Sink or swim. 20 sink ideas that will keep your bathroom design afloat

December 14, 2016 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

A rough stone sink can provide a very authentic touch, the good thing is that unique, architectural stone pieces aren’t only reserved for an overall farmhouse or country side interiors.

They look just as beautiful when they’re set in the midst of contemporary or modern environment.

The marble sink is almost a must have for any designer or architect trying to pull in authentic elements of the past.

The unique textures, the veins of this natural stone and all the marks that nature has left on it are a great source of inspiration for modern designers.

Weathered or roughly finished, a natural stone sink will have an upper hand over regular ceramic or enameled sinks.

Another interpretation on stone sinks is the peculiar case of the Italian ‘la vatore’ or the small washbasin sink that is commonly seen in many Italian or French farmhouses of the 18^th century. In recent years, this mini washbasin limestone sink has been featured in countless national shelters magazines and were adopted by top architects and designers globally and locally.

At ancientsurfaces.com we’ve gone the extra mile to secure one of the world’s most expansive collection of marble and limestone sinks.

Our trove of eclectic stone sinks keeps on growing year after year. We now house more than a thousand sinks ready to be retro fitted and shipped to our global clientele.

Another interesting fact that is noteworthy of mentioning is that our sinks are guaranteed for life, or at least as long as our clients own their home.

Since we source nothing but the highest quality marble and limestone sinks, we’re very confident that the pieces we sell can withstand the highest levels of abuse such as the ware and tare encored in high volume restaurants.

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The case for a dream farmhouse bathroom

February 24, 2016 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ 1 Comment

The vintage farmhouse bathroom décor expresses the nostalgia of today’s world for the classical frugality of Mediterranean design as experienced for generations across pass centuries.

Nowadays, we often thirst for the days when people were able to distinguish black from white, when technology was a thing of fiction, we yearn for natural inspirations, we dream of simpler times when family was everything, when beauty was of nature, when people just stepped out of their front doors into your own vegetable gardens for organic food, water was drinkable, air breathable and the milk was always a few yards away.

If you want to recreate that human charm that existed in the dwellings of the past century while incorporating the best of what our advanced technologies have to offer, you can give your bathroom an authentic Mediterranean farmhouse touch by infusing it with old reclaimed stone elements that were used by our ancestors once upon a time.

Most bathrooms are relatively neglected in terms of authentic design.

Even when we think of special or customized features in our bathrooms we tend to be stuck on the technical features that gives you the best performing this or that without paying much attention to the finer tailored human details.

Modern bathroom have become much like us. They mimick our lifestyle our pace, they resemble our day to day interactions and relationships. They are highly synthetic, glossy or with a brushed, washed or honed finish, giving us the illusion of wisdom through time and the impression of authenticity and tradition.

We have grown to accept this insincerity this forgery of the real thing as long as it costed us a bit less of time, money and labor investments. What did we get as a return on our underinvestment?

Well, we’ve gotten back a ‘faux’ sense of comfort and an ephemeral design showmanship that has failed to inspire us past the surface, a veil of make-believe that will leave us wanting for the true stone bathroom elements that would normally leave us in awe every time we laid eyes on them.

Architectural antique elements are the true antidote to the conveyor belt, cookie cutter machine-made mindset that has poisoned the inner-sanctum of our home design.

Ancient limestone are a gateway to relaxation to meditative escapism. A well thought of and well-designed authentic farmhouse bathroom will transform your outlook, it will give you a precious moment for yourself to unplug from the synthetic controls of modernity, allowing you a brief moment of reflection and of self-observation.

Those are very important concepts that we seem to be slowly losing in our lives. Old world stone elements that have stood the test of time go beyond the decorative and become devices of immense therapeutic values, serving to remind us of our roots and connecting us to our common and basic humanity.

Let this blog inspire you to move towards natural historic designs. You will soon find out that taking the lesser traveled road of antique limestone floors, of centuries old carved sinks, and of ancient thick limestone slabs will lead you toward design bliss.

We know that what we offer you will have a positive impact on your life and your family’s life at more than one level.We also like to encourage you to using antique furnishing pieces as powerful focal point if possible.

An antique dresser in the corner perhaps, or using a detached toilet tank model as in ancient times when the tank was often mounted high on the wall above the toilet.

Old world lighting is crucial in completing any authentic farmhouse bathroom.

A farmhouse bathroom is always luminous but can be dimmed on demand. So if you have big windows, you should only cover them partially, or use transparent curtains but should consider installing real shutters that can be closed at an instant.

Deep trough sinks and antique stone flooring will pay witness to a bathroom’s century-past humble beginnings. A country stool and an antique area-rug can also enhance your bathroom’s assembled-over-time look.

We are barely keeping up with the increased demand for our antique limestone and marble floor that has originated from centuries ago. The historic value and esthetic charm embodied in the antique limestone and marble floors are unrivaled in warmth and elegance and are unsurpassed by any other reclaimed stone flooring collection.

Let’s not forget our unique stone tubs will help mesh with your farmhouse layout.

Unwinding in one of our hand carved limestone tub will transform your farmhouse bathroom into a southern French hydrothermal escape.

Dimed lighting from an antique pendant chandelier coupled with a soft meditative rhythm is all you need when you’re laying inside your warm master bathroom tubs.

We at Ancient Surfaces, live by this design philosophy that we preach. We have no doubt that once you amerce yourselves with our utilitarian antique limestone elements, your design will therapeutically affect your lifestyle your state of mine and even your health.

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Antique stone sinks. A Journey in time and space.

February 22, 2016February 28, 2016 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

Most people fall in love with antique reclaimed Limestone sinks that are centuries old from the first few moment they lay eyes on them. A client once said that if can could hoist one of our antique sinks up 100 fleets of stairs into his New York penthouse just to replace his impersonal, modern powder room sink he would be up for that challenge. He was enchanted with our sinks uneven yet smooth to the touch edges and taken back by the historic patina of the stone that took centuries for its formation. He took that passion for old limestone to heart and added many of our sinks to the full container order he had us ship for him from France.

A gorgeous antique marble ribbed sink that was shipped from the South of France to New York in a full container.

See above the photo of another simplistic yet timeless sink element he has acquired from us. It’s a 17^th century converted French Farmhouse stone sink that our client had his heart set one to moment he saw that photo. He liked the fact that it has started to collect vegetation and moss from having sat there in the yard undisturbed for nearly 15 years covered with purple flowers and ladybugs.

In addition to our crusty antique limestone sinks that will eventually reside in some of the prettiest kitchens and powder rooms of America, we also carry a few amazing antique marble shell sinks that our many friend designers and architects end up installing in their powder rooms projects just like this client did.

One of the original antique Italianate marble sinks that were reclaimed from a 17^th century ruined villas.

An inspirational photo showing similar antique shell sinks as seen installed in a French home showing a ‘his and hers’ antique sink layout.

So many ancient marble sinks were among the 200 plus items shipped to that client who ended up furnishing his Texas ranch as well! We can’t wait to see the final properties coming to life, filled with our ancient elements juxtaposed with the modern furnishings in a modern architectural layout. How will they be used? With a little inspiration from our past project database of images, most of the guess work is normally taken out of the final design equation.

An old and crusty sink that was to sit on a thick stone slab sheet with a modern linear glass tile mosaic back splash and a minimalist nickel faucet above.

A similar Italian house trough sink was also proposed for the second guest bath at one time.

A French Chateau Sink was the first contender for the Master bathroom sink.

A possible option for the French farmhouse vegetable sink to be installed into the Antique limestone island.

This was another interesting design contender for the main kitchen sink.

An original Stone sink. This was a possible option for the main French farmhouse sink but proved to be harder to configure into the existing design of the kitchen.

This was another possible option for the French farmhouse vegetable sink that was to be installed into the Antique limestone island

An unusual antique planter sink that could be re-purposed as a wine cellar or wine tasting room sink.

This beachy antique marble sink turned out to be a few inches off from what the designer was hoping for. Luckily a similar but narrower sink was available.

This inspirational photo was so close in design and size to the real antique sink we had in stock at the time.

That’s the one we picked at the time. It was later replaced by a 38” wide sink that was close in design.

This double sink antique limestone trough was a bit deeper that what was engineered for by the architect.

A Very West Indies Caribbean looking sink that was replaces last minute by an oval shaped sink.

An ancient Limestone block carved out by our carver. It was about to have a customized sink hole for fitting the drain pipe in before it was deselected.

This inspirational sink design is supposed to have the faucet mounted from its wall side since it has enough stone depth to drill into.

It is hard not to fall in love with a solid standalone piece of rock that is hundreds of years old and harder not to want to see those thick stone treasures retrofitted into kitchen and bathroom sink in the most interesting homes and villas all across the world. We hope that one day you too will take that same journey in time and space and start selecting not only your sinks but your stone floors, walls, fountains and fireplaces from our unique local US and European stocks.

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Beautiful Bathroom Ideas

February 14, 2016February 17, 2016 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

We love to spend time in the bathroom to primp, refresh or unwind inside a soaking tub filled with warm water, mineral salts and essential oils. Our Bathrooms have slowly become our meditative

Getaway room of the house. Being the true place of relaxation, a well-designed bathroom rewrites the normal bathroom experience and invites us to discover hydrotherapy in its basic form. Like a well-orchestrated classical symphony, the various bath elements need to work in unison. Well focused lights that can be dimmed and directed on command, artfully applied Venetian plastered walls, inclusion of key stone design elements from floors, sinks and tubs, perhaps the inclusion of live plants, eclectic pieces of furniture and last but not least music.

Stone walled showers, classical stone bathtubs, prestigious hand carved sinks from basalt to marble, limestone floors salvaged from the south of France are some of the many splendid craft of our trade that we employ in order to transform any bathroom into a personal spa.

A chandelier lamp near the sink

Get rid of your old neon above your sink and adopt a chandelier for an unusual chic bathroom. In this piece, we opted for a nice classical metal luster that fits perfectly into the mood of this place giving it a fifties look with a nice Belgium black basalt for more majestic look. Enjoy!

Small rack beneath the sink for stowing

Finding a place in the bathroom to tidy up the towels gets frustrating for some of us when you’re limited by your bathroom space. The solution is to put them on a limestone rack beneath a trough limestone sink, on a window sill or the edge of the bathtub.

A green touch in a corner

We cannot merely give up and throw our hands in the air at the sight of our conventional bathrooms that are ailing from the standard fixtures and finishes all through. As they say, Rome was not built in one day. Every well thought of and well-designed bathroom can be slowly built one small project at a time. Take for example the installation of a mortar marble sink with a thick antique limestone vanity as its support. This 2 day project can take place before or after your retiling or plastering of your walls.

Small but Sassy

A small space doesn’t have to mean a diminutive vanity. In this tiny powder room, choosing an undermount sink and adding a clever tile accent along the walls makes the room look larger.

Install a piece of furniture

When your bathroom is large enough, do not hesitate to install a seat that will highlight the warmth to the room. Take this photo for example. A beige wingback chair blends into the New England 1800’s styled Bathroom. In this case, you can’t help but feel the retro 19^th Century New York or Boston Barber shop spirit in there. Easy to create and will timelessly remain beautiful and trendy for as long as this house stands.

Space-Saving with a Console Sink

Frustrated by a lack of space for a sink? Pedestal sinks are terrific space-savers that will still leave you with a feel of an open space which is lost with cabinet vanities. To make up for lost storage space one can add a short wicker basket that will store additional towel, soaps and other bathroom novelties.

Frames to decorate around the sink

Laying in our bathtub enjoying a moment of silence or listening to a soft melody should go hand by hand with a well framed beautiful wall art to look at. Framed objects such as period paintings, captivating photographs or antique mirrors placed above the sink that would add artistic beauty to your bathroom

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Ancient Stone sinks worthy of designing your entire bathroom around.

February 3, 2016February 17, 2016 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

If you are reading this, we are going to assume that you have encountered a bathroom sink before. Bathroom sinks are typically smaller than kitchen sinks (which must accommodate pots and pans) and have less function. Washing hands and faces, brushing teeth, and filling small cups are the main functions of a bathroom sink. They must also be hygienic, easy to clean, easy to reach, soft to the touch and of course very durable.

Once these basic parameters are met, bathroom sink design is up to anyone’s interpretation. As a result, many different sink styles and materials are on the market. As you read on, we’ve recapped the most popular options you are likely to encounter while going through our bathroom stone sinks catalogue.

Bathroom Basalt sinks

An elegant touch in any bathroom design can be realized with a rustic Basalt sinks. Just why is this so appealing?

Many like the black/white contrast that is created through the enlistment of an antique Basalt sink. Guests won’t help but to be transported back in time to a Victorian or Georgian era of the British Empire anytime they glance at your contrasted powder room design complete with its weathered West Indies style Basalt vessel.

Bowl Shaped Sinks

Another trend is to replace existing sinks with thick solid stone vanities topped with a bowl-style vessel sinks.

They’re eye catching, unusual and add an edge to any personal style. Weathered bowl sinks add a frugal country cottage minimalism to traditional bathrooms. Bold limestone bowls have become a staple in contemporary and traditional bathrooms alike. Juxtaposing old with new has turned into a defining characteristic of our 2010-2020 design era.

Bathroom Limestone Trough Sinks

Limestone has always been key to making bathrooms feel time-honored and serene. You want warmth? Add limestone! This design dogma isn’t reserved to contemporary bathrooms but has been known since the days of Minoan villa design some 5,000 years ago.

More and more people have started to realize that elementally worn natural stone sinks are a must in any trend tolerant bathroom design worthy of a front cover feature in any national shelter magazine.

There’s something to be said about stone that was softly eroded over centuries not by the sheer force of steel mallets but by the gentile & perpetual motion of soft rain droplets landing on its exposed surface sitting in nature for centuries.

Bathroom His and Hers Sinks

‘His and Her’ bathroom sinks design layout helps to create a symmetry especially when the creations are monumental and artistic as in the case of pedestal sinks. Those sinks have much in common with outdoor wall mounted garden fountains and work very well with other classical bathroom features such as full hand carved marble tubs and period mirrors and sconces.

Undermounted bathroom sinks

Undermounted bathroom stone sinks are sinks that are installed below the vanity or countertop and mount from below. Undermounted sinks hang flush or slightly below the countertop for a seamless look that is easy to clean.

These sinks do not have a lip like drop-in sinks, leaving more counter space for toiletries and a smooth surface for cleaning. The Sink below brings a furniture-like feel to your bathroom vanity and go perfectly with the tub and chair.

Full length marble and limestone sinks

Those full length bathroom stone sinks are truly remarkable looking and just like trough sinks they will help you add volumes of sophistication, liveliness and playfulness to your bathroom.

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From pasture to kitchen, the journey of a French farm house sink

December 7, 2015December 7, 2015 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

A water trough is a hand etched piece of a naturally occurring rock that the shepherd from thousands of years ago had found convenient to hollow out and retool into a rectangular shaped blocks, in order to fill up with water at various resting spots along their grazing trails for their cattle to rest and quench their thirst from.

As agrarian lifestyle took shape some 4,000 years ago in Europe and man slowly moved away from a hunter gatherer life style, Cattle breeding has also taken a geometric leap forward. During that period onward limestone Troughs have also taken an added role of enabling farm livestock to be kept well stocked up on drink water allowing for a greater animal population maintained at any given time.

Whether assisting shepherds who were finding a hard time to provide water for their cattle when travelling long distances or servicing a growing flock of farmed animal back home, Limestone troughs offered an ever ready solution to shepherds, ranchers and farmers.

Trough stone is almost always Oolitic in nature which enables it to hold a full body of water without it leaking out at any future point in time. This unique characteristic of Oolitic Stone made those antique troughs perfect candidates for them to be re-purposed into modern day French farmhouse sinks.

Years later after pastures and growing animals started steadily to fall out of favor in the European countryside of France, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain and started becoming restricted to only a few regions, overnight we saw an abundance of antique and unused Limestone troughs fall into disuse.

The owners of these old Stone vessels eventually didn’t see an economic reason to keeping them in their fields. Some went to auctions and others to private dealers such as us at Ancient Surfaces, who were more than happy to purchase them from their estates so that we can converted them into breath taking French farmhouse kitchen sinks.

They are very rough looking from the outside but centuries of usage and exposure to the elements have made them very smooth to the touch so when you touched their surfaces it may feel like a surface of soap or even a smooth as angulating glass; very smooth yet very hard.

The inside surface was cleaned up honed out by our artisans which made them very suitable to be used as sinks, eliminating all crevices on the inside surface reducing any chance of water stagnating inside those trough sinks.

It’s amazing when you actually use a very old limestone through sink that looks very rough in a contemporary looking kitchen. A thick stone trough can also be incorporated in your modern kitchen and can go perfectly along with any ultra-modern steel appliance. This old and new juxtaposition gives an added historical context and value to the whole design of the kitchen.

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Antique Kitchen Stone Trough Sinks by Ancient Surfaces

June 27, 2015June 27, 2015 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

Antique Biblical Stone on the backsplash, antique foundation Slabs on the counter tops and a reclaimed 400 years old Italian Farmhouse sink. — Antique Biblical Stone on the back splash, antique foundation slabs on the counter tops surfaces and a reclaimed 400 years old retrofitted French trough plays the role of the limestone farmhouse sink.

Antique Oolitic limestone sinks are possibly the best kitchen sink options one can install in their home. They have stood the test of time and are a living testament to the everlasting beauty and durability of antique limestone. For years we’ve been providing one of kind ancient Oolitic limestone trough that can withstand the harshest ware and tear to them and have been paired with the highest end finishes and European appliances available on the market.

A perfect ergonometrically carved limestone sink reclaimed from a French farmhouse.

Oolitic Limestone is a truly rare and very dense type of limestone only available in a few pockets around the globe. It is know by many expert geologists to be the best of all Limestone types. only about 5% of known limestone in the world fits that geological classification. All the other types of limestone are much softer and are classified as Dolomites.

Antique Salvaged Limestone Troughs by Ancient Surfaces

hand carved, deep, double Oolitic Limestone sinks are ideal in any style of kitchens and are suitable for all types of modern day food preparation.

Antique Double Limestone Sinks by Ancient Surfaces

Now image having your kitchen sink carved out and hollowed by hand out of a solid chunk of custom carved Oolitic Limestone exactly fitting your architectural renderings and specs.

Oolitic Limestone can be barely scratched even with the constant banging of stainless steel pots and pans.

Both architects and designers have an affinity to French farmhouse limestone or marble sinks. They tend to design them into their projects as long as the client is able to visualize the historic beauty that each piece can bring into their kitchens.

Limestone Trough Sink in an Italian Farmhouse remodel

On the ‘Mohs Hardness Scale’ of our jet black basalt is comparable to obsidian black’s hardness also known as volcanic glass. Its density is 3.3gm/cc or only 0.2g/cc less dense than Diamonds. Not to shabby for a non-metallic rock.

Custom carved Marble preparation table with corbeled legs by Ancient Surfaces.

Having a jet black basalt sink in your kitchen is definitely considered a high-end luxury item by all means.

Antique Reclaimed Limestone Sink by Ancient Surfaces-3

The hardness of this type of basalt and the difficulty involved in carving it makes it a very uncommon item while compared to other types of hand carved stone sinks such as limestone marble sinks.

Call us at: 212-461-0245 // 212-913-9588

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Come visit our interactive digital online catalog

Call us at: 212-461-0245 // 212-913-9588

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Old World Kitchen Basalt Sinks by Ancient Surfaces.

October 18, 2014October 18, 2014 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

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Jet Black Basalt and antique Oolitic limestone sinks are the two kitchen sink types that are design statement in and by themselves and are commonly associated with custom, hard to get, kitchen appliances such as Molteni, La Cournue and La Cranche kitchen oven ranges.

Hand Carved Basalt Sink Featured with a Traditional Custom French Cooking Range.

Basalt is the rock formed after the red hot volcanic lava cools down. The faster the cool down the lesser quality the basalt will be.

Hand Carved Double Basalt Sink with Reclaimed Bricks Back Splash. — A Hand Carved, Deep, Double Basalt Sink Ideal for Food Preparation, with Reclaimed Bricks as Backsplash.

Now image having your kitchen sink carved out and hollowed by hand out of a solid chunk of extremely hard slowly cooled down jet black basalt.

Hand Carved Double Basalt Sink with Reclaimed Wood Cabinets and Antique Stone Floors.

A basalt material so strong that it can be barely scratched with the hardest elements mother nature has in its arsenal. Our ancient slow cooled basalt can be barely scratched by incredibly dense metals like titanium.

An Interesting Jet Black Basalt Sink with a Solid Sink Back. A Soapy Rough etched antique finish surface

It’s doubtful that you’ll encounter any harder metal or mineral in your kitchen unless you’re on some other planet. (not to self: do not use Mjolnir as a meat tenderizer!)

A Small Hand Carved Mounted Basalt Vegetable Sink. — A Small Hand Carved Mounted Basalt Vegetable Sink with a Soapy Smooth Etch Finish.

Hand Carved Basalt Sink Installed with Reclaimed Wood Cabinets and Antique Stone Floors.

Having a jet black basalt sink in your kitchen is definitely considered a high-end luxury item by all means.

A Massive Block of Solid Basalt Hand Carved into a Single Basalt Sink.

The hardness of this type of basalt and the difficulty involved in carving it makes it a very uncommon item while compared to other types of hand carved stone sinks such as limestone marble sinks.

Reclamation Images

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Come visit our interactive digital online catalog

Call us at: 212-461-0245 // 212-913-9588

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Sinks in situ by Ancient Surfaces’

October 15, 2014October 18, 2014 ~ Ancient Surfaces ~ Leave a comment

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The kitchen sink, with its plentiful hot and cold running water, is a mundane feature of our daily lives that we take for granted—unless, that is, the water dries up or turns smelly, thereby inconveniencing our schedules or threatening our health, or unless we are considering a house purchase or renovation.The tap turns on, the water obligingly pours out; the tap turns off, the water obligingly drains away.

In Situ, Old Limestone Sink as seen in a traditional French farmhouse in Aix-en-Provence. — In Situ. An old stone sink as seen in an ruined French farmhouse in Provence.

Of course it was not always so. The advancement of kitchen sinks from dishpans filled with buckets of water to today’s carefully controlled municipal system—with its in/out pipes, hot water tanks, and on/off taps—reflects developments in plumbing technology, society’s evolving concerns about civic and moral health, and major alterations in expectations around women’s work.

A real old limestone sink. Self supporting and hand carved out of a full block of stone. — A real, centuries old limestone sink. Hand carved out of a full block of stone.

Farmhouses usually had the sink in the big room that doubled as central family space and kitchen, rather than in a separate scullery. But estate houses and houses of any pretension had a separate room, either called a sink room or scullery, for washing up and vegetable preparation.

An elongated, trough like, vegetable washing and preparation sink seen in a ruined Provence countryside castle from the 16th century.

Such properties also often had a space off the dining room called a butler’s pantry that contained a sink reserved for washing fine china, silverware, and glassware. Examples of butler’s pantries are still seen today at museum farmhouses and castles all across Europe.

As centuries went on, believe it or not, the advent of the kitchen counter top impaired the ergonomic advantages of the original Limestone farmhouse sink. What happened you ask? Well we unfortunately entered the age of mass production…

A massive antique thick slab sink seen with three supportive limestone legs.

Sinks could finally be built by the hundreds, even the thousands and at a marginal cost. No time-honored hand carving was needed any longer. Kitchen cabinets were now standardized and built in production facilities, prompting the use of counter tops with integral sinks.

A still working 400 years old outdoor potato washing sink in Provence France.

So, what is wrong with that you ask? First off, those uniformed kitchen cabinets were perfect for a select group of people; those who measured 5’5” to 5’10” in height. Secondly, sinks that were installed in a counter top required a significant amount of counter top space in front of and behind the sink to account for the mechanical stability of the counter top.

A very old stone block with a shallow sink cutout used as a hand washing sink in a in Tuscan farmhouse. — A stone block with a shallow sink cut used as a hand sink in an old Tuscan farmhouse.

This required that the sink recede, away from the user, causing the user to bend needlessly at the waist. Moreover, metal was a very expensive product during this phase of our early 20th century history when production line was introduced. Hence metal sinks were shallow in depth, to save on cost. This was ideal for some, but not nearly as efficient as the deeper stone sinks of times past.

Times have once again changed and it seems that our generation it completing the full cycle of the kitchen sinks, shying away more and more from 21st century production line metal, enamel and ceramic sinks back to real limestone and marble that are simply unrivaled in charm, history and beauty.