Your bathroom is a smaller space, so you’ll want to carefully consider every remodeling choice. This includes your bathroom vanity. A vanity is an integral part of a bathroom and can easily become the focal point.
When you’re selecting a vanity, you’ll want to consider factors such as style, the size of your bathroom, functional needs, and ease of use and care. Follow these steps in choosing your bathroom vanity and you’ll get it right the first time and make your bathroom your new favorite place in the house.
Vanity Users
First, you’ll want to consider the people who are going to be using the vanity and how they will use it. This will influence your decision wrt the size of the vanity, the number of sinks and drawers, counter space, and drawer knobs, pulls, and handles.
Vanity Sizes
When picking a vanity size, you need to bear in mind the size of the room. You don’t want the vanity to overwhelm the room like a large house on a small plot of land or, alternatively, have it appear too small and out of place.
A powder room, for example, is generally the smallest room in the house. It can usually only accommodate a small vanity and because storage is not a huge requirement in a powder room, a vanity that holds one sink with minimal counter space is often sufficient. If your powder room allows for minimal storage, select a vanity with storage underneath to tuck away cleaning supplies or other necessities you want to easily access.
In a guest or hall bathroom, the vanity should be large enough to hold daily bathing essentials and hide clutter. Regardless of who uses this space, consider a vanity with drawers so you can have designated places to store hairdryers and cosmetics that would otherwise crowd the counter.
The master bathroom will be the hub for you and your partner so a vanity with two sinks, one large mirror (or two smaller ones), and plenty of storage space is imperative. The style of the vanity could match the style of your bedroom, but this isn’t imperative. Master baths allow for customization to maximize efficiency. Installing extra outlets in the vanity cabinet to easily plug in hairdryers, flat irons, electric shavers, and beard trimmers is often an option as well.
Vanity Lighting
Beautiful Sconces Flank the Vanity Mirror Providing Proper Lighting For Applying Makeup, Shaving, and Hair Drying
Irrespective of the type of vanity you choose, proper lighting for the space is essential. Typically, you will have lighting over the sink or mirror. To avoid shadows, consider adding sconces to flank your mirror and provide proper illumination for applying makeup, shaving, and hair drying. In a powder room, two sconces are all you need while in a master bath or guest bath with two sinks, three or four are generally needed to ensure you have enough light.
An additional light over the tub and shower and one over the toilet should provide ample light for most large master or guest baths.
Plumbing Hookups
Working with existing plumbing will narrow your vanity choices because it will most likely dictate where you place your vanity and can limit the size of your vanity as well.
Plumbing hookups will also have a say when it comes to choosing the style of your vanity. Floor-mounted vanities can make use of typical plumbing layouts. Wall-mounted vanities will require moving the plumbing hookups for your sink unless they’re already existing. And while a floating vanity can look great, you’ll need to make sure your plumbing is designed to work with it.
Moving plumbing hookups is not impossible – it all depends on what you want and your overall budget.
Vanity Placement
When choosing a spot for your vanity, consider your bathroom’s traffic flow. You’ll want to make sure it doesn’t block the bathroom door, your shower door swing, or your toilet size and placement. Walk around the space and visualize where the vanity will go and how it will affect the rest of the room. Make sure that any windows nearby will allow for a mirror and wall cabinets above the vanity.
Once you have done all of this, you should have a fairly good idea of your placement options.
Storage Requirements
Your vanity size should make sense with the bathroom’s size, but it should also make sense with your storage needs. One of the perks of having a vanity is more storage. But before you get too excited about the storage, remember your space constraints, plumbing positioning, and flow can limit your vanity size and ultimate storage space.
Depending on the space and what you want to store, there may have to be some compromise.
Considering what you truly use on a day-to-day basis will help you decide how much storage you really need in your new vanity. Take inventory of what you store in your current vanity. Organize everything by what you’ll need to have in reach and what you’ll just need to have nearby. Hanging vanities with drawers can provide a good amount of storage since they take advantage of the often-unused space around plumbing.
Sink Size and Style
Stylish Vessel Sink on Light Countertop in Modern Bathroom
You will spend a lot of time choosing your fixtures, but you’ll also need to carefully consider the size of sink you want and how it will impact the look and functionality of your vanity.
With so many sink styles available, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to narrow your options. No matter what style you choose, a sink is going to take up some of your counter space. The size of your sink will really depend on your priorities – how much counter space you want and storage requirements for the vanity. Compare standard sinks sizes and styles with vessels, under-mount, and all-in-one styles to get a better idea of how you want your own vanity set up.
Pick the Right Materials
Your vanity will need to be durable enough to withstand water, soap, spilled makeup, and cleaning products, just to name a few. It’s also going to be in a room that is more humid than any other room in the house. Pick materials that give you the look you want but will hold up to wear and tear.
While you may like the look of one material or finish, it may not be waterproof or could be susceptible to scratches. Wood veneers, laminate, and thermofoil are materials that will hold up well in the bathroom environment, and they look good, too.
Choose a vanity top that is durable and avoid grouting that will be hard to clean later. If you select granite, ensure that it’s protectively sealed. Solid surfaces like quartz are extremely durable and easy to care for. It can also tolerate high heat from flat irons and curling irons. While tile is beautiful and available in vibrant colors, it requires more maintenance, as grout lines need to be cleaned regularly. And a wood top offers a warm and organic look but is naturally porous, so you’ll want to ensure that it’s sealed as well.
In The End
In the end, there really are no right or wrong choice when it comes to bathroom vanities. Choose a vanity that you want and will love to use! Whether your vanity blends in with your home’s style or stands out as a custom piece of furniture, make it an attractive, functional, and easy to maintain and use bathroom tool.
If you need help in determining a vanity that fits your needs and budget, give JA Kitchen & Bath a call. Our design experts can walk you through our design process and help you with all of your bathroom and kitchen needs. Give us a call for a free in-home consultation and get the bathroom — and kitchen — of your dreams!
