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xilex1

How to design the vanity on this small bathroom

last year

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice for this bathroom remodel. This bathroom will have a tub/shower. I know the render looks bad, but I don't know how to do a tiled bathtub/shower.


I have left 13 inches from the toilet center on each side. Do you think that is not good? Otherwise I will have to shrink to a 36" wide vanity.


The vanity is 39" wide. In this room, would it be be better to go all drawers instead of two drawers and a cabinet? Would floating help a little bit? I don't think the top section with the sink will be accessible. I thought about doing something like a 24" with sink + cabinet doors and 15" drawers, but having the sink to either edge is a little awkward. I have the height at 34 1/2" with countertop.


What about the mirror? Is it better to keep it within the vanity area, or extend it over the toilet? I am also considering a recessed medicine cabinet that is a wide one.


Thank you.





Comments (7)

  • last year

    Toilets require 15" each side from centre. I believe that is still code in North America.

  • PRO
    last year

    Code for a toilet is 15" from center to any obstruction.

    That does not mean it is a comfortable space, it simply means "not less than"

    I would use a 30" or 33" vanity. I would use an UNDER mounted sink.

    Make sure you know or can move sink drain/center for a new vanity.

    There are plenty online in these sizes, and it is not much more expensive to do custom.

    Banjo tops are very dated looking, jmo and you center a medicine or mirror over whatever vanity you select.


    xilex1 thanked JAN MOYER
  • PRO
    last year

    Code firat then the vanity which will then be narrower than what you have. The mirror IMO only above the vanity . I like all drawers and wall hung in small spaces .

  • last year

    I am also considering a recessed medicine cabinet that is a wide one.

    If the mirror wall is a supporting wall--you will need to install a header to redistribute the load. And, if this wall is an exterior wall, there is insulation that you don't want to disturb/ remove. Both were the case in one of my bathrooms so I chose to recess a medicine cabinet in the side wall next to the vanity. It is a small bathroom with a 60" vanity. I reused the existing 5' wide mirror because it was the best option.

    Note that all of the banjo tops in the photos above die into a wall. That isn't possible in your bathroom.

    The vanity is 39" wide. In this room, would it be be better to go all drawers instead of two drawers and a cabinet?

    You are going to have to downsize the vanity to 33" wide to meet code. Whether or not you can use a vanity with any drawers is going to depend on how your plumbing is routed. Does the supply & drain enter thru the bottom/ floor of the vanity or does it all come out thru the back wall? Drawer options for narrow vanities are limited and the drawers will almost always/ always be compromised by the sink bowl & plbg.

    I have left 13 inches from the toilet center on each side.

    Noting that this is a remodel, it is usually best to leave the toilet where it is. Sometimes the location can be nudged a couple of inches & it isn't a big deal. Or, if the bathroom is on a slab or a floor joist is in the way, those couple of inches may not be worth the trouble & expense.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    As others have said, you have to have 30" for the toilet -- 15" on each side of the centerline. So, realistically, you're going to have a 36" vanity. Unless you can steal a few inches from the shower? But moving the toilet stack is real money.

    What I'd do with the vanity:

    - Choose a vanity with an off-set sink, which will maximize the drawer space on one side only. Remember, if you can have a 10" drawer, you'll only get 8" storage space, as the hardware will rob you of about an inch on each side.

    - For a minimal-sized vanity, I like the layout of the drawers in the picture I shared. You'll almost certainly store toilet paper under the sink anyway -- don't spend wrap-around-the-pipes drawer money on that.

    - Be sure your vanity is a full 36" tall -- if you're tall, maybe you could even go a touch higher.

    - Go with an undermount sink, which will streamline your counter top /won't steal any of your very limited counter top.

    - Consider a wall-mounted faucet -- again, to preserve your limited counter space.

    - Keep your sink just a bit petite -- or at least don't go over-sized. In such a small space, everything's a compromise.

    - Yes to a medicine cabinet, but I'd put it on the wall to the right of the sink /not dead ahead.

    - The space above the toilet is probably your best space for storing towels. I'd go with a train rack or a built-in cabinet above the toilet -- pictures below.

    - One negative: I don't see an obvious place for your hand towel. Perhaps you could find a train rack that'd allow you to hang a hand towel over the toilet?

    - In general, I like larger mirrors, but -- in this particular space -- a mirror over the toilet means a man using the toilet would be looking at himself while he ... well, you know.

    - Is it possible to run the mirror the width of the room AND mount a cabinet on top of it? If so, that could bounce light around, while still maximizing light.









    xilex1 thanked Mrs Pete
  • last year

    I checked measurements more carefully. The original bathroom layout already had a 36 inch vanity. There is 17 inches to the left of the toilet center, and about 14.5 to the right. The wall opposite this bathroom is also another bathroom and I have recessed a cabinet into this same wall.


    The first has a non-recessed medicine cabinet. The second has a wall mirror and then a recessed smaller cabinet on the right. What do you think?