Not an expert..but usually people either increase storage, or strive to preserve visual lightness, or somehow try to make a compromise between the two( your first pic)

On your rough plan, it seems to me you give up a little bit on both.

Now, if you'll have an upper cabinet in the middle, as you write(it's not on the plan, so I just hope I understood you correctly)-then yes, it will make the look more balanced I guess, and will make more sense in terms of function too.

As for the doors/drawer faces-it depends on what wood you want. And whether you prefer stained or painted. Say walnut or teak are so beautiful(to me) I'd leave them in flat panel.

If I want painted-then I'd go with shaker, unless I'm after very contemporary style.

Also, depends on the width of the drawers of course.

Yours is easier to clean under than the inspiration piece, although that piece has toe kicks under the lower parts. You probably don't see many pieces designs like the inspiration because many people use standard vanities with standard designs, and/or want to maximize storage and have easy access to the plumbing underneath. The plumbing in this situation has to be in very specific positions to work with the drawers I am assuming.

If you don't mind the extra work keeping the floor clean underneath and a bit of lost storage, I think it's fine. I thinks sometimes there is an issue of too much storage in vanities, it leads to an accumulation of junk. I look at a lot of real estate, and I've seen one drawer used for the important stuff and the rest crammed with expired cosmetics, over the counter stuff and random bits and pieces of stuff like broken blow dryers and empty containers more times than I can count.

The inspiration photo uses vessel sinks. Vessel sinks mean that the bowl depth does not take up cabinet depth. An undermount sink, like you wish to use, will effectively eat up the first drawer depth. The second drawer depth will become your drain/trap space. Perhaps the pipe down can be in the wall. In the inspiration photo, I bet it is hidden behind those baskets and perhaps a false panel.

I am a woman with a leggy vanity and a pipe hidden behind a basket. :)

Your bathroom, your choice. Everyone has different needs and uses for their personal spaces. While taking into account your storage needs (and those you foresee in future as best you can), if you have a vanity that looks like everyone else's, where is your own style?

Regarding plumbing under the sink, there are attractive alternatives to the uber-homely standard P-trap. Good luck with your project!

You can get a semi-vessel sink that only partially sits on top of the counter while the rest is inside the cabinet. Many a drawer box can be reshaped to fit around a sink basin with some but not all loss to storage needs.

Thanks all for the comments so far! I would pair with Robern medicine cabinets to give me the needed storage, so think I'm ok with the limited vanity storage. And I am certainly guilty of too much junk in the vanity like palimpsest mentions...wouldn't be bad to pare it back. I do like the "legs" in this construction as being more unique, like mickey2525 mentions.