Custom Vanities Buying Guide
A custom vanity is one you specify for your own bathroom instead of taking a single fixed design. You choose the configuration, the finish, the top, the basin and the extras, and the vanity is built around those choices. Most of the work happens before you order, because a custom vanity is hard to change afterwards. This guide goes through the decisions in the order you will make them, and explains what each one affects.
Start with the Vanity Visualiser
The quickest way to find a direction is our Vanity Visualiser. It starts with a style quiz to find a design you like, then a selection tool lets you customise it. The tool follows three steps: configuration, finishes and accessories. Use it to work out what you want, then check the practical side before you commit, because a screen can't tell you whether a cabinet clears your door or lines up with your pipes.
Measure the space and the plumbing first
Everything else depends on two things: how much wall you have and where the water comes in and the waste goes out. Measure the wall from end to end at floor level and again at bench height, and use the smaller figure. Then take off room for the door swing, the toilet and any shower screen beside it. Measure depth from the finished wall to the front edge of the basin, because that is the distance you will actually stand in front of.
Then note the plumbing. The waste may come through the wall or up through the floor, and the position of each one decides which layouts will work. A custom vanity can be arranged around existing pipes, which is often the reason to choose one, but it still pays to give the plumber the drawing early. A licensed plumber must do all the plumbing, and should confirm the pipe positions against the inside of the cabinet before the vanity is fixed.
Choose the configuration
The first step in the Visualiser is configuration: doors, drawers or a mix. Drawers let you see everything at once, and they work well around the plumbing because a drawer can be cut away around the waste. Doors leave a taller open space, which suits bulky things like spare toilet rolls and cleaning bottles. A mix gives you both. Whichever you pick, check that the doors and drawers open fully without hitting the toilet, a shower screen or the bathroom door.
Bowl position and tap holes
Many custom ranges let the same width come in different bowl layouts. A centre bowl puts the basin in the middle of the top. An offset bowl, or a left or right bowl, moves it to one side and leaves a clear run of bench on the other. That is the layout to look for in a tight room, because it keeps the basin clear of a door swing or a toilet. A double bowl gives each person their own basin and needs width, so it starts at 1200mm in some ranges and 1500mm in most. A 1200mm label doesn't guarantee a double basin, so confirm the layout on the product page.
The tap hole is the detail people miss. It is set when the top is made, so choose the tapware before you order the top. Most ceramic tops take one tap hole for a basin mixer, and some stone tops allow the hole at a 10 or 2 o'clock position only. A top with no tap hole is for wall-mounted taps, and then the pipework has to be planned into the wall in advance. Some ranges let you choose none, one or three tap holes. A double basin needs two wastes, two mixers and two traps, so the plumbing doubles with the bowls. Browse bathroom taps and mixers by type to settle the tapware first.
Pick the finishes
Think about how a finish behaves over time as well as how it looks on the day. Matte and satin fronts hide fingerprints better than gloss, which can show surface flaws. Very dark finishes need good light, so think twice in a bathroom without a window. If you want natural timber, see solid timber vanities, and for the easiest match with other fittings, white bathroom vanities. For shape and texture, look at curved and fluted vanities.
Tops and basins
Some custom ranges include a basin with the top, and others sell the cabinet and top without one, so check what is in the box before you compare options. An inset basin drops into a cut-out so the rim sits flush with the bench. An above-counter basin sits on top like a bowl, which shows off its shape and frees up cabinet space beneath. An undermount basin is fixed under the top, so you can wipe water off the bench straight into the bowl. The full basin range is separate.
Door profiles, handles and fronts
The door and drawer front sets the character of the vanity. Some ranges offer a choice of door profiles, such as classic shaker, Sussex shaker and washboard, and some can be colour matched to nearly any paint, which helps when the vanity has to match a wall colour or a built-in cupboard elsewhere in the house. Others use an inset door and drawer front within a surround of about 16mm, with soft-close European hinges and a moisture-resistant construction, in a woodgrain veneer with a vertical grain or a painted finish. Handle styles range from a cut-in finger pull to a full pull in a choice of finishes, and a finger-pull front gives a clean line with nothing to catch on.
See a sample before you decide
Images online can differ a little from the real thing, so we recommend looking at samples before you commit to a finish. Tell us which cabinet and benchtop finishes you want to see and we can organise them. You can hold the samples up against your tiles, tapware and handle samples in the actual light of the room. The vanity sets the colour for everything around it, so this step deserves the time. Each range's cabinet finishes are on its product pages and in the Visualiser.
If the size you need is not offered, ask us about it. Send us the wall length, the depth you can spare and where the pipes sit, and we will confirm whether a standard range can be made to those dimensions. A cabinet without a top or basin, for a stone top you are sourcing separately, can also be arranged on request. Settle this before you order the top, because the cabinet and the top are cut to suit each other and a few millimetres either way shows at the join.
Choosing a size and depth
Custom ranges cover about 400mm to 2100mm wide, and a standard depth is about 450mm to 500mm. A shallower unit of about 360mm to 400mm suits a small room, and slim units go shallower again, with powder room units about 220mm to 350mm deep. The trade-off is less storage and usually a smaller basin, so choose slim for the walkway you gain and not for the look.
As a rough guide, 400mm to 500mm wide suits a powder room, 500mm to 750mm a small ensuite, and 750mm to 900mm a small main bathroom. Start from the width that fits, then see which custom ranges offer it: 400mm to 600mm, 750mm, 900mm, 1200mm, 1500mm and 1800mm. For two basins, 1500mm is the practical minimum, and the double vanity collection lists the layouts. If you can't see a vanity that fits your space, choose the one you like best and get in touch by email or online chat with the size you need, and our team can look at a custom size for you. The same goes for a cabinet only: if you want to supply your own top, choose a vanity you like and ask our team.
Wall hung or floor standing
The choice changes the wall work and the plumbing, so make it early. A wall hung vanity leaves the floor clear and makes a small room read larger, but it needs solid backing fitted between the studs before the wall is lined, and the waste has to come out through the wall. The cabinet should be fixed through the back at the top and bottom into at least two support beams. See wall hung vanities for the fixing detail. A floor standing vanity carries its weight on the floor and covers floor pipes, which makes it the easier swap when the walls are finished. Freestanding vanities lists them.
Delivery, installation and tiling
When the vanity arrives, unpack it and check it for damage and that it is the right product before it is installed, because damage can't be raised once it is fitted. Installation should be done by a qualified tradesperson,. Fixing screws and bolts aren't supplied, so the installer brings them.
Looking after your custom vanity
For the cabinet, a soft cloth and a weak solution of non-abrasive detergent do the job, and any water spilled on or inside the cabinet should be dried. Scratches on a two-pack polyurethane finish can be rubbed out with car cutting compound or polish. Solid surface and engineered stone tops resist heat and chemicals better than most surfaces. Wipe them with a soft damp cloth, use mild detergent for stains, and a non-abrasive polish on gloss and semi-gloss finishes. Even so, don't put hot items straight onto the surface.
Finishing the room
Plan the mirror and lighting with the vanity, because their positions depend on the vanity width and the power points. A mirror about 50mm to 100mm narrower than the vanity, set in from each side, looks balanced. Hang it about 100mm to 200mm above the bench or the basin rim so it clears the tap handles. If you are tiling at the same time, tiles let you choose the splashback and floor as a pair. Our bathroom vanity guide covers the choices that apply to every vanity, and small vanities, ensuite vanities and Hamptons vanities cover specific rooms and styles.
Shop by brand
If you already know the range you want, the brand vanity collections are Timberline, ADP and Marquis.
