Bathroom Vanities Buying Guide
This site has been built with the purpose of providing you with quality information on bathroom vanities to help you make the best choice in terms of design, material, cost and style when it comes to beautifying your bathroom. If you are on the lookout for a bathroom vanity, either to install it in your new home or to replace an existent one, then you are at right place. I consider this site as the starting point towards your bathroom vanity shopping. Here I will provide you with tips on buying the vanity of your choice. All the info about vanities ranging from the different styles, materials, dimensions and designs, where to buy it from online, how much to pay for it and how to maintain it, has been provided on this site.
You could be looking for a pre fabricated bathroom vanity or maybe you want a custom made design, whatever be the case you can get it done online. In fact shopping online for bathroom vanities is the way to go for several reasons. In summary if you shop online you get great discounts and you have a huge selection to choose from.
If are a newbie homemaker or if you are looking to get some insights on how to setup a vanity, which gives that touch of beauty to your bathroom room, then following FAQ section would be of help to you as it might answer a few of your questions.
What is the importance of bathroom vanities?
Your bathroom can be treated completely as a utility room without giving it the attention you give your bedroom or hall and then it can also be treated as the most glamorous room in your house. The modern house maker is extremely passionate about working on each detail of his/her home décor. It's no wonder that nowadays the bathroom is given as much importance, if not more, as the other rooms of the house. When guests come over to your house they would eventually end up visiting your bathroom, why not design it in such a way that it works as a style statement. An artistic bathroom will speak about your sense of style, in fact it's the only room where you can go wild with your sense of color and layout. vanities are the focal point of any bathroom. The basis purpose of a bathroom vanity is to hide the drain pipes joining into the sink. Any plywood based bathroom vanity would serve this purpose but a stylish one can add an element of glamour to an otherwise boring setting. Just look at the two design below, which type of vanity would you like to have in your house?
A stylish bathroom vanity need not be out of your budget, with a little know how you could well end up with a great design within a budget of 500$. Investing in a vanity which adds a statement of style to your bathroom is worth the payment you make as long as you make the right choice with respect to the material used in its construction, we are here to help you in this aspect.
What are the different types of bathroom vanities?
Bathroom vanities are categorized on the basis of several parameters, the most important ones are: Style, Material, Counter-Top type, Sink placement, Fabrication and Size. Let me provide you with a brief summary on each of these categories.
Style:
On a high level you could look at the different styles in which bathroom vanities get segregated as
- Traditional style
- Contemporary style
- Classic style
Let us take up one style at a time and look into the various aspects of each in summary, to read a deeper discussion on each style you can look into our articles specific to that style (on the right panel).
Traditional bathroom vanities:
You can look at these vanities as a blast from the past. There is a sudden new age revival in the modern homemaker with respect to his/her passion for the traditional designs. The traditional bathroom vanities are making a comeback. The reasons is simple, they give a aura of the ancient history. We love the rustic beauty of the past which give a sense of peace amidst the turmoil of the new age. Beautifully carved designs on the solid wood cabinets marks the specialty of a traditional bathroom vanity. The faucets are elegantly antique usually made of copper to give the old age feel. Most bathroom cabinets have handles which match the look of the faucets. You can even find the cabinet handles which match the antique look, you just need to wind up at your nearest flea market.
Contemporary bathroom vanities
If you like the plush and posh look of the modern day bathroom vanities, I cant blame you because they are just awesome. The several extremely glamorous designs available in contemporary bathroom vanities make for the most stylish bathrooms of today. Design and finish gives a shiny colorful vision, add to it a few lighting effects are you are liable to marvel at it every time you enter your bathroom. The color combinations are usually bold but there are several designs available in light designs also. Most people develop an instant liking for the contemporary bathroom vanities displayed at any showroom especially due to the shiny appearance of the same. Most of the contemporary bathroom vanities make use to a combination of glass, stone and wood to give you the ultimate combo of glamour.
Classic bathroom vanities:
This genre is mostly built on the classic style of ceramic sinks over stone countertops or ceramics sinks over ceramic countertops. Most classic bathroom vanities look great in a white look. The classic looks appeals to people who believe in the tradition of sinks and countertops being ceramic. There are classic bathroom vanities available with laminated wooden countertops also. The faucets are usually stainless steel. The cabinets are made from laminated wood or MDF (medium density fiberboard). If you love white on white you could look at installing a white classic bathroom vanity in your white tiled bathroom to give it a cloud look. With the help of good lighting effects and a framed mirror you can give a posh look to your bathroom while installing a classic bathroom vanity. Classic bathroom vanities look good when placed in the midst of bold colors. For example, if you have your background wall colored black with orange tiling on the floor, a white classic bathroom vanity would look stylish in the setting. The drawback of a classic bathroom vanity is usually the plain look, hence it make sense to liven up the surrounding so that there the advantage of contrast.
Material:
Most bathroom vanities available in the market today have their cabinets made out of solid wood, MDF, Fiberboard/plywood (the category we call cheaper pressed wood) or Glass (tempered of course). Lets have a look at each of these
Solid wood bathroom vanities:
Solid wood is more expensive than the fabricated or pressed watered down wood. You will have the choice of oak, pine, maple or cherry wood for your solid wood bathroom vanity cabinet. Cherry is quite the vogue as it gives a great finish but seriously it's difficult to make out the difference between these woods. As long as you have a solid wood cabinet it does not really matter what type of wood you go for unless you are extremely eccentric about it. There would be a layer of lamination on top of the wood to keep it from getting damaged due to high moisture exposure in the bathroom. Solid wood bathroom vanities are a good investment, they will last real long and there is a traditional value in solid wood which you cannot deny. If you don't laminate the solid wood there is tendency for it to get damaged due to the moisture around, make sure you get this clarified with the dealer. If you are not an ardent connoisseur of sorts and are not too fussy about the material used on the cabinet then I suggest you take the cheaper option of going for MDF.
MDF bathroom vanities:
MDF stands for medium density fiberboard and its mostly just pressed wood. MDF as material is extremely durable and resistant to moisture to a great extent once it is covered or painted with a laminate. It is quite easy to make out an MDF board in comparison to a solid wood board but seriously unless you are extremely finicky about the material you really should not worry too much about having your cabinets made out of MDF. In fact most contemporary bathroom vanities have their cabinets made out of MDF. It looks good and you have the liberty of choosing the type of paint you want on top of the MDF. Usually the required color is added to the laminate before applying it on the MDF. Dont be confused between the terms laminate and MDF, they are two seperate entities. MDF is the material (pressed wood) used to make the bathroom vanity cabity or the counter-top, laminate is a composite liquid solution made of plastic, resin and other sealers to provide a protective coating on top of the MDF.The function of the laminate is to protect the MDF from exposure to moisture. As long as you have a laminate coating you need not worry about damage to your MDF bathroom vanity cabinet. Frankly you can go in for a mdf bathroom vanity without thinking twice about it, the fact is that solid wood bathroom vanities are way more expensive than mdf bathroom vanities. Unless you really feel the need to have solid wood installed there is no reason no to go in for an mdf material. MDF as a material is well tested to be used in a moisture laden environment especially with a laminate coat to protect it from moisture seepage.
Glass bathroom vanities:
Tempered glass is used in the manufacture of this genre of bathroom vanities. The glass is either colored or left transparent. The intricate designs which are available when you go for a glass bathroom vanity is quite mind boggling. Some of them give a crystal like shine. The one draw back of using a glass cabinet is that it becomes translucent and give away the items stored inside the cabinet. This could have a dampening effect since you would not be able to store all the bathroom knick knacks inside the cabinet. Glass bathroom vanities have an advantage that they are long lasting and easy to clean, moisture has little effect on tempered glass. Glass is can always be compared to crystal due to its transparency. Intricate designs and well cut glass give a very posh look to your bathroom vanity. Most glass bathroom vanities come with a glass counter top, the ideal sink on top would be made of glass or a composite plastic. Antique faucets look stylish on a glass bathroom vanity. Glass bathroom vanities can come a cost, most of them are quite expensive more so due to the making charges rather than the material. Ofcourse the cost increase with size, if you are ok with a smaller bathroom vanity (say less than 30 inches) then it you can easily get yourself a well designed glass bathroom vanity.
Particleboard or plywood bathroom vanities:
You can buy some good plywood bathroom vanities if you have a low budget. Plywood and particleboard would fall into the category of pressed wood though they are of lower quality than MDF. In today's market you can find painted plywood bathroom vanities and it looks quite good. Performance wise you might have some issues if the plywood or particleboard is not well laminated. Ensure that there a proper coating or veneer of a good quality laminate over the plywood bathroom vanity. You can even specify the color you would want painted on the plywood. We would suggest you go for a thick brown wooden color as it gives a good look or you can go in for a totally contemporary look with a little grey or even green paint. Plywood bathroom vanities are light weight and can be molded into great design. They may not be as long lasing as a stone or a solid wood bathroom vanity but plywood has a niche of its own. Most people would rather have a stylish looking plywood bathroom vanity for a lower cost than shell out a lot of dough for a stone or solid wood bathroom vanity.
By now you would have a good idea about the type of bathroom vanity that would suit you in terms of style and the material. If are interested in delving into other aspects such as counter-tops (which is very important), sink placement, size, type of make and cost I would recommend that you carry on reading the specific articles we have written to acknowledge these subjects.