Deeper bathroom vanity?

11 years ago

The only storage in our hall/kid bathroom after remodel will be the vanity (and maybe a recessed medicine cabinet depending on stud location). We will only have about 30 inches in width. But we could make the vanity deeper than standard. Plenty of room to go to 24 inches deep or even more.

But is that a good idea? It would make it farther to lean over to reach into the medicine cabinet and see into the mirror.

Thanks!

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Georgi

11 years ago

Accidentally ended up with 24" deep custom vanity in our master (34" high). It's very nice to have the additional counter space and corresponding drawer depth. But using the mirrors for putting on makeup is a "stretch" that I don't enjoy. Happy we opted for all drawers (some are shorter because of plumbing). Love your idea of a pullout stool.

FYI - our Kohler Caxton sink begins at 4 1/2" from the front edge and the faucet is 2" from the backsplash. We just guessed at these dimensions, but they seem ok. We also messed up on the overhead lighting - too far out at 10".

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Comments (7)

btnik
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
If you're not too short, then reaching over the counter will not be that different than reaching over a kitchen counter, which is usually 24". As far as reaching into the cabinets, I would really recommend full-extension drawers. No more getting down on your hands and knees to reach into a cabinet. I wouldn't do pullouts behind doors, because when they are open even a bit, the door sticks out at a 90 degrees, where people can run into it and break it (ask me how I know). No advantage over plain drawers, at least in a bath vanity.

As far as the medicine cabinet goes, don't worry about where the studs are. You can reframe around the cabinet location. Be more concerned about pipes and vents in the wall. Those are harder to relocate.
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Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks! This bathroom will be for my kids, who are currently 11 and 4. So I don't know how tall they will be. I'm planning on the 36 inch height (with counter) and a pullout step stool for my youngest so she can reach to wash her hands.

The vanity will be custom and it will be mostly full extension drawers, with a door for access to the plumbing and to store some cleaning supplies.
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btnik
11 years ago
Yeah, go for the taller vanity height. I'm 6'4" and hate low counters. Kids grow fast, and there's nothing wrong with using a stool. (We did a floating vanity for the boys' bath, so the stool slid right under it, back when they needed it.)
lworlund
9 years ago
You could always install an accordion arm mirror --restoration hardware makes nice ones
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mrspete
9 years ago
A year or two ago we stayed in a Florida condo where the bathroom mirror felt "off". It took me a couple days to realize that the vanity was deeper than normal. I probably would've grown used to it, if it were mine forever. If you do this, be sure you have good lighting; perhaps it was just the bathroom in our rental, but I couldn't see as well to do my make-up.

Last weekend we stayed at a place at the beach with high bathroom vanities. I hated them. Of course, I'm not quite 5' tall.
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Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks guys. This is an old post. The bathroom has been done for over a year now. We like the tall vanities a lot. I have one in our master as well.

The deeper one has been fine for the kids. I have used it a few times and I don't love it for doing make up so it is just a bit of a trade off--more storage for less convenience for certain tasks.