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How to Pick Out the Best Bathroom Vanity for Your Home
Buying a bathroom vanity can be much easier if you have a guide. Your bathroom vanity is the most prominent piece of furniture in your bathroom and is representative of the overall design. There are many different styles and types of bathroom vanities that can woo every aesthetic and functional need. Whether you are looking for a vanity for your master/principle en suite bathroom, guest bathroom, or powder room, it’s important to know your needs before buying one. Knowing your purpose will help you decide on materials, storage space, and sink size. In this guide, we will walk you through
- choosing your style,
- size,
- and material
for your next bathroom vanity.
When you’re planning to purchase a new bathroom vanity, it’s important to choose a model that fits the layout of the bathroom. The trick is to keep the vanity’s visual weight in proportion to the overall space. Narrow rooms call for a small vanity, while a wide, open space calls for a larger vanity.
You’ll need to consider the position of the plumbing lines, mirrors, and other surrounding fixtures. Choosing a bathroom vanity that fits the plumbing layout is important if you’re looking for a stylish solution within your budget. Rerouting pipes can be an expensive and time-consuming process.
Also, consider how traffic flows through the bathroom. If there is a shower or toilet in the room, for instance, it’s important that the new vanity doesn’t block it.
Styles of bathroom vanities
Choosing a style for your bathroom vanity is a great way to enhance the overall design of your bathroom. It’s the most prominent piece of furniture in your bathroom and is representative of the overall design. For example, if you have a contemporary styled bathroom, you’ll probably want a modern style vanity. This style has sleek, clean lines and is available in a variety of metals and materials. These days, many consumers prefer modern vanities to traditional ones.
(Photo by Sanibell BV on Unsplash)
There are countless different styles and designs for bathroom vanities. You can choose one that blends into your room or creates a dramatic visual impact. You can even choose a floating vanity, which creates more floor space and is more contemporary. Different households have different needs. A working professional couple might appreciate double sinks. A teenager may need extra storage space, and a guest bathroom might need a minimalist design.
Size of bathroom vanities
The size of your bathroom vanity is important as it will determine where it will be placed, what features you need, and what type of budget you’ll need to spend. Single-sink vanities range from 24 inches to 48 inches wide. Double-sink vanities can be as wide as 100 inches or more.
When selecting the size, you should also consider the height of your vanity. It should not be more than 36 inches tall. The traditional measurement for bathroom vanities is about 32 inches, but for modern designs, that number is higher. For the best fit, try to choose a bathroom vanity that sits 34 or 35 inches from the floor.
Choosing the material of your bathroom vanity
1. Cabinet box (carcass) and drawers
Bathroom vanity carcasses can be made of a variety of material, among which particleboards and plywood are the most popular.
Plywood is composed of an uneven number of thin layers of wood glued together. The thin layers, called plies, are typically wood veneers.
Plywood grades and ratings are different. Here at Malaj Plus, when it comes to plywood, we use UV plywood panels. This type of panels are finished with a clear, durable top coating to add strength and resistance to scrapes and chips. It also enhances the warmth and beauty of the hardwood veneers.
Particleboards are manufactured by spraying wood particles with adhesive, compressing them into a mat to desired thickness. Particleboards vary by particle type, adhesive type, density, and their strength.
To strengthen, give it a better look and make it resistant to water, particleboards are finished by thin sheets of veneers or laminate. One of the popular types of laminates is melamine.
Particleboard has received a bad reputation mostly due to attempts to use it as a substitute for any and every application of solid wood or plywood. However, you would be surprised to know that strength properties of some particleboards, especially those laminated, are quite comparable to solid-wood strengths of low-density species.
Now, one of the most frequently asked questions that we get from our customers at Malaj Plus is as to what material would be best for their cabinet box or carcass: plywood or melamine?
In terms of durability and resistance, both UV plywood and melamine panels are both durable and reasonably resistant to heat, water, and scratches.
Their big differences come to their cost of production and aesthetic. Plywood is more expensive than laminate therefore the production cost of a vanity would be higher. On other hand, plywood looks natural like real wood but melamine lacks such an extent of aesthetic quality and warmth.
2. Faces: doors and drawer fronts
2.1. To paint or not to paint!
To narrow down your options in choosing faces’ material, it is best to first decide whether you would like to go with prefinished materials or you prefer to have the faces of your vanitis professionally painted. So the question is: to paint or not to paint!
If you prefer to go with non-painted products, there are a huge variety of options out there waiting for you, including Thermally Fused Laminate (TFL), High Pressure Laminate (HPL), thermofoil panels, etc. TFL panels are widely used in kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities. They are durable and also aesthetically as appealing and warm as painted solid wood but more cost-effective. TFL panels are produced by thermally (heat and pressure) fusing a melamine saturated paper to either particleboard or MDF core. The variety of laminates used in TFL panels are enormous. You can see a collection here.
For those who choose painted bathroom vanities, the next decision is to choose between MDF and solid wood.
2.2. MDF vs solid wood cabinet doors
Solid wood is a common material for kitchen cabinet doors. While it may cost more than MDF or engineered wood, solid wood can last for decades. Solid wood does have certain disadvantages, however. One is that it cannot be fully waterproof and needs to be protected against moisture. It also warps and expands during temperature changes.
MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) is an alternative material that is made of recycled wood fibers and is more durable than traditional plywood. MDF is also relatively cheaper than solid wood and can last a long time with proper maintenance. Additionally, MDF is environmentally friendly.
MDF cabinet doors are a better choice for modern bathroom settings that require a sleek look. However, it is important to choose the right material for your specific application. The best material for your bathroom will depend on its purpose but if you are looking to decorate a modern kitchen, MDF is a better choice than solid wood.
When choosing your bathroom vanity door material bear in mind the so-called stress cracks. A wood door is typically made out of multiple pieces of wood affixed together. When you paint a wood door, after a while you get very fine cracks at door joints. That is because the wood pieces expand and contract during temperature changes and as a result the paint gets cracked at joints. These cracks are called stress cracks.
An MDF door, on the contrary, is one piece routed out by a computerized machine to your desired style. Therefore, as there are no joints, stress cracks do not happen in painted MDF doors.
3. Hardwares
In bathroom vanities, as kitchen cabinets, you should pay close attention in choosing slides, hinges, and handles or knobs.
At Malaj Plus we use under-mount slides from top brands such as Blum, Wurth and Richelieu. They are mounted and concealed under drawers, can be fully extended and smoothly opened and closed. Above all, they are very durable and can hold a multitude of household items.
Fortunately Blum and Richelieu provide quality hinges for vanity and cabinet doors as well. Their hinges system cannot be seen from outside the cabinet. They are durable and open and close quietly and softly.
As for knobs and handles, there are tons of them out there to sift through. Apart from the style, which is a matter of taste and your overall bathroom design, pay special attention to the core material and quality of finishing. Also try out the handles or knobs before purchasing to make sure they are comfortable.
4. Countertop and sink
In bathrooms we are dealing with lipstick, hair dye, and the like. Therefore, you need a kind of countertop that is resistant to stains from common bathroom items and cleaning products. Stain is typically the most common concern in deciding a bathroom vanity countertop. Heat resistance is another important factor to consider. Different types of countertops show different resistance to, for example, a hot curly iron left on the surface.
The most popular vanity countertops are made of quartz, granite, ultra-compact (Dekton), or laminate. Considering all the factors, quartz can be your best bet. Quartz is engineered (a blend of quartz and other stones mixed with resins and pigments) and comes in a variety of styles. It is resistant to stain, scraping, and heat. Unlike granite that is a natural stone, quartz countertops are more durable and require less maintenance.