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sarahbr2

Custom built vanities: What wood? Paint or stain? What colors?

10 years ago

Cross posting in the bathroom forum as well. We are having 5 vanities built for our house. We have to pick wood species and which are painted/stained. The painted, I think, will be maple. The others, we can pick different woods/stains. Any strong thoughts? Are some woods especially nice and or durable? I keep liking white for the kids bathroom (which doesn't get a ton of light), and the master (which will be a gray floor, and marble shower...though today I saw a darker stand wood that looked nice with marble so now I am second guessing that). In general I like white but don't want everything to be all the same. Most of the tiles are gray/griege colors, no tans. I think stained might be nice for the powder room, which has no windows but will be the main bathroom guests will use, so it seems it should be a little "nicer." Here are the tile choices. Any help is much appreciated!

Master: gray floor, marble 4" x 12" shower walls and behind tub, marble basketweave shower floor.



Guest room: gray floor, weave shower floor, griege rectangles (laid subway style) in shower



Kids bathroom: gray floor, white subway tile above tub (didn't take a good picture of this, it's the bottom)


Downstairs full bath: gray floor, white subway shower walls, white/gray basketweave shower floor.


Powder room: gray floor laid herringbone style


Comments (10)

  • 10 years ago

    Thanks for the input cpartist. I should add, none of the bathrooms will have tiled walls (just showers) so I was thinking of using some bright paints there. I do like colored vanities but for re-decorating purposes it seems risky. The kids, bath does have some light, there is a window but a doorway separates the vanity from the toilet/shower area (which is where the window is). Not sure if that changes anything? I was thinking the tub area would be all white, so the white vanity might balance it?

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    I love it! I think your choices are current and classic at the same time. What you have chosen is exactly what I was seeing at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. I think you are smart to add color where it can easily be changed, like paint and accessories. Listen, people's tastes will vary, so get other's feedback, but ultimately, go with what you like. You have great taste, if you ask me.

    sarahbr2 thanked Build Your House Yourself University (BYHYU)
  • 10 years ago

    Thanks BYHYU. I second guess everything so that was actually really reassuring to me. Making all these expensive decisions in such a small amount of time makes me so nervous. cpartist- I just went to the house and took a picture of the kids bath. This is natural light, so while there's no window right in the vanity area, it's fairly well lit. That window is southern facing.

  • 10 years ago

    I feel that the room gets light but has lots of shadows so again would be more inclined to use an interesting color on the walls at least.

    sarahbr2 thanked cpartist
  • 10 years ago

    These decisions are scary. It looks like you have made good choices. Just don't let any boy children use your bathroom if you put marble on the floor :-)

    these colors are nice and neutral. I would think they will work with whatever you choose for the cabinetry. My personal mantra when I built my last house was "anything permanent has to be neutral".

    sarahbr2 thanked ILoveRed
  • 10 years ago

    Can you share the dimensions of the vanity you are having built? We are in the planning stages & I am having a hard time figuring out what size the boy's vanities should be.

    Also, I like your picks a lot! But I tend to be of the mindset that goes with neutral on more permanent items and colors on things that can be changed. I agree with BYHYU - go with what you really like.

  • 10 years ago

    Storey03- we have having 5 built. They are 36, 36, 44, 80, and the master which I don't see the exact dimension on the drawing but something around 120? They are basically determined by the plan.

  • 10 years ago

    I love your selections...I actually really like stained wood with classic marble finishes. I think it's classic and beautiful. Would you mind sharing your sources? I really love many of them. Just a thought....we recently gutted our master bathroom, with marble countertops, and shower pan floor. While it's gorgeous, I'll never do marble in the shower again. You can't bleach it! We have cleaners come every two weeks, and I clean a bit in between, but it's hard to keep the grout clean without bleach....just something to consider. I think it would be great in a guest bathroom that will not be used often.

  • 10 years ago

    Lizzie- all the tiles are from Best Tile. I could look up the names if you want but unless you get them from that store, I think each store makes their own name for everything? Was the marble that awful? We are buying the grout additive that is supposed to seal it so it never has that problem. They assured me it works (but who knows). I was so nervous about using real stone since I did want to avoid it but the store and the one designer I spoke to all said I would have no issues if I sealed it once a year (and they said that would take only a few minutes). Should I be worried?