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Bathroom Furniture Vanity Unit

A vanity unit is one of the components that makes up fitted bathroom furniture. In the diagram below the rest of the furniture components have been faded-out to highlight the vanity unit.

 

 

Unless the bathroom furniture is being installed on a wall away from the main components of the bathroom suite, special modular units will be required to incorporate the basin and toilet into the design.

bathroom furniture with a vanity unit

The bathroom furniture vanity unit differs from most stand-alone vanities in that the cupboard is half the depth of the basin. Most bathrooms are not large enough to take full depth furniture in any quantity so most modular bathroom furniture is of this "half depth" design. These half depth units require a semi-recessed vanity basin be fitted. These basins are specifically designed for this purpose; standard vanity basins, cloakroom basin or basins that usually are fitted on a pedestal will not work in this situation. The semi-recessed basins will be available with one or two tap holes (occasionally there are 3 tap hole basins available).

The unit will usually consist of a base unit with a fixed panel at the top with two doors below. The unit will either have its own countertop or will be covered by a continuous countertop. The fixed panel needs to be cut out to take the basin profile. The shape will vary from basin to basin so a template will be supplied by the basin manufacturer. It is VERY IMPORTANT to align this properly with the uppermost surface which will usually mean the top of the countertop NOT the top of the carcass. If you align it with the top of the carcass you will cut out too much material and there will be a visible gap below the vanity basin.

As well as the front of the vanity unit the countertop will need to be cut out to accommodate the basin. Again, the template supplied by the basin manufacturer is used but the cut countertop needs to handled carefully as the cut-out will considerably weaken it. Most semi-recessed basins fit most countertops and vanity units, but it is always worth checking to ensure there are no issues, especially if buying from separate sources.

Although vanity units from fitted bathroom furniture ranges are the same size as a double base unit they offer less storage as the top half of the unit is taken up with the basin.  Also there is usually a backboard to the unit that covers the waste pipe which can also impinge on storage space.

The his 'n her's option where vanity bowls are fitted in pairs in bathrooms can also be achieved with semi-recessed vanity units providing there is adequate space. Some vanity unit sets include a one-piece, moulded basin and countertop. These are usually made from some form of acrylic or less commonly, ceramic..