Bathroom vanity question (likes & dislikes)

In about 2 weeks there will be a bathroom remodel done here at my house. One of the replacements will be a new vanity and I'd like some opinions, please.

I'm looking at traditional vanities with the toe-kick and also vanities that are resting on feet about 3½ inches tall. Anybody have a vanity with the short little feet and how do you like it? I've always been used to the toe-kick type but am open to newer models if I can get a few opinions. Good or bad, I'd like to hear your thoughts on this type of cabinet.

Yes, I realize one sitting on feet will be a dust bunny haven but I'd still like your thoughts.

Reply to
ItsJoanNotJoann
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Talk about your girlie questions;-)

Reply to
Travis Bickle

No way would I use a fixed cabinet with feet. Can't be moved to clean and will just be a dirt collector. The trend in style seems to be feet though. Think about getting a mop under it. IMO, no matter how clean you are it is a haven for dust, bugs, mold, whatever.

We also have a single piece Swanstone top on our vanities that makes cleaning easy. The bowl tops look stylish, but we chose practicality over trendy looks.

My other recommendation is to go for quality as you are going to live with it every day for a long time. We went with Bertch for that reason.

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Self closing drawers, self closing doors that are quiet and high quality built.

We used Swanstone for both sink and shower bases in both bathrooms.

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Second choice would be an undermount sink.

You may have a problem with timing if you've not picked out and ordered fixtures yet. Some can take longer than 2 weeks to get.

In any case, a new bathroom is always a nice treat.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

"ItsJoanNotJoann" wrote

I'm looking at traditional vanities with the toe-kick and also vanities that are resting on feet about 3? inches tall. Anybody have a vanity with the short little feet and how do you like it?

I've installed both. I think it's merely a matter of personal taste. Personally I'd be inclined to consider the room: A stock vanity with a tile floor, feet on a wood floor. It doesn't have to be that way. I just think the version with feet looks more like furniture, so I'd be more inclined to use it in a bathroom that's less utilitarian looking. The more tile there is... the more it looks like you could hose it down if you wanted to... the less furniture will look right. Likewise with glass or ceramic bowl sinks on top of varnished wood cabinets. They're very atmospheric in a woody half-bath, but would look odd and vulnerable in a heavily tiled full bath.

Reply to
Mayayana

Thanks! It's a very small bathroom and yes, it will have lots of tile. I'm still looking but one thing I don't like at all and I see it on tv a lot are those vessel sinks. I washed my face in an enameled pan a lot when I was a kid at my grandparent's house and that's what those vessel sinks put me in mind of.

Reply to
ItsJoanNotJoann

We went another way and hung the counter top from the wall with nothing on the floor. It makes cleaning up in there a lot easier. That is also a wall hanger toilet. You can just run the mop everywhere.

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Reply to
gfretwell

I was going to put a full vanity in my bathroom, but went with the hanging sink as well. There is, of course, less space to put things, but I like having the big open space under the sink.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

"ItsJoanNotJoann" wrote

I don't like at all and I see it on tv a lot are those vessel sinks. I washed my face in an enameled pan a lot when I was a kid at my grandparent's house and that's what those vessel sinks put me in mind of.

Vessel sink. I didn't know that term. But that's what I meant. I know what you mean. They suggest the days before plumbing. I'm always afraid they'll leak. Something about a sink sitting atop a ribbon-stripe mahogany cabinet seems like it's asking for trouble. :)

For me the vanity-with-feet design is a milder version of that. Atmospheric. Potentially elegant. But it looks like furniture rather than fixture.

I was working at a job last week, closing in a sunporch. The customer had a small hallway, about

6' square, connecting LR, kitchen and cellar door. In there she had a ceramic sink mounted in a wood desk, a mirror, and a Toto toilet! The floor was 1x4 fir, I think. Privacy requires closing 3 doors. But she lives alone, so I guess it works fine. That's the kind of spot where I could see a vessel sink looking good.
Reply to
Mayayana

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com posted for all of us...

I like this idea. Especially since the OP states it will be a small area. Much easier to keep clean. Another thing to consider is storage in a vanity . That can be worked around. It will also be more expensive because the toile t connection will have to moved to the wall along with the support structure. Think about what stage of life your family is in when specifying the toilet : bowl height, shape, accessories. Contact your contractor to let them know what you are doing if going this way. Avoid late job trauma.

Reply to
Tekkie®

Others have mentioned the "wall hanging sink" which basically eliminates the hidden storage that a vanity provides, but allows for easy cleaning.

A pedestal sink essentially does both things just as well - no storage and easy floor cleaning, although the wall hanger does provide space for a shelf. If an enclosed vanity is a must, then obviously neither a wall hanging sink nor a pedestal sink will work for you.

I only bring this up because I'd like to add a word of caution about pedestal sinks:

They are a PITA to install and maintain. I'll admit that I like the look of the pedestal sink that SWMBO picked out, but the lack of access to the trap, the pop-up mechanism, the faucet, etc. makes me hate the fact that we have one.

It's not as bad now that it's just SWMBO and I, but when the long-haired girls lived at home, the sink would get clogged with hair. Removing the trap to clear the rat-tail every few months really sucked. You can't move the sink and you can't fit behind it, so you are basically working blind on the trap since it is inside the pedestal.

Rich Trethewey of This Old House says that installing a pedestal sink "is the graduate school of do-it-yourself projects". I agree. They can also be the "graduate school" of routine maintenance.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I went with this cabinet to store stuff. I needed the tambour door so it would not interfere with the bathroom door.

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Reply to
gfretwell

You spent money on a really nice cabinet just to hold bottle of body wash and a roll of toilet paper?

Oh wait...there's a pencil in there too. Now it makes sense. ;-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I really like the idea of the tambour door. I've only seen them on roll top desks. It certainly would eliminate the annoyance of doors banging against each other in your bathroom.

Go stand in the corner until you are told to come out.

I do like the hanging vanity cabinets as mentioned in this thread as I've seen them on tv quite a bit. If I had a LARGE bathroom they would certainly be a consideration. But this is a small bathroom and storage is at a premium in there so I opted for this vanity and wall cabinet which will go over the toilet.

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Thanks all; some interesting and helpful comments!!

Reply to
ItsJoanNotJoann

Spent money? Don't be ridiculous. All of that wood was rescued from construction dumpsters. I did buy the tambour track and the shelf brackets but they were cheap. That cabinet is pretty full right now. I was just checking the shelf height when I took the picture

Reply to
gfretwell

I got the track at a woodworking site on the net, the fabric was some old upholstery remnant we had when my wife bought some extra for chair arm covers and the strips are 3/4" molding scraps.

Reply to
gfretwell

I have used pedestal sinks at several vacation rentals and I hate them. There's no counter space to set a toothbrush, tube of toothpaste, shaving cream, washcloth, etc. It's even worse when traveling with a toiletry bag, and the specialty travel containers for toothbrushes and whatnot.

Yeah, they look nice, but that's all they've got going for them.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

We have a antique (telephone?) table next to our pedestal sink for toiletries, etc. When I redid the bathroom, I removed the inset medicine chest and turned it into a niche with a mirror mounted on the back wall.

Kind of like this, but with 2 shelf table instead of the dresser and a mirrored niche where the medicine chest is. The niche provides a small shelf for few items directly above the sink. There's a bowl for SWMBO's jewelry, a couple of small perfume bottles, etc.

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I've stayed at a few of those "old fashioned" hotels where they use pedestal sinks and provide no table or counter for toiletries. I always mention it to the front desk staff, who is often an owner. One lady in Upstate NY took me to a back room where they were refinishing a bunch of small tables and said "Come back next year, you'll be much happier."

We did and we were. :-)

Reply to
DerbyDad03

That works, but then you've used twice the space that a simple vanity cabinet would use.

I like the "look", I just don't like the functionality.

Anthony Watson

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Reply to
HerHusband

Yes and no. In my case, the layout of the (smallish) bathroom is such that a vanity with a centered sink left some wasted space to the left of the sink. The pedestal sink and table fill the space nicely and the garbage can fits nicely under the table, out of the way, but easily accessible.

We considered a vanity (which was there originally) but if we did that we would have extended the top off to the left and put the garbage can under it. In the end, the pedestal sink and spindle legged table made for much more open feel, even though there is actually an extra piece of furniture in the room.

I should add that it's mainly SWMBO's bathroom, so I'm not impacted by the counter space situation. ;-) I have my own bathroom with a wall mounted sink and a table of it's own. I also don't have nearly the amount of "stuff" that SWMBO has, so I don't need a vanity anyway.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Pretend the Gideons are coming. People need reading material at certain times. Smart phones drown.

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

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