What makes a stone vessel sink different
A stone vessel sink is cut and carved from a block of natural stone, so the veining, color and texture of each bowl differ from the next.
Because the whole bowl stands above the counter, the outside of a vessel sink is visible, and some are finished differently inside and out. The general guide to stone sinks, including how sizes are written and how a vessel changes faucet height, is in sinks.
Round, oval, rectangular and square shapes
Round vessel sinks are the most common shape among Stone Tile Depot's vessel sinks, and a 16 inch diameter and 5 or 6 inch overall height is a common size for a single vanity. Round bowls also come smaller, such as 12.5 and 14 inch travertine, and larger, such as 19 and 20 inch marble.
Oval vessel sinks, such as the 16 by 20.5 inch Botticino Beige or the 22 inch handcrafted travertine oval, give a softer, elongated outline on a wider vanity. Rectangular bowls run from a 12x17 hand chiseled light beige travertine and a 12x18 Calacatta Viola up to 16x48 troughs in Brown Noce travertine and beige Seagrass limestone. Square bowls include a 17.7 inch beige travertine and a white Carrara marble square.
What is a sculpted vessel sink?
A sculpted vessel sink is a stone basin carved into a decorative form instead of a plain bowl. Stone Tile Depot's sculpted vessels include flower-shaped white marble bowls, a wave-shaped Carrara sink, a Calacatta Viola with a leaf design, octagons in black marble, beige travertine and brown onyx, pumpkin-shaped and puzzle travertine sinks, a travertine cylinder, a 10 inch half round and an asymmetric white marble bowl.
Marble bowls
Marble vessel sinks bring the veining of classic marbles into a single bowl. Calacatta Viola has a white base with purple and gray veining; Carrara White has a soft white ground with gray veining; Black Marble and Toros Black give a dark bowl, some with a combed or split face exterior; Emperador Brown, Botticino Beige, Silver and Bianco Gold add warmer and grayer tones.
Most marble vessels at Stone Tile Depot are polished for a smooth, bright bowl. More marble basins and pedestals are in marble sinks.
Travertine bowls
Travertine is the largest single stone in Stone Tile Depot's vessel range, in Beige, Light Beige, Golden Sienna, Noce, Red and other travertines. Travertine forms with natural holes, and a filled finish closes them so the bowl surface is smooth; Golden Sienna, for example, comes filled and polished.
Travertine also takes worked exteriors well. Split face sinks have a rough, hand-split outside around a smooth bowl, and honed and sandblasted finishes give a soft, matte texture. More are in travertine sinks.
Onyx, limestone and andesite vessel sinks
Onyx vessel sinks, in Honey, Brown and Gray onyx, are carved from a stone known for translucent bands of color, and a polished onyx bowl has a deep, glassy look. Each onyx sink shows its own banding.
Seagrass fossil limestone shows small fossil marks in the stone. The gray Seagrass pieces have a polished bowl inside a hand split exterior, while the long beige Seagrass rectangle is honed. Black andesite, a volcanic stone, comes in a honed, matte tapered cone and a 20x33 rectangle. A white limestone 18x21 rectangle has a hidden drain. More limestone basins are in limestone sinks.
Polished, honed and split face finishes
A polished stone vessel has a glossy face that deepens the color and shows the veining clearly. A honed vessel has a smooth matte face with a softer look, and some honed travertines are also filled or sandblasted for texture.
Several vessels combine finishes: a polished interior with a split face, combed or hand-chiseled exterior gives the bowl a contrast between a smooth basin and a raw, natural outside.
Where are the wall mount and drop-in sinks?
Wall mount stone sinks hang on the wall with no counter below, and drop-in sinks set into a counter opening, so neither one is a vessel. A few bowls in this group, such as the Maya Grey and Turkish Honey Onyx rounds, are also titled as drop in sinks. The fluted Calacatta Viola wall mount designs are in wall mount sinks, and the Carrara White waterfall drop-in is with the rest of the stone range in stone sinks.
