15 Small-Bathroom Vanity Ideas That Rock Style and Storage

1. Custom-Made Vanity

Bathrooms of all sizes require that you be smart with space planning. This is especially true in a small bathroom, where every inch counts. If you choose a vanity that doesn’t quite fit, you can end up wasting valuable space.

For this bathroom in Toronto, interior designer Kate Dickson opted for a custom floating vanity, complete with a ledge that runs the length of the wall. The custom piece adds storage and counter space, and it fits the space perfectly. “It’s worth every penny in the long run,” Dickson says.

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2. Floating Vanity

In addition to being efficient with space planning, there are also design moves that can help create the illusion of a larger bathroom. “Floating the toilet and the vanity makes the room feel bigger by providing more visual space underneath,” says Susan Ozipko of sO Interiors, who designed this bathroom in Ottawa, Ontario. It also makes the floor easier to clean.

Karhu Fine Cabinetry & Millwork fabricated the maple vanity, which is topped with a quartz counter. Towels and the wastebasket are stored inside the vanity, keeping visual clutter down.

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3. Open Towel Shelf

Wall-mounted sinks and counters are useful in small bathrooms, but they often lack the valuable storage that a hardworking small space needs.

In this basement bathroom in Chevy Chase, Maryland, interior designer Melissa Cooley and project developer TJ Monahan of Case Design/Remodeling added a supported floating shelf beneath the counter. It maintains the open, light style of the bathroom while also providing valuable towel storage.

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4. Repurposed Furniture

Converting a midcentury modern cabinet isn’t the simplest bathroom vanity idea for a small bathroom, but it definitely will add drama to a space that has limited room to make a statement. “It looks fantastic and definitely has the character we were after,” says Tanya Mclean, who designed this bathroom in Vancouver, British Columbia, with Nichole Skladan. The pair runs Mango Design Co.

Tips for converting a vanity: Mclean advises finding the piece of furniture you want to use and then designing the space around it. “It is very difficult to specify the appropriate sink and faucet when you don’t know the dimensions of the vanity,” she says. Sink dimensions in relation to the vanity and the faucet, along with spout reach and faucet height, are all factors you’ll need to know.

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5. Custom Furniture-Like Vanity

Similar to the previous photo, this small bathroom in San Jose, California, has a vanity that appears to be made from a midcentury modern piece of furniture. In reality, it’s actually a custom vanity designed to look like an antique dresser.

By creating a custom vanity, the homeowner and designer Pamela Lin of Urbanism Designs were able to specify exactly what they wanted. This means personalized vanity storage, including an organizer for a hair dryer and curling iron. The hair tools are plugged in through the cabinet, so the homeowner can simply take them out of their holders and turn them on to use.

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6. Built-In Lighting

After browsing small-bathroom vanity ideas, the next challenge is figuring where to put everything around it, including lighting.

For this bathroom in Atlanta, interior designer Michelle Fee built the lighting right into the vanity and mirror. “The electric mirror gives off plenty of lumens for task lighting without the need for an additional light fixture, which allowed us to maximize the mirror space,” she says.

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7. Slim Sink and Washstand

In a small bathroom in Pasadena, California, interior designer Marilynn Taylor of The Taylored Home replaced a pedestal sink with a new narrower sink and washstand. The retro look fits the bathroom’s 1930s style, and the shape better covers the wall of the bathroom while projecting out into the space less. The open shelf and drawer give the small space additional storage.

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8. Corner Storage

Placing the sink in a corner creates opportunity for more storage. In this bathroom in Santa Cruz, California, interior designer Christie Hausmann installed a custom wall-mount cabinet on the wall next to the sink, recessing it into the wall to keep the bathroom feeling open and uncluttered. Open shelving on the right displays more curated accessories, while cabinet doors on the left conceal less-decorative essentials, such as toilet paper.

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9. Small Double-Sink Vanity

You don’t need a large bathroom in order to have a double vanity, as this design in Washington, D.C., shows. Amy and Scott Herbert of Aesthetic Answers used one long, narrow sink and mounted a faucet on either end.

The vanity is 60 inches long, running the length of the bathroom. The faucets sit at an angle on the side of the sink, as that was the only way the designers could fit everything into the space.

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10. TV Console Double Vanity

Here is another small bathroom double-vanity idea. Designer Michelle Schmauder of the Schmauder Group converted a TV console into a vanity for this small bathroom in Alexandria, Virginia.

“This piece was easier to convert into a vanity in terms of plumbing, because we didn’t have to cut around drawers like we would have had to with a dresser,” Schmauder says. It also offers plenty of storage.

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11. Matching Materials

Small bathrooms often reside in small houses, so it can be good for creating a cohesive design (and be cost-effective) to keep the whole home in mind when designing the bathroom. In the case of this bathroom in Toronto, interior designer Paul Stewart of Projekt Home pulled in the same engineered-pin wood floors and used the same wood finish on the vanity as he did for the kitchen cabinets. “By simplifying and remaining consistent with materials, it gives the illusion of a larger space,” Stewart says.

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12. Elegant Mirrored Vanity

Mirrors are great design aids in small spaces — especially dark ones. They reflect light to create the illusion of a lighter and brighter space.

In this bathroom makeover by Sharon Pett of Pett & Associates, a mirrored vanity adds elegance and reflects light to help make the space feel larger.

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13. Drawers Instead of Doors

In a small basement bathroom, light finishes help make the windowless space feel bright and airy. But the designers also made the most of this small space by placing the vanity all the way in the corner. Cabinet doors wouldn’t be able to fully open against the wall, but drawers do just fine. Storage baskets add even more storage.

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14. Converted Sewing Machine Table Base

At 32½ square feet (3 square meters), this bathroom designed by Nicole White in Miami Shores, Florida, is one of the smallest on the list. A custom sewing machine table base vanity might not be for everyone — and doesn’t offer the most in terms of storage — but it’s surely a creative one-of-a-kind design.

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