Above Counter Basins

An above counter basin sits on top of the vanity rather than down into it, so the bowl itself is part of what you see when you walk into the room. It also means the benchtop stays whole — no cut-out, no undermount clips, just a tap hole and a waste hole. That makes it the straightforward choice when the top is stone and you would rather look at the stone than hide it.

The range here runs from the Mini 30 at around 300mm across, sized for a powder room where nothing larger will fit, up to the Oval 60 and Pill 60 at 600mm for a main bathroom or one half of a double vanity. Most sit between 360mm and 460mm, which is what suits a single 750mm or 900mm vanity without crowding the tap.

Choosing an above counter basin

Shape does most of the work here. Round bowls — Luna, Mira, Colour Plus, Tessina — soften a hard-edged benchtop and take up the least depth. Oval and pill shapes, from Oval 40 through to Pill 60, suit a longer top and leave more room either side of the mixer. Square and soft-square bowls such as SQ 365, SQ 385, Diamond and Nova hold a straight line through a contemporary bathroom. And the fluted bowls — Lucid 37, Pill 49, Pill 58, RT 6034 — carry a ribbed face that picks up the same detail as fluted tapware.

The one measurement people forget is finished height. An above counter bowl adds its own body height on top of the vanity, usually 100mm to 150mm, so the rim ends up considerably higher than an inset basin would. Check that against the mixer you have chosen before you order — a tall basin mixer is normally what you need to clear the rim with room to wash your hands under it.

Pair one with a tall mixer from Bathroom Tapware, a flat-topped unit from Bathroom Vanities, and a pop-up waste in the same finish. If you would rather the bowl sat down into the bench after all, the inset, semi-recessed and undermount options are in Bathroom Basins.

Everything on this page can be ordered through Builders Warehouse Online with delivery Australia-wide.