If your counter is covered in bottles and the cabinet under the sink is a jumble of cleaning supplies and spare paper towels, the vanity isn’t doing its job. Older vanities also tend to sit low, so you bend further than you’d like to rinse your face. A new vanity and a little planned storage can fix both problems.

Sizes, heights and fit

Vanities come in standard widths, commonly 24, 30, 36, 48, 60 and 72 inches. Standard depth is about 21 inches, with narrow models around 18 inches for tight rooms.

Height has changed over time. Many older vanities are 30 to 32 inches tall, while many current ones are 34 to 36 inches, closer to kitchen counter height and more comfortable for most adults. A lower vanity still makes sense in a bathroom used mostly by children.

The room around the vanity sets the limit on width, because the toilet and the floor space in front of the sink need code clearances. In a tight room, our small bathroom page lists those numbers along with other space-saving ideas.

Stock vanities come in set widths and finishes and are usually the quickest to source. Semi-custom lines add sizes, finishes and drawer options, and custom cabinetry is built to fit the wall exactly, including odd widths and corners.

Wall-hung, floor-standing or furniture style

Floor-standing vanities hold the most storage and hide plumbing easily. Wall-hung or floating vanities leave the floor open, which makes a small room look larger and makes mopping simple. They need solid blocking in the wall and usually a drain that exits through the wall rather than the floor.

Furniture-style vanities on legs sit in between, with a lighter look and a full cabinet. Where the floor sees splashes, check that the legs and lower edges are finished to handle water.

Look at what the cabinet is made of, too. Plywood and solid wood boxes handle bathroom humidity better than particleboard, which can swell if water gets in at an edge or at the cut-out for the plumbing.

Sink, top and faucet

An undermount sink under quartz or stone leaves no rim to trap grime, and an integrated top molds the sink and counter as one piece with no seam. A vessel sink sits on top of the counter, so the vanity under it is usually lower to keep the rim at a comfortable height.

Quartz doesn’t need sealing, natural stone does from time to time, and cultured marble or solid surface tops are cost-conscious one-piece options. Single-hole faucets leave more counter to wipe, while widespread faucets with separate handles suit wider sinks.

Finish matters if your water leaves mineral spots. Polished chrome shows spots clearly but wipes clean, dark matte finishes show white residue, and brushed nickel and other brushed finishes hide spotting better. Our hard water guide covers finishes and cleaning in more depth.

Storage beyond the vanity

Drawers usually beat doors, because you can see what’s in them. The sink drain takes the middle of the cabinet, so look for U-shaped drawers that wrap around the trap.

A recessed medicine cabinet sits between studs and adds shelves without sticking out into the room. A cabinet wider than one stud bay means reframing the opening, and an outlet inside the cabinet for a toothbrush or razor is new wiring, so both get looked at during the in-home consultation.

Linen towers, shelves above the toilet and a tiled shower niche spread storage around the room, so the counter stays clear for daily use. Some vanities also hide a shallow drawer in the toe-kick space at the base, which is handy for flat items.

Plan the mirror, medicine cabinet, lights and outlets together. A mirrored cabinet fixes where sconces can go, lights at face height on both sides of the mirror cast fewer shadows than a single bar above it, and an outlet inside a drawer keeps a hair dryer off the counter. New fixture or outlet locations are electrical work reviewed in person.

One sink or two

Two sinks help when two people share the mirror every morning, but each sink takes counter space. On a 60-inch vanity, a single sink with generous counter can be more useful than two sinks with almost none. If two sinks don’t fit, a single sink offset to one side with two banks of drawers still gives each person a space of their own. Our single vs double vanity comparison walks through the choice, and the primary bathroom page covers split vanities on separate walls.

The vanity question and your budget

The bathroom estimator asks about the vanity directly. “Keep Existing” keeps your current vanity and fixtures, “Standard Replacement” is a new vanity, countertop and standard fixtures, “Upgraded Vanity” steps up all three, and “Custom Vanity” means custom cabinetry, refined surfaces and premium hardware. Keeping the vanity lowers a range, and a custom piece raises it.

A vanity is usually planned with the floor, lighting and mirror, because floor tile in many bathrooms stops at the old cabinet’s base and a different footprint leaves a gap. The vanity is often one of the larger line items in a bathroom budget. Whole projects with us generally begin around $15,000, with a typical bathroom remodel around $25,000.

Installation and bigger changes

At the consultation, the wall behind the vanity is checked for drain height, supply locations and outlets. A small shift of the sink is a minor change, but moving it to another wall or adding a second sink means new drain and supply lines handled by licensed plumbing trades. If you’re adding a sink, changing the vanity wall and replacing the floor anyway, planning the whole bathroom remodel at once usually works out more efficiently.