On Friday, July 3, I headed to Menlo Park to salvage pedestal sinks from the historic (i.e. old) Stanford Inn.  It is a quirky vintage hotel near Stanford University that is being demolished in a week.  After seeing photographs, I really wanted the sinks @ $30 each.

When I got there, the salvage guy was going through windows to get access to some of the units because he did not have keys.  There were 11 units with small kitchenettes, and really cute built in cupboards, ironing boards, and bookcases.  I looked in each unit, and 5 had the pedestal sinks with the ridged pedestals.  Five had modern, sleek pedestals which I was not interested in.

The first sink I tackled was the largest, and it was the most difficult to remove.

After 45 minutes, I moved on because the wall bolts holding on the sink were square and warped.

The next sink was breeze to unbolt the wall bolts with my fingers.

Then, the next was easy too.  That built determination to get all 5 before leaving.  It took 3.5 hours, but I got them.  My battery powered reciprocating saw did run out of power, so fortunately, Paul let me use his to get out the last (i.e. first, big one).   I did not mess around again with wrenches and ratchets, I just cut off the wall bolts in 5 minutes.

After salvaging these sinks, I was wet (water exploded in my face), dirty from sitting on the floors, and exhausted.  But, I could see the potential of making yard art out of these sinks, such as bird baths, fountains, and planters.

Yesterday, I painted one of the sinks orange.  I chose a brighter orange for the pedestal and then a paprika color for the sink.

I put it in place in the garden, exactly where I was going to plant a perennial.  I thought a pretty pop of purple against the orange would be the perfect color combination.

The next sink spot was a completely random decision to put it on our deck, under a stairway, next to my vintage stove (i.e. plant holder).  I just happened to glance that direction, saw the gap, and thought: “sink is going there.”  I have 5 so I have to space them out so it’s not an obvious sink, overload.  I also thought I could paint it yellow, green, and black to match the stove, plus some orange to match our patio cushions and umbrella.

The deck is full of succulents, so I bought some today at the Felton Farmers Market to plant in this sink.  It turned out great!