As for the visible plumbing , you can check restoration hardware they have 2 or 3 different kinds of drains and water supply lines that looks really nice . Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1307033&categoryId=cat1556039

Dealt with dozens of them -- in railroad cars. Mostly a lot newer than the picture you show. They are made to fold into the wall and in general there is no visible plumbing. Supply and drain lines would be inside the wall. You'd need to check out the depth of the fixture versus the depth of your wall cavity to see if it would fit. Since there is no overflow, there would be a code issue in some jurisdictions.

Fabulous, Moebus, thank you so much for taking the time to post! The power of Gardenweb!

I actually installed one several years ago. Same type of installation. A small powder room. Teak and holly floor. Looked sharp.

The original sink I installed was designed for just a cold water supply. The owner wanted the tap water to be warmer, so I added a thermostatic valve before it (accessible, in a compartment below the sink). I had hot and cold supply lines feeding the TS mixing valve, then there was a single run of tubing from the TS valve to the sink's tap. So the water temperature was non-selectable from the folding sink itself, but it could be tweaked by the owner if needed by accessing the tempering valve in the compartment.

The temp is basically a "set and forget" type of thing.

Have your guy look for an "in-line thermostatic valve", or sometimes referred to as an "in-line tempering valve", if you want to go that route. They're around $60-$75.

The drain as well is quite simple. Standard.

To operate, you unfold the sink. Turn on the water to wash. To empty the bowl you fold it up. Water pours out the back of the bowl into the sink's housing and is funneled down the drain.

Some bowls have a deformation on the back rim of the bowl, sort of like a pouring lip on a tea pot. Probably a bad description. But the idea is that if the bowl overflows, water will outflow over the back of the rim through that spout and go down the drain.

The sink I installed did not have that feature. To comply with the overflow, I had to modify the bowl on the sink. I drilled a hole about 3/8" diameter in the top back of the bowl, about a 3/4" or so below the rim. Then I added a small piece of metal tubing, 1/2" diameter and about 3/4" long, right behind the hole. The piece of tubing acted as a chute to direct water that went through the overflow hole down the drain. Without that piece of tubing, overflow water would have simply run down the outside of the bowl and cascaded off the bottom of the bowl and on to the floor.

You'll need to add a trap. That's about it. The sink I installed was designed for the plumbing to be hidden. I hid the trap and the supply shut off valve (and the TS tempering valve) in a wall stud bay compartment behind a hidden door built in to the wall's wainscot.

If you want exposed plumbing you can do that, but be careful how it projects from the wall in relation to the sink. You can get metal tubing in myriad finishes, from rough and rustic to fine polished metal.

This post was edited by mongoct on Mon, Oct 28, 13 at 11:40

Terrific, mongo, you have been so helpful. Thank you for taking the time to post.