The vanity as design anchor

The vanity establishes the character of the bathroom. A floating walnut vanity says something very different from a painted Shaker vanity with furniture legs. Start with what the bathroom needs to feel like, then design the vanity to support that intention.

The vanity does not need to match the kitchen — but it should read as part of the same home. When a vanity and a kitchen share a designer's sensibility without being identical, the home feels coherent. When they are simply purchased from different showrooms, the disconnect is always visible. Browse our custom bathroom cabinetry to see the range of what is possible before you commit to a direction.

Think of the vanity as the one fixed point around which every other bathroom decision — tile, mirror, lighting, hardware — will be calibrated. Get it right first, and the rest follows.

Single vs. double vanity: making the right call

A double vanity requires at least 60 inches of wall space to feel balanced; 72 inches is more comfortable. In a master bath where two people share the space, a double vanity is almost always worth the footprint. The convenience of separate sinks, separate storage, and separate mirror zones is one of the most practical improvements a bathroom renovation can deliver.

In a guest bath or secondary bath, a generous single is often the better choice. A well-designed 48-inch single vanity with good storage reads as considered — not as a compromise. Do not force a double vanity into a space that cannot accommodate it. The proportions will always look wrong, and the reduced counter depth that results from cramming a double into a tight space creates daily frustration.

Sizing your vanity correctly

Standard vanity depth is 21 inches. Going to 24 inches gives significantly more counter space and feels more substantial — the counter no longer looks like a ledge. Standard height is 32–34 inches; a comfort height of 36 inches is increasingly requested and is appropriate for most adults. If two people of significantly different heights share the vanity, there is no universally correct answer, but 34–35 inches is often the best compromise.

Custom sizing means you do not have to choose between these dimensions — we build to the dimensions that work for the space and the people using it. This is the most practical advantage of a custom vanity over a stock unit: the dimensions are the right dimensions, not the available ones.

Material selection for the bathroom environment

Bathrooms present real humidity and temperature variation, which means material selection is more critical here than in any other room. Painted maple and alder hold up extremely well in bathroom environments when properly sealed. Both species have dense, even grain that accepts paint smoothly and provides a stable substrate through seasonal humidity changes.

White oak can be used in bathrooms but requires a more durable topcoat than kitchen applications — a catalyzed lacquer or conversion varnish rather than a hardwax oil or open-pore finish. The beauty of white oak in a bathroom is real; the maintenance commitment is also real. Avoid MDF for bathroom vanity boxes and doors. It absorbs moisture and will fail — the face will bubble, the edges will swell, and there is no recovery once it starts.

Storage configuration that actually works

Vanity storage is about the space below and the wall above. Below the counter, full-extension drawers serve most items better than doors — everything is visible, everything is reachable without crouching. Reserve 1–2 doors for tall items like hair dryers and curling irons that will not fit in a standard drawer. Above the counter, a medicine cabinet recessed into the wall is almost always worth doing when the wall allows it — it adds meaningful storage without taking counter space.

Sink configuration options

Undermount sinks are the standard in custom vanities — clean, easy to wipe down, elegant in profile. The counter surface runs to the sink rim with no lip to trap water or soap residue. Vessel sinks are visually striking but the practical concerns are genuine: they raise the effective use height of the counter, they are more difficult to clean around, and the faucet placement requires more deliberate coordination. For clients who want a vessel, we design the cabinet height accordingly so the final use height remains comfortable.

Integrated stone sinks and cast concrete are for clients who want something truly singular — a countertop and basin that are a single sculptural object. The choice of sink affects the height of the cabinet and the selection of faucet, and this coordination needs to happen in the drawing phase, not after production has begun.

"A drawer that opens silently and closes on its own, a sink that sits at exactly the right height, a finish that still looks new after ten years — this is what custom means in a bathroom."

Finish options: painted, stained, and specialty

Conversion varnish over paint is the most durable bathroom finish. It creates a hard, chemically resistant film that handles the daily accumulation of water, soap, and steam far better than standard lacquer or alkyd paint. Satin or semi-gloss sheens resist moisture better than matte and are easier to wipe down — matte finishes in a bathroom tend to absorb moisture at the micro level and look dingy within a year.

For stained wood in a bathroom, a high-quality catalyzed lacquer or UV-cured finish is essential — not optional. Wire-brushed white oak with a hardwax oil finish is stunning but requires more maintenance than most clients want to commit to. Know what you are committing to before you specify it: annual re-oiling, careful drying after splashing, and a different cleaning protocol than a sealed finish.

Coordinating with your plumber and tile contractor

The vanity arrives with boxes and doors ready for installation. Plumbing rough-in needs to align precisely with drawer positions and door swing clearances — a drain that lands inside a drawer run is a problem that cannot be fixed after the cabinet is set. We provide shop drawings showing exact plumbing locations before production begins, and we expect your plumber to confirm rough-in matches the drawings before we ship.

Tile installation typically happens after the vanity is in place; we coordinate staging with your general contractor or tile setter so the sequence is correct and neither trade is waiting on the other. If you are ready to discuss your project, reach out and we will begin with a conversation about what the space requires.