I've been holding out on you.
A few months ago, prior to the world turning upside down, I decided to pop into my local Habitat Restore store to see if they had anything that thrilled me.
At first I thought the trip was a bust . . . lots of ugly lighting fixtures, half empty paint cans and broken cabinet doors. But then I turned a corner and saw this darling vintage porcelain sink in the most gorgeous shade of green.
Jaedite green? Mint green? Sent straight from Heaven green?
Whatever it's called, it was like that pretty little sink was just setting there patiently waiting for me to come save it!
And save it I did. Especially when I saw the $5.00 price tag (who marks stuff at that store?).
I had every intention of running home and lickety-split turning it into a planter for my garden, but then the pandemic happened and simple things like buying petunias and a bag of potting soil turned out to be so much more complicated.
Really, there was a time when I wondered if I was actually going to be able to garden at all this year.
The other day I finally said screw it and picked up some petunias at a small outdoor market and finally got ‘er done.
How To Turn A Bathroom Sink Into A Planter
If you are going to elevate the planter, put it on a sink pedestal or sink it into a table, then you want to cover the drain with some mesh screening. You know, to keep the dirt from going down the drain.
In my case I was going to set it on the ground and the ground itself would handle the drainage, so I skipped the mesh screening part.
The bottom of these types of sinks are rounded, extend below the apron of the sink and do not want to sit flat, so I dug a bit of dirt out of the garden bed so I could embed it in the ground a bit. The apron know sits flush with the ground.
I then added a thin layer of gravel and some potting soil, followed up by petunias.
And some chippy thrift store china.
Why china???
Well, if you are going to have a sink you might as well make it look like you're washing some dishes in it!
The white petunias act as the soap bubbles.
Bonus points if you don't mention in the comments that it's a BATHROOM sink, not a KITCHEN sink, OK.
We're talking a very loose artistic interpretation here.
Now before you go saying "Wow, that's so ingenious! Girl, you are a rock star!", I had originally seen this done on Pinterest a few years ago.
I had just kept it in the back of my mind for that magical day sometime in the future when I would walk into a Habitat store and find a darling vintage porcelain sink in the most gorgeous shade of green setting there patiently waiting for me to save it.
Stephanie C
So cute! Now if only I can find a blue sink...
Pam Kessler
Thank you! A blue sink sounds fantastic!
Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces
This is so whimsical and pretty, Pam! Such a great find...my mouth would have dropped to the floor when I spotted it!
Pam Kessler
When I went to the checkout counter they said there had been a matching toilet too, but someone had bought that a few days before. I think a toilet is about the only thing I wouldn't buy used 🙂
Chris Wake
Wow! What an amazing find and love how you filled it with petunias and china.
I did a similar project but with a zinc bowl, Bizzie Lizzies and dianthus.
Take care, stay safe
Chris x
Cindy
That is adorable...and the china makes it so cute! Love it!
Shelly
Very Cute!!! I love that you put dishes in it! Love that color too!
Sandra
Love that green!!
Leslie Schmidt
My goodness, Pam, this is so cute! The stars were aligned that day when you entered that store. I love how you created a whole story to go with the sink. Just darling!
Christine Irvine
Pam, this is very cute. The dishes and the white bubble flowers really make it a great art piece.
I actually had that bathroom sink, and the green tub to go with it in my old house. When we remodeled the bathroom, I kept the sink and fixtures, planning to make a bird bath out of it. Fastforward to a crazy move and there was no time, so I tried to sell the sink but noone bought it. Then I had it listed for Free on Craigslist, but noone wanted it. So sadly, my brother in law hauled it off to the dump with other items. The very next day a lady contacted me about it. I did keep the old fashioned hot and cold spigots and I use those in my flower garden! Maybe my sink never ended up in a landfill in Massachusetts, and maybe it was somehow taken to your state and brought to your local restore! That would be something. Enjoy! It's really special.
Pam Kessler
It could be the very same one! We're not that far from each other!
Jenny
My husband had dragged home a vintage sink and tub, which have sat in our yard, neglected, not really visible, for years. I really need to sell them or do something- your is pretty and magical.
Boni Kolinski
Years ago a friend and I was driving around and came across an older Ace hardware store that had everything from old refrigerators, sinks, toilets etc.. I spotted this yernal sitting there and said this would look so cute on the hillside in your backyard. She looked at me like I lost it! Needless to say we left with the treasure. We got to her house and carried it in the back and then talked about what kind of flowers to put in. We had so much fun that day and had some really good laughs. She sold her home and moved to another state, hopefully the new owner appreciated the treasure.
Pam Kessler
Too fun!
Arlene
I've been looking for one to fit on an old rusty sewing machine base I picked up for $1. Saw that idea on Pinterest too! I want to sit it by my outhouse and plant it. Yours looks great, love the color!
Pam Kessler
Love the sewing machine base idea! Maybe try looking on Facebook marketplace sites for one. I find odd stuff on there that people want to get rid of, but don't want to throw away. I've found some old thermoses on there lately 🙂
Janice Mullins
This is so pretty! And by the way, we have the commode that matches your sink, sitting over in our pasture right now! 🙂 It came out of a rental house we remodeled.