Corner Basin Buying Guide
If you’re building or renovating a smaller bathroom, it can be tricky to find a suitable basin. Naturally, you’ll want sturdy specimen with a space-conscious design. It should also be sensibly shaped and small enough to fit your interior. On the other hand, it still needs to be large enough to use for hand washing, face scrubbing and whatever else you like to do in your basin (no judgement here).
So, when we mix all these requirements together and stick them in great bathroom design oven, what do we end up with?
Answer: A fresh, tasty new corner basin!
What is a corner basin?
As the name implies, a corner basin is a bathroom sink that’s been specially made to fit into the corner of your bathroom. Corner basins can be various shapes, but they always feature two flat sides at a 90-degree angle. This allows them to slot neatly into the corner with minimal fuss, projecting diagonally outwards.
Corner basins are compact and cleverly shaped, making them ideal for cloakrooms and en-suites in which space is at a premium.
What types of corner basins are available?
Quite a few! Whoever you are and whatever your style, there’s a corner basin out there with your name on it. Not literally of course, because scrawling on it in some kind of permanent marker would probably void the warranty. Still, corner basins come in a wide array of forms, as we shall now discuss.
Wall-hung corner basins
This is the most common type of corner sink. Like normal wall-hung basins, corner variants fix directly onto your bathroom wall and provide that trendy ‘floating’ look. Wall-mounted models offer a neat, minimalist aesthetic, as well as taking up no valuable floor space.
Pedestal corner basins
Pedestal corner basins are also quite popular. They’re about the same size as their wall-hung counterparts, but include a long, floor-standing column that supports the actual sink component. As well as providing added stability, the pedestal also hides all of the basin’s plumbing. This means no visible bottle trap, although there is an impact on floor space.
Corner basin units
A great way to combine your sink and storage cabinet into one handy fixture, corner basin units feature a corner-shaped vanity unit with a basin mounted on top. These units come in a range of modern and traditional styles, and provide a handy place to keep your spare soaps, toiletries and cleaning products. However, corner basin units do take up significantly more space than either wall-hung or pedestal models, so they might not be ideal if you’re working with a really tiny cloakroom.
Style & shape
Corner sinks offer plenty of variety when it comes to the visuals. In terms of shape, you can go for round, oval, square, rectangular or even pentagonal. From soft curves to bold angles, you’re bound to find something to scratch your particular itch.
As with most bathroom sinks, corner basins fall broadly into two main stylistic categories: modern and traditional. Modern corner sinks tend to be very sleek and minimal, utilising clean lines and simple shapes to create a smart, unfussy piece.
Traditional sinks, meanwhile, offer more elaborate features and flourishes. They’ll include decorative design quirks such as raised ridges, multi-sided interiors, and even ornate support brackets.
What are the sizes and dimensions of a corner basin?
Corner basins are generally measured in width, depth and height. Width is the horizontal size, depth is the outward projection (i.e. the distance from the wall to the tip of the sink), and height is… well, height. Broadly speaking, corner sinks fall within the following size parameters:
Width: 400 – 600mm
Height: 130 – 230mm
Depths: 300 – 450mm
There are exceptions, of course. Some corner basins will exceed or fall under these measurements, but most stick within these ranges. Pedestal corner basins are obviously much taller – usually between around 800mm and 900mm.
What is the typical price of a corner basin?
Pretty darn cheap, as it turns out! Thanks to their smaller stature, corner basins rank proudly amongst the most affordable of bathroom sinks. There are many excellent options available for less than £100, with the most expensive clocking in at about £240. Some especially fancy models can cost a bit more, but these are few and far between.
Corner basin units are considerably more expensive, as they have to consider the price of a vanity unit as well the basin itself. These can set you back anywhere from around £480 to £1600, largely depending on the size of the unit and the quality of the basin.
What are the pros and cons of corner basins?
As we’ve examined, corner basins have quite a lot going for them. However, this type of sink still might not necessarily be the right choice for you. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons.
Pros
The first and most obvious benefit of corner basins is their small size. They’re ideal for smaller bathrooms, using minimal space and fitting into a part of the room you can’t really do much else with.
Corner basins create a tidy, uncluttered look, and they’re usually very easy to install, clean and maintain. They come in a range of sub-types to suit various requirements, with wall-hung, pedestal and vanity unit models all readily available. Numerous shapes and styles are also available, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
Finally, corner basins offer exceptional value for money. They’re extremely affordable, despite being manufactured from high-quality materials such as ceramic and vitreous china.
Cons
To paraphrase ourselves, the first and most obvious drawback of corner basins is their small size. Obviously, this is great for more compact bathrooms. However, if you’ve got a larger interior to work with, you’ll probably want to choose a basin type that offers a little more width and internal water capacity.
Another slight disadvantage is that you’re quite limited in terms of your tap choices. Almost all corner basins come with a single central tap hole. Combined with their smaller size, this basically limits you to a cloakroom mono tap. There is plenty of variety within this tap category, but it’s still not ideal if you’d prefer something like a wall-mounted mixer or a pair of pillar taps.
In summary:
Pros
- Space saving
- Corner fit lets you utilise part of the bathroom you wouldn’t be able to otherwise
- Neat, uncluttered appearance
- Plenty of choice regarding sub-types, shape and style
- Easy installation, cleaning and maintenance
- Highly affordable
Cons
- Not well suited to larger or family bathrooms
- Small water capacity
- Limited tap choice
And there we have it! A thorough dive into the madcap world of corner basins. Feel free to check out the rest of our basin guides for further sink-based mind expansion, and don’t be afraid to contact us with any further questions.
