We're redoing everything so I'd also be open to suggestions about tile that would work with the vanity, lighting, etc. 2 teenage girls are sharing this small bathroom, so we need storage, so I'd like to find a nice looking medicine cabinet that would fit with the "beach house" vibe of the rest of this house.

We remodeled with a plan to have a 2 inch gap between a ready-made vanity and the wall. But then I read here in the forums that there is a minimum required distance if vanities are not built in. So I changed our plan. I'm a bit of a safety-sue rule-follower, though.

That will not have enough clearance to each side to clean. You would need a 42” if you can find it, or 36” if you want to use stock sizes. Beware cheepchinesecrapola vanities sold online. You don’t want to buy again in a couple of years time.

The best, most efficient, and easiest, choice is going to be cabinet components from a cabinet shop. With the help the designer there to pull it together with you. And their contractors to do the work.

We have looked into having a custom cabinet made for the bathroom, but the difference is price is $1,500 at a minimum. Is that worth it to not have a 2" or so gap on either side of the vanity?

This bathroom is shared by our 16 & 14 year old daughters, so I'm hesitant to lose storage by going with a smaller vanity.

My contractor didn't seem to think there'd be any safety issues with leaving a gap. I'm curious what you read benjesbride.

Try to clean liquid foundation or an exploding eye shadow out of a 2” gap. Or paint that wall.

The prefab vanity is in our master bath. In our girls bathroom we used ikea Sektion kitchen cabinets. We’re pleased with that choice. The counter depth and height works well for us. Maybe it’s an option for you.

Cleaning that gap may prove problematic. The countertop has a tiny bit of an overhang. You might consider adding a 2" white painted trim board horizontally on each wall beside of the wood part of the vanity that would be overlapped by that countertop in order to prevent actual items such as combs, brushes, hair clips, etc., from falling down between the vanity and the wall. Otherwise you could probably use a duster to clean beneath that trim.

I agree with Beth. I have a similar situation in my 90’s built home and my designer recommended that I do what Beth suggested. It saves a lot of money

This is probably a silly suggestion but could you get a vanity without countertop, have the top fabricated to sides of wall with corresponding trim pieces on edges to make the vanity appear to fill the space? I think I would do my most creative thinking to avoid that gap.

that's a cute vanity!

i don't know your bath layout, but can you push the vanity all the way to one side, so you have a 4 inch gap on the other side instead of 2 inches on both sides? you might be able to do something in the 4 inch space, like drywall in a storage niche with shelves or a medicine cabinet too?

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Two questions: if the new vanity is taller do you need to worry about it intersecting with the window trim? And, what’s behind the other wall that’s boxing in the vanity?