10 Furniture Classics You Can Turn Into Bathroom Vanities
Craving a bespoke bathroom vanity? These 10 furniture classics can be transformed into unique functional vanities
The subject of repurposed bathroom vanities has proved to be a hot topic on Houzz, so I’m back with 10 more furniture pieces and objects that can be converted into functional and stylish bathroom vanities. In fact, before the days of built-in joinery, bathroom vanities were very much like pieces of freestanding furniture with a basin, tapware, plumbing and storage installed. That trend has returned with dressers, sideboards, trolleys, stools and nightstands being transformed into unconventional and one-of-a-kind vanities. Be inspired by these bathrooms from around the world.
The size of the basin and tap should be well balanced for the size of the dresser. “Too big and you won’t have enough bench space, plus it will take over the beauty of the dresser,” says Bennett.
Want one-of-a-kind bathroom furniture? Find a bathroom designer and renovator near you on Houzz to bring your vision to life
Want one-of-a-kind bathroom furniture? Find a bathroom designer and renovator near you on Houzz to bring your vision to life
2. French commode
Used for French furniture from about 1700, the word ‘commode’ is derived from the French word for ‘convenient’ or ‘suitable’. Here, a commode is both a convenient and suitable choice for a bathroom vanity, not to mention elegant and eye-catching.
French commodes emerged during the Rococo era and had curving, three-dimensional forms, veneered drawers, marble tops and metallic embellishments. This dresser-turned-vanity in a house in Philadelphia, USA, is pretty in pink, as is the vignette outside the bathroom.
Used for French furniture from about 1700, the word ‘commode’ is derived from the French word for ‘convenient’ or ‘suitable’. Here, a commode is both a convenient and suitable choice for a bathroom vanity, not to mention elegant and eye-catching.
French commodes emerged during the Rococo era and had curving, three-dimensional forms, veneered drawers, marble tops and metallic embellishments. This dresser-turned-vanity in a house in Philadelphia, USA, is pretty in pink, as is the vignette outside the bathroom.
This yellow commode cuts a more dashing figure, contrasted with black. The top-mount basin sits beneath the benchtop, so the rim can be seen just above.
A Bathroom Design Expert Reveals: 3 Things I Wish My Clients Knew
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3. Industrial trolley
A trolley provides a functional vanity in this house in Omaha, USA. It is wide enough for double sinks and the lower surface offers plenty of storage space. The rustic industrial aesthetic with chrome, timber and black steel complements the subway tiles behind and black-piping shelves. The under-mount sinks are sleek and the visible plumbing adds to the industrial look of the space.
Bathroom Plumbing You’ll Want to Show Off
A trolley provides a functional vanity in this house in Omaha, USA. It is wide enough for double sinks and the lower surface offers plenty of storage space. The rustic industrial aesthetic with chrome, timber and black steel complements the subway tiles behind and black-piping shelves. The under-mount sinks are sleek and the visible plumbing adds to the industrial look of the space.
Bathroom Plumbing You’ll Want to Show Off
4. Mid-century sideboard
Sideboards come in various sizes. This one, used in a bathroom in St Petersburg, Russia, has plenty of
cupboards, drawers and surface space. The basin set on top of the vanity has curves to complement the sideboard’s legs and the bathtub across the room.
Sideboards come in various sizes. This one, used in a bathroom in St Petersburg, Russia, has plenty of
cupboards, drawers and surface space. The basin set on top of the vanity has curves to complement the sideboard’s legs and the bathtub across the room.
In Vancouver, Canada, this narrower sideboard fits neatly in the compact space. It has sliding cabinet drawers and splayed legs, and the toilet-roll holder mounted on the side complements the black-framed mirror.
Bathroom vanities are typically 850 millimetres high and between 320 and 500 millimetres deep. The piece of furniture you transform into a vanity may not reach 850 millimetres, in which case you can set the basin on top of the vanity to add some extra height. A vessel sink, like this one, sits higher than a top-mount or under-mount sink, making it a good choice to compensate for a lower vanity. As always, getting the right measurements with bathroom fixtures and fittings is key.
Bathroom vanities are typically 850 millimetres high and between 320 and 500 millimetres deep. The piece of furniture you transform into a vanity may not reach 850 millimetres, in which case you can set the basin on top of the vanity to add some extra height. A vessel sink, like this one, sits higher than a top-mount or under-mount sink, making it a good choice to compensate for a lower vanity. As always, getting the right measurements with bathroom fixtures and fittings is key.
5. Trestle table
This powder room in a home in Auckland, NZ, features a solid oak trestle-table vanity against a textured travertine wall. “They didn’t want any complex cabinets, so a simple solid oak trestle table was designed to keep things light and open,” says designer Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Design. While this trestle table was custom-designed, an existing one can be repurposed…
Spotted! Trestle Tables On Trend in the Home Office
This powder room in a home in Auckland, NZ, features a solid oak trestle-table vanity against a textured travertine wall. “They didn’t want any complex cabinets, so a simple solid oak trestle table was designed to keep things light and open,” says designer Natalie Du Bois of Du Bois Design. While this trestle table was custom-designed, an existing one can be repurposed…
Spotted! Trestle Tables On Trend in the Home Office
… like this one in Austin, USA. A metal surface has been applied to the top of the vanity to protect the timber. The rim of the white top-mount basin is also visible, adding to the chunky style of the vanity.
6. A stool
Back in Russia, a simple wooden stool has been upcycled into a clever vanity. The copper basin is mounted on top, with plumbing visible below, while a small shelf behind caters for bathroom essentials.
Back in Russia, a simple wooden stool has been upcycled into a clever vanity. The copper basin is mounted on top, with plumbing visible below, while a small shelf behind caters for bathroom essentials.
7. A nightstand
Like the original washstand in the days before bathrooms, this vanity is a simple wooden table with a deep bowl perched on top, and paired with wall-mounted taps. There’s still space around the bowl to rest small items, as well as on the larger shelf below below.
Best of the Week: 25 Bathroom Storage Ideas to Steal
Like the original washstand in the days before bathrooms, this vanity is a simple wooden table with a deep bowl perched on top, and paired with wall-mounted taps. There’s still space around the bowl to rest small items, as well as on the larger shelf below below.
Best of the Week: 25 Bathroom Storage Ideas to Steal
8. Butcher’s block
This butcher’s block was left in a house in Ireland when the new owners purchased it. Since then, it has been adapted into a vanity for the master ensuite with a metal bowl used as a basin to suit the industrial farmhouse-style bathroom.
This butcher’s block was left in a house in Ireland when the new owners purchased it. Since then, it has been adapted into a vanity for the master ensuite with a metal bowl used as a basin to suit the industrial farmhouse-style bathroom.
9. Hall console
Console tables were designed to be placed against a wall, and therefore are shallow in depth. This console in an Italian abode has been transformed into a double vanity with two blank sinks, their strong rectangular forms complementing the angular geometry of the timber console.
Console tables were designed to be placed against a wall, and therefore are shallow in depth. This console in an Italian abode has been transformed into a double vanity with two blank sinks, their strong rectangular forms complementing the angular geometry of the timber console.
10. Decorative bowls
The clients’ brief for this townhouse in Notting Hill, UK, was to transform it into a colourful, bohemian and chic retreat for a young family. The designer sourced bespoke tiles, furniture and accessories from Morocco and employed decorative painters to stencil Moroccan and Uzbek patterns directly onto walls.
To fit the theme and aesthetic, the designer used decorative bowls as basins. They are set on top of a timber vanity, which could easily have been a console in a past life.
Your turn
Have you repurposed a piece of furniture to create a bathroom vanity? Tell us your tips in the Comments below and if you enjoyed this story, like it, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Want to see another inspired bathroom that blends old and new? Take a look at how this USA Bathroom Renovation Brings Back Mid-Century Modern
The clients’ brief for this townhouse in Notting Hill, UK, was to transform it into a colourful, bohemian and chic retreat for a young family. The designer sourced bespoke tiles, furniture and accessories from Morocco and employed decorative painters to stencil Moroccan and Uzbek patterns directly onto walls.
To fit the theme and aesthetic, the designer used decorative bowls as basins. They are set on top of a timber vanity, which could easily have been a console in a past life.
Your turn
Have you repurposed a piece of furniture to create a bathroom vanity? Tell us your tips in the Comments below and if you enjoyed this story, like it, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Want to see another inspired bathroom that blends old and new? Take a look at how this USA Bathroom Renovation Brings Back Mid-Century Modern
Designer Ashlee Bennett at Haus Of Hanem purchased this second-hand dresser on eBay for the bathroom of a home in Melbourne, Victoria. She selected the round basin and tapware to soften the masculinity of the dresser, brick walls and grey floor tiles. “The handles on the dresser were also swapped to complement the rounded forms. We purchased those on eBay too,” says Bennett.
In transforming a dresser, Bennett suggests thinking about whether the vanity needs to provide storage space, and deciding if it will offer enough. “Consider whether the drawers will still be usable or need to be fixed to allow for plumbing,” says Bennett. Timber will also have more maintenance requirements than, for example, a stone benchtop.