I just bought a home from my unkle that was his dads. Its a National home bult in 1954. It is updated a litle bit but still needs alot of work. Do you have the seril number and information plak by your basement steps? There are quite a few of these homes by me. If theres any information you want feel free to email me.

dinajo--here's some more pics of the kitchen with the oven wall included. kelleg-- Thanks for your good words. I picked out the rope handles first and knew the patine rouge color would go with all three of my cab colors. In addition to three cab colors, I also have 2 cab styles--the island is a different style and color than the wall cabs. Once I had my rope handles, I knew I didn't want everything to be matchy matchy but I wanted them all to coordinate. I knew I wanted the hanging circle knobs for my upper top cabs. So once I had two picked out, I loved the look of the long door handles that were going to go on the flat panel drawer above the rope handles. Those 3 choices were the hardest. The next two were easier. In deciding what goes where, I went mostly, but not all the time, in lines--the upper top wall cabs got all the same knobs, the lower wall cabs got all the same knobs, the first drawer in each stack got the same handle, the lower two drawers and the base cab got the same handle and the skinny drawer and cabs got the same handle. Scroll across whole pic as you can see how all the hardware blends with the different cab styles and colors:

Just be sure, gemini, you get a tall one, with a good temp range. There are some that are shorter with less temp balls. Mine has has 6, it's tall and perfect. Type in Google search. I did buy my DS's from Amazon, but it's shorter and not near as pretty as mine. One time Bed Bath and Beyond had them but not the tall ones. Check your local museum or specialtly gift stores. Shop before you buy.

Personally, I think it would be a crying shame to butcher that into a vanity. It's very late Victorian European wash stand. They were common as grass about 30 to 40 years ago when dealers and decorators would go to Europe and load up a shipping container with antiques. I have a tile backed, marble topped one similar to yours ( but yours is prettier!) and did a bit of research when I bought it. Seems that they were a sort of spare room fixture and often found in guest houses and small country hotels. I too think it would be a shame to butcher it, and unless you cut a hole in the marble top your vessel sink will look odd because it will be too tall. They make lovely plant stands or a side table to mix drinks. With high quality antiques I do agree with you. As for the fact that they were originally wash stands, I'm assuming they originally had tall bowls with water pitchers standing on it. I'm thinking of doing a nice copper bowl for the top. As the bowl would only be 5" tall, it will not be blocking the tile backsplash. If marble top is not orginal, then cutting hole for sink should not be a problem Why would it be a problem if it's original?