Trying to make this sink look right - help!

13 years ago

I'm posting on this board because I know there are some creative people on here and we need some help!

We recently redid our tiny half-bath, and I like the way everything looks except the sink. It's a basic pedestal sink from Lowe's, and we replaced a (very pink) pedestal sink, so the hook-ups were already there. But when my husband and his dad went to install the new sink and pedestal, it was several inches shorter than the other sink had been. We didn't want to have to get someone to re-do all the hookups, and plus the sink would seem really short to us, so my father-in-law who's pretty handy made a wood block to fit between the pedestal and the sink, and painted an aluminum strip to go around it and hopefully blend in with the sink. The paint chip matched the sink exactly, but it came out much whiter. Should we keep trying with a different paint color, or is there some other way to solve this dilemma? I don't really want to get a new sink because I like this one. I would have thought sinks would all be one height.

Here's a couple of pictures. The lighting makes the colors look strange though - the sink and toilet really are white, and the walls are tan. For some reason they all look sort of pink in the picture. The aluminum strip isn't as obvious as it looks in the picture - people we've showed the bathroom to haven't noticed until I pointed it out. But it still bothers me!

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Comments (9)

jimsonburg
13 years ago
Really your replaced sink is looks very good and it is matched your bathroom color. The brown color is good for your sink railing. It will match to your floor and mirror beam color.
joed
13 years ago
It looks fine to me. It looks like and accent piece. Maybe up close it looks like wood, but in the pictures it looks fine.
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graywings123
13 years ago
Maybe some porcelain touch up paint would blend it in better.

Here is a link that might be useful: Porcelain touch up paint
sierraeast
13 years ago
Your father in law could trim out the block at the top portion against the sink bottom and not quite half the width of the block with some casing or shoe type moulding to make it step similar to the bottom. Looks pretty good as is though!
hilltop_gw
13 years ago
I think it looks pretty cool - like it was meant to be a decorative trim. I'd leave it unless it looked like poor workmanship in real life.
sierraeast
13 years ago
"Maybe some porcelain touch up paint would blend it in better".

Or some high gloss enamel. I dont know if the porcelain paint would adhere to the wood although it might since it has been painted.
emily928
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all the tips! I will have to look into the porcelain paint idea, or high gloss enamel. The wood block is surrounded by a strip of something (I think aluminum) which is what's been painted. Now that people have pointed it out, it does sort of look like a decorative detail. It's funny how when you just focus on how you think something is supposed to be, all you see are mistakes, but if you have an open mind you can turn it into something positive!
neesie
13 years ago
What a great solution for your short-sink problem! The pictures look really nice, I would just quit pointing out the strip to people, except those who you want to share the details with. Nice powder room!
MongoCT
13 years ago
Heck, I think you should all be proud of your solution. In this day of whining and crying, stand tall and embrace your ingenuity.

I think it's a subtle color mismatch that will "disappear" over time. You focus on it now because you know it's there and you know it's not a perfect color/shade/gloss match.

If you're really unhappy with it and never do get a good match, consider removing your current block at the top of the pedestal and instead place a block between the floor and the base of the pedestal. Then wrap the floor block with the same baseboard trim you have in the bathroom.

The thing is, I think your solution of a high block is less noticeable/distracting than the low block might be, because the high block is partially hidden by the sink bowl. The only advantage of the low block is you can exactly match paint to your existing paint and you can wrap the block to match your existing trim.

Still, congrats on your solution! Embrace and enjoy it. Job well done!