While many consumers are currently trending towards ultra modern designs in bathroom and kitchen décor, others still prefer the old world charm of antique design themes. Bathrooms, for example, are the perfect locale for antique fixtures, including claw foot bath tubs and ornate bathroom vanities. In fact, antique bathroom vanities are some of the hottest commodities on the design market right now, with true antique pieces fetching high dollar at auctions and through private sellers.
What Makes Antique Bathroom Vanities So Unique?
Modern bathroom vanities are designed and built for function, storage, and visual appeal. They are designed to be relatively affordable, while also being manufactured to be durable and long lasting. Advances in mass construction and synthetic materials have allowed modern designs to provide increased strength at reduced costs. While antique pieces may not have the same presence on the lower end of the price range as modern vanities do, many people would be surprised at the quality and craftsmanship these unique pieces possess.
The main proof of the durability is seen in the simple fact that the pieces are still intact. While many of them will require refurbishing before they can be installed as a finished product, as well as retrofitting to accommodate modern plumbing design, the pieces have stood the test of time, often for hundreds of years. Even with the advances we have made in bathroom fixture construction today, many consumers will expect approximate a ten year lifespan from an average bathroom vanity, nowhere near the potential life span of a pieces crafted sometimes more than centuries ago.
One of the main reasons that many fine examples of antique bathroom vanities are still on the market today is the quality of the materials that were used in their construction. Modern design is well known for the ability to create synthetic materials to be used in place of more costly natural resources, such as granite and marble. In the time periods the antique pieces were created, genuine stone surfaces and counters were common, including those made from quartz, marble, slate, and other similar materials. The woods used to create the base of the vanities were also of extremely high quality as well.
Another key factor was the method by which antique vanities were crafted. There were no assembly lines and no high tech production machines involved in their creation. Antique bathroom vanities were almost always handcrafted and intended to be one of a kind pieces. Instead of being assembled in a matter of hours. Like many designs today, they often took weeks of stone cutting and polishing, along with wood carving and finishing.
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