Curved Vanities Buying Guide
A curved vanity softens the corners or the front of the cabinet, so the room has fewer hard edges. The word covers three different shapes, and they behave differently in a bathroom: a cabinet with curved ends, a cabinet with a curved or bowed front, and a round pedestal. This guide sorts the ranges by shape, then covers how the curve affects floor space, the tops and tap holes, and fixing. None of these are corner vanities, which are units made to fit a 90 degree corner, so if a corner unit is what you need, this is not the page.
Three kinds of curve
Curved ends keep the front flat and round the ends. The Timberline Santos has curved ends and profiled surfaces in painted finishes, with fluted versions in the Dockland and Apollo styles. The Marquis Shore is a gracefully curved cabinet with a choice of fluted designs, offered wall hung with one or two drawers or floor standing on legs. The ADP Waverley has curved ends, and the ADP Flo has curved sides taken from 1920s Art Deco shapes, with slim shaker drawers and a curved splashback.
A curved front bows the whole front. The Otti Bondi is a wall hung curve vanity in Natural Oak, Black Oak or white, and its fluted version is white. The Otti Hampshire is a white wall hung curve vanity. The Ingrain Curved Fluted wall hung vanity has a grooved, stained ash timber veneer front on a moisture resistant plywood carcase.
The round option is a pedestal. The Ingrain Round Fluted Powder Room Vanity is a 400mm floor standing pedestal in matte white painted timber, with a fluted finish, a 410mm round top, a single soft-close door and an internal shelf. If you searched for a round or circular vanity, this is the one.
How the curve affects floor space
Measure the depth at the deepest point of the curve, not the middle of the front, and check that figure against the toilet, the door swing and the walkway. You need about 700mm to 750mm clear in front of a vanity to stand and move. The Ingrain Curved Fluted is 500mm deep and 390mm high, which is standard depth for a wall hung cabinet. A curved front does not change how far a drawer travels, so leave room for the drawers to open fully.
Sizes
Most curved ranges run from 750mm or 600mm to 1800mm: the Santos, Shore, Waverley and Flo from 750mm, and the Bondi and Hampshire from 600mm. The Ingrain Curved Fluted runs from 750mm to 1500mm, and the Round Fluted is a single 400mm size for a powder room. Size guides give a workable match between width and room. A 750mm vanity suits a small main or guest bathroom with one basin. A 900mm vanity is the main and family bathroom size for one basin and is not wide enough for two. A 1500mm vanity is the comfortable double, and 1800mm gives two users separation. To compare other styles at the same width, see 400mm to 600mm, 750mm, 900mm, 1200mm, 1500mm and 1800mm. For a tight room, small vanities is the better filter.
Smooth or fluted fronts
A plain curve reads as one soft shape. A fluted front adds vertical grooves, so it brings texture and shadow to a bathroom that is otherwise flat tile and glass. Choose plain where the room already has pattern, and fluted where it does not. The Bondi, Shore, Santos and both Ingrain ranges come fluted. The fluted vanities page shows the style across brands. Timber veneer varies from board to board, and the Ingrain listing says the finish colour can differ from the photographs, so look at a sample before you commit.
Tops, basins and tap holes
The tops differ a lot between ranges, so read the listing for what is included. The Santos comes with a solid surface benchtop in a colour of your choice and a gloss white ceramic basin or basins. The Shore has a 20mm Symphony solid surface benchtop with an above-counter basin included, and Dekton, Vasari and Caesarstone tops are offered as alternatives. The Hampshire comes as a cabinet and stone top, in Pure White Ultra Deluxe solid surface or Natural Carrara marble, with the basin and waste sold separately. The Ingrain Curved Fluted comes with a Pure White 12mm porcelain top or with no top at all, and the basin is sold separately.
The tap hole is set when the top is made, so choose the tapware first. The Otti Pure White, Matte White and Cloudy Carrara tops come semi-drilled in three positions on the underside, so the tap hole can be chosen on site with a 50mm diamond bit, and the holes are not visible from above, so the top also suits a wall tap. Natural Carrara tops are supplied with no tap holes, for wall-mounted tapware. The Ingrain Curved Fluted offers no tap hole or one, and the Ingrain Round Fluted is wall tap only, with a recommended wall spout of 180mm to 210mm if the vanity sits tight against the wall. Bathroom taps and mixers lists mixers and wall spouts, and bathroom basins lists basins for the tops that do not include one. Where the listing says a plug and waste is an add-on, add it to the order.
Drawers, doors and storage
Drawers suit a curved cabinet because you see the whole contents at once. The Ingrain Curved Fluted has one large push-to-open drawer from 750mm to 1200mm and two drawers at 1500mm, on soft-close runners. The Santos includes bamboo storage trays and a solid back panel, and the Bondi and Hampshire have concealed inner drawers on full extension soft-close runners. The Ingrain Round Fluted has a single door and an internal shelf, and its listing recommends a space saver plumbing kit, which takes the pipework to the back of the cabinet and frees the shelf.
Wall hung or floor standing
Most curved vanities are wall hung, which leaves the floor visible beneath the curve and suits a small room. A wall hung cabinet needs solid backing. Manufacturer installation guides say wall hung furniture needs fixing to a support beam fitted between the studs. Extra noggins are added before the wall is sheeted if the cabinet height calls for it, and the noggin must be wider than the vanity. If the walls are already finished, a floor standing unit such as the Shore on legs or the Round Fluted pedestal is the simpler fit, although some floor mount vanities still have to be fixed to the wall, so read the sheet for the one you buy. See wall hung vanities and freestanding vanities for the wider choice, and the bathroom vanity guide for the two side by side.
Plumbing and fixing
The pipes still run to the main body of the cabinet, and a curved front does not change where the waste and supply come out. Have a plumber confirm the positions against the product drawing before you order, especially when you are replacing an existing vanity. The wall should be plumb and straight and the floor level, with the cabinet packed out where they are not, because fixing a cabinet hard against a bowed wall twists it. Every edge where the cabinet or top meets the wall or floor should be sealed with neutral cure silicone, and the vanity kept clear of shower spray. Manufacturer installation guides give 300mm to 400mm as the clearance from a shower or bath, so use the larger figure where the room allows. Moisture resistant board resists damp but is not waterproof, so wipe water off the cabinet face and ventilate the room.
Finishes and the rest of the room
The curved range comes in white, woodgrain, black and grey. For natural timber, see solid timber vanities, and for the lightest finish, white bathroom vanities. A mirror slightly narrower than the vanity, about 50mm to 100mm in from each side and hung 100mm to 200mm above the bench or basin rim, looks balanced. Browse mirrors by width, and see double vanities and ensuite vanities for the larger and tighter layouts.
Shop by brand
The curved range includes vanities from Otti, Ingrain, Timberline, Marquis and ADP.
