York White round, the most compact choice for a small vanity, up to 15, 15.5, 16, 16.5, 17, 17.5, 18, 19 and 20 inches, and 16 inches is the size offered in the most stones. Ovals include Calacatta Viola at 14x18x5, Carrara White at 16x21, Calacatta Gold at 16x24 and a New York marble oval at 16x26. Rectangles run from 12x18 Calacatta Viola and Calacatta White to 16x32 Carrara White and 18x40 Tundra Grey, plus Cappuccino Beige at 18x21.5. Each product lists its size, including height.
Height matters on a vessel sink because the whole bowl rests above the counter. Most bowls here are 5 or 6 inches high. The low ones are the 15.5 inch Calacatta Viola and white rounds at 4.5 inches, and the Tundra Grey rectangle and Carrara White helix at 4 inches. The deep ones are the Giallo round at 9 inches, an asymmetric white or black bowl at 10 inches and a rectangle at 14x16 that stands 14 inches tall. More shapes in other stones are in round vessel sinks and rectangular vessel sinks.
Which sculpted and tapered shapes are carved?
Carrara White is carved as a flower with petals around the rim at 17 and 18 inches, as a wave at 14x24, as a helix at 20x23 and as a free form bowl. A tapered bowl is wide at the rim and narrows toward a small base, so it looks lighter on the counter, and it comes in Rosso Levanto, Cappuccino Beige, Crema Marfil and a honed 16 inch Calacatta Viola round. For travertine bowls with pores and banding instead of veins, see travertine vessel sinks, and every stone bowl is in vessel sinks.
