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tmnca

Kitchen cabinets as bathroom vanities?

Tmnca
8 years ago

Our master bath has a 104" long vanity/countertop (with chair/makeup space we don't use) along the wall. We'd like to replace it but I cant find vanities this long. Ikea kitchen cabinets seem like a good solution though they are 2" deeper than the existing cabinets there is space. Has anyone used kitchen cabinets for bathrooms?

Comments (25)

  • User
    8 years ago

    Any cabinet line carries vanities just like they do kitchen cabinets. Go visit a local cabinet dealer. That extra 3" in depth IS a big deal in a small bath or when you are trying to lean over it and use the mirror, or clean all, of the space that will now be behind the bowl.

  • Vertise
    8 years ago

    If you don't find what you want, you can order cabinets a different depth. I don't know what the upcharge is.

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    We are doing Ikea cabinets for our kitchen, and it looked like they would make great bathroom cabinets. We don't have the budget for custom and it might be nice if the style matches the kitchen, too. We don't lean over to use the mirror, and our current vanity is 22 & 3/4" deep I really doubt an extra 1 &1/4" would be a huge deal. It's either that or buy a furniture-style vanity on overstock and have to clean underneath the thing... and have space at both ends. I do not understand the trend for furniture-style vanities in bathrooms!


    Also Ikea has 15" deep base cabinets, if the depth was a problem, I think we could mount these 5" away from the wall and then attach blocking to the wall to help support countertop.

  • User
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Vanities are a standard 18" or 21". Kitchen cabinets are 24" There are code required clearances in a bathroom that may not be met when using a deeper vanity. How much room to the nearest obstruction would you have in front of the vanity? Also, a standard off the shelf 22" vanity top won't fit and you will need custom, which increases the costs. You may end up in deficit mode rather than coming out ahead.

  • silken1
    8 years ago

    Can't you just order several units? Once in place and screwed together, they just look like one long run, covered with the counter top, just like a kitchen is put together.

  • User
    8 years ago

    Can't you just get a smaller two-sink vanity and leave some space between it and the wall? Don't go as small as a 60" though.

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    silken1, I don't think multiple "furniture style" vanities would look good together, they have legs at each corner and also they come with countertops and sinks all ready to go. I haven't found any I liked that are "built in" style.

    mayflowers, yes I have considered a smaller vanity and leaving space, but the space will be wasted and I don't think it will look good. The bathroom is not very small at all but not huge either. From the door, the vanity is along the entire left wall, directly behind the door is the tub/shower combo, then a wall dividing it from the toilet. I made a mockup in Ikea kitchen planner below.

    We are always short on storage in our condo and I don't have to give up cabinet space, or have wasted 1' or so at each end of a vanity so things can fall off, difficult to clean, etc. I made a mockup of how the kitchen cabinets would work here. There would not be clearance issues cause by a 1 & 1/4" change.

    We're converting the door to a pocket door since it opens against the tub now, tub will be a walk in shower.

  • silken1
    8 years ago

    I am thinking of the kind you order that would have toe kicks. Just like putting an entire kitchen together with pieces, only they make bathroom pieces that are more shallow. You could check site like Thomasville (ordered thru Home depot) or any cabinet manufacturer. The legs are added on after so would only be on the 2 ends on styles where you want legs. But if they are completely open underneath, then this likely won't work.

  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    Did you try Barkers? You can order the hints in different depths. Scherrs is also another company that will make you what you need.

    Good luck!

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    No I haven't tried those, I like the style and hardware Ikea uses, plus the store is 2 blocks away. I was just wondering if anyone else had used Ikea kitchen cabinets in a bathroom and so far I hear no real reason not to. I googled it and found tons of great examples of Ikea cabinets in bathrooms, and I think it would be nice to match styles with the kitchen. I also do not want to pay for custom orders, it's a couple thousand more that way.

  • PRO
    Cabot & Rowe
    8 years ago

    Two of our latest baths were designed using ikea base cabinets. On one we had to shorten the depth by a few inches. A table saw made quick work of that. Ikea offers 2 drawer depths, both 21 and 15 inches. Use the drawer that fits your new depth.

  • badgergal
    8 years ago

    There are many cabinet manufactures that offer bathroom vanity components in various widths. You can decide what width you want each component as well as the door and drawer placement. When the components are put together it will look like a continuous vanity.

    i used Bertch bath cabinets in my MB. My daughter used Fieldstone cabinets and my son used Legacy cabinets. We were all pleased with our choices. Like Sophie said almost all cabinet manufacturers offer a line of bath cabinets.

  • PRO
    User
    8 years ago

    I have used IKEA kitchen cabinets many times as bathroom vanities. It is a simple task to rip the frames down from 24" to a 19"-20" vanity cabinet depth, and to use short toekicks to bring the height down from the standard 36" to around 33". Here is a pic of one project (using the former "Abstrakt" (now "Ringhult") style doors:


    Bathroom Reno with Statuario and Thasos Marble · More Info

    Bathroom Reno with Statuario and Thasos Marble · More Info

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Yes, they do badgergal- but Ikea cabinets are actually excellent quality for much less expensive for what you get, and we are definitely using Ikea cabinets in the kitchen so it would be convenient to order them all there, and they would match in style.

    Cabot & Rowe yes we can use shallower drawers and in fact they now offer 15" base cabinets so if for some reason we can't go with 24" we could use 15" deep and just add blocking behind them (ie not fasten to the rail system on the wall).


    I'm still looking at the overstock vanities, because they are much cheaper altogether and come with sinks and tops - I like this one, but it's the longest and 80" so there would be exactly 1' on either side and I just think that would look sloppy.

    here's a photo of the bathroom now, BTW

  • PRO
    User
    8 years ago

    Here is another bathroom vanity i made made using cut-down IKEA kitchen cabinets:



    Bathroom Reno with Feature Wall in Shower · More Info

    Bathroom Reno with Feature Wall in Shower · More Info

  • sheloveslayouts
    8 years ago

    I've seen a Sektion bathroom vanity, but I couldn't find it by googling. I say go for it!

    We're putting Ikea base cabs in one of our bathrooms. I don't like free-standing vanities that I'll have to clean under and I don't think you can beat the price for a DIY 5'6" vanity (18" drawer stack + 24" sink base + 18" drawer stack.) We're all taller than average around here, so the depth isn't a concern for us.

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Home Reborn, those are beautiful - exactly the kind of thing I had in mind. Many vanities are taller and I actually want a taller one since ours at 30" feels way too low for washing face and DH shaving, splashing everywhere. The overstock one I was looking at is 35" but I don't know if that's to the counter or the backsplash top.

    The Ikea cabinets plus countertop and sink will actually be more expensive than a pre-made one but I think it will look better, and maybe we can get a deal on the granite since we are doing the kitchen and bathrooms.

  • jakkom
    8 years ago

    Sure you can use a kitchen cab. I did. We did a double base because I wanted it taller than average (even my petite 5' mother loved it). It's just a single cab in an alcove, not the extended double-sink you're doing. We put a narrow shelf to hide the back "gap" and it's so handy, I'm sorry now I didn't do it in our second bathroom!

    Tmnca thanked jakkom
  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    pippabean, yes the great drawers are one of the big attractions - I am planning for maximum drawers in kitchen and bathroom, I hate digging to the back of cupboards, and in a condo with a carport instead of a garage we are always looking for ways to use storage space we have in the house. Your dual sink layout is similar to what I planned - 3 drawer cabinets interspersed with the sink cabinets.

    We have a vessel sink in our powder room, but wondered if they would serve as well in a master bath - are there any issues with toothbrushing, shaving etc and cleaning it - or do you find that stuff actually stays inside better? The vessel sink is perfect for the powder room as it is our primary handwashing spot handy from coming in from outside, cleaning the cat litter, etc.

  • mrspete
    8 years ago

    You don't want the 24" cabinets.

    Recently we stayed in a rental condo, and the first part of the week I kept thinking -- not really studying on it -- something's odd about this bathroom sink. I found it a bit uncomfortable. I felt too far from the mirror, and at first I thought it was a trick of the lighting ... I blamed it on the lack of natural light /sconce lights above the mirror instead of beside it ... but after a couple days I actually stopped and LOOKED at the details of the bathroom, and I realized that the vanity was deeper than ours at home (which is standard). I decided I didn't like it: I'm very short, and I didn't particularly like the extra space between me and the sink ... and the extra space between me and the mirror.

    If I had this 24" deep cabinet all the time, would I become used to it? Maybe. But most of us value floor space more than deep counter tops /deep drawers in the bathroom.

    On the other hand, if you could have kitchen cabinets that're more narrow, no problem.

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    mrspete Our contractor can rip some depth off the backs of the cabinets or Ikea also has 15" deep cabinets which can be mounted with the appropriate space behind and blocking on the wall to support countertop. However I know I would not have an issue with 24" cabinets, we don't lean over at the mirror - why would we? We can see ourselves from where we stand - I know everyone has their own habits but I hate our short vanity that feels like when I wash my face I am bending halfway to the floor, I definitely want it at least a few inches taller! We have plenty of floor space in the bathroom already, and will have more once the door becomes a pocket door.

  • User
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    tmnca - We chose large sinks, so we have barely any water splashing on the counter. At any rate, the quartz wipes clean very easily if needed. Plus I fashioned in-sink soap holders out of kitchens skimmers, that way soap scum stays within the sinks too :-)

    Regarding cabinet layout: during planning I found that I could gain the most practical and usable storage by putting the sinks on the narrowest cabinets possible, which allowed wider drawer cabs flanking the sinks. Most double sink vanities I've seen do the opposite, the sinks rest on the widest cabinets. Not smart, as the plumbing won't allow the use of stock drawers.

    mrspete - the key for comfortable use of the sink lies in the size of the sink. Our sinks are normal distance from the counter top edge, so no need to bend forward.

    As to the extra 3" distance to the mirror, a wall mounted makeup mirror next to the sink comes in handy for applying makeup etc.

  • Nancy in Mich
    8 years ago

    I say go for it, as long as there is a full 24" between the end of the toilet and the edge of the new cabinet. That is the most important of the measurements that Sophie Wheeler is above referencing, I believe. You also need to make sure that the wider vanity does not interfere with any shower door. Since this is a master bathroom, the height is fine. If anyone after you wants to put in a side mirror to be closer to it, or a telescoping small mirror, they are free to do so. Those of us with poor eyesight sometimes do appreciate a close-up mirror to do the duties like hair plucking or nose-hair monitoring. If you don't have that issue, though, why should your comfort be ruled by unknown "somebodies" from the future? If there is only an inch and a half difference from what you have now, and the toilet and shower door won't be too close, then do it! LOTS of new vanities are the full 36" high.

  • Tmnca
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    nancyinmich, there is almost 4' between vanity and toilet and over 3' of space (40") between shower doors and 24" vanity. No clearance issues in this bathroom.

    pippabean, thanks for the additional pics of your beautiful bathroom - great inspiration!