Bathroom Furniture: The Ultimate Buying Guide
If you’re renovating your bathroom, or if you want to increase the amount of storage space you have available, you are probably wondering which type of fitted bathroom furniture to choose. You can find bathroom furniture in a wide variety of forms and shapes, from large sink and toilet combination units to compact mirrored cabinets.
However, as there are so many materials and styles to pick from, it’s often hard to decide which furniture would work best in your available space. In this ultimate buying guide, you’ll get some helpful advice about the different kinds of bathroom furniture on the market, and how to choose the right pieces to complement your space.
Bathroom Furniture
Bathroom furniture today includes a wide variety of vanity units and storage units. These days, most homeowners are opting for vanity units in their bathrooms rather than choosing a basin and pedestal as vanity units offer the option of additional storage – something that is often badly needed in compact modern bathrooms.
Vanity units are also very popular due to the huge range of colours and styles available to choose from. As these contemporary units are also made from water-resistant, high-quality materials these days, they also won’t swell and become easily damaged as units in the past once did.
The Different Types of Bathroom Furniture
Fitted Bathroom Furniture
Fitted bathroom furniture is, in essence, very similar to the furniture you’d find in your kitchen, but designed specifically for bathroom use. Fitted bathroom furniture is ideal for storage thanks to the integrated drawers and cabinets, and this makes it a perfect choice for many modern homes where storage space is at a premium.
Fitted bathroom furniture is also very popular in traditional style bathrooms, and there are lots of different basin options to pick from including drop-in, semi-recessed, and sit-on-top styles, so there’s sure to be something that works in your space. Many people think that fitted bathroom furniture gives a seamless, designer aesthetic to a space, making it an easy way to add upmarket style to your home.
Vanity Units
Vanity units are a more modern take on the traditional basin and pedestal, but they offer the added advantage of additional integrated storage, which makes them an extremely popular choice in contemporary homes.
You can choose from either floor standing or wall mounted vanity units, although wall hung models are becoming more common thanks to the stylish modern look they create. With their floating appearance, they add extra aesthetic appeal to your room, and they’re also easier to clean, since it’s possible to access the space beneath far more easily. One further advantage is that the space underneath the wall mounted is open, so it can be used for additional storage if necessary.
With the right vanity unit, you’ll have plenty of storage and space to hide away all those bathroom essentials. They help to keep all of your clutter organised and out of sight in the integrated drawers and cabinets.
Some of the most popular styles include:
They also come in many colours including white, black, blue, grey, and wood finishes.
Back To Wall Toilet Units - WC Units
A back to wall toilet unit or WC unit is designed to fit a back to wall toilet in order to hide the cistern and unattractive pipework from sight. You can either fit one of these units alongside matching furniture or use it on its own, so they are a very versatile and convenient choice for your home.
Many homeowners choose a WC unit because it makes it easier to achieve a clean, streamlined and modern look when choosing a back to wall toilet without needing to do major renovation work to fit a stud wall or work out how to fit the cistern behind their existing wall. WC units resolve this issue effectively.
If a toilet has visible pipework, it can spoil the overall appearance. Back to wall toilet units solve the problem by encasing the unattractive components in a stylish modern casing, leaving just the pan on display. There are lots of styles of WC unit available including both slimline and large options, and you can easily make the unit part of your overall bathroom décor.
Bathroom Cabinets and Storage
There is an extensive range of bathroom cabinets to choose from, offering all kinds of storage solutions. With a bathroom storage cabinet, you can increase the amount of space you have for hiding away your essentials, and with so many colours, sizes, and shapes to select from, it’s easy to find something that fits perfectly in your room.
You can choose slimline cabinets that are ideal in narrow or compact rooms. These cabinets have been especially designed to fit perfectly into today’s modern bathrooms where floor space is at a premium. Narrower than a typical cabinet, they offer the benefit of added storage without taking up too much room.
Mirror cabinets are also an excellent choice for many bathrooms. They serve dual function as a mirror and storage solution, and can also help to brighten up a dark bathroom where there is minimal or no natural light sources. Mirrors are also effective at creating the illusion of more space, which makes them a perfect addition to any compact bathroom, and of course, they also add a hint of style. Let’s not forget, too, that mirrors are, of course, a vital accessory in any bathroom when brushing your hair, applying makeup, or shaving.
Tallboys, or tall storage cabinets, are freestanding dedicated cabinets that provide the maximum amount of storage possible. These units may either be wall-mounted or floor standing, and they are ideal for the storage of toilet rolls, toiletries, and additional towels.
It’s even possible to put laundry baskets inside some tallboy cabinets, so dirty laundry can be kept out of sight until it’s time to wash them. You can buy both normal-sized and slimline tallboy units, so it’s not too difficult to find one to fit in your bathroom, even if it is on the compact side.
There are also large storage units available that provide enough storage for the whole family’s items. While many modern bathrooms are on the compact side, manufacturers haven’t forgotten that some homes benefit from large spaces that need furniture to fit. Extra-large units contain larger cabinets and more drawers for optimal storage space, and are perfect for keeping everything from towels to toiletries hidden from public view and safely away from the children’s reach.
Whether you need to store accessories, towels, or toiletries, you’re sure to find the ideal units for your bathroom. You’ll also find many different features available in the latest modern bathroom cabinets including integrated lights, shaver sockets, and demisters to stop the mirror from steaming up, all of which make your bathroom more pleasant and convenient to use. Whatever your requirements, bathroom furniture manufacturers have already thought about them and created the ideal solution.
Combination Units
If you’re choosing both a vanity unit and a WC unit for your bathroom, a combination furniture pack is often your best choice. It’s the best way to ensure you’re choosing furniture that works well together. When you buy a furniture set, you can create the ideal space with the size, colour, and style of fittings you require.
Whether you prefer the minimalistic and clean look of a contemporary bathroom or you like the decorative, classic appearance of more traditional designs, you’re sure to find an ideal furniture set for you. Even better, often buying units as a combination pack lowers the cost, making it even more affordable to renovate your bathroom.
Bathroom Furniture Styles
Modern Traditional Various colours, most popular being: White (obviously) Black Blue Woodgrain
What to Consider When Choosing Bathroom Furniture
When you’re choosing bathroom furniture for your room, there are a number of considerations that you’ll need to keep in mind. You can’t just rush out and buy the first set of furniture you see! Here are some of the things to think about and take on board before making your final purchasing decision:
Space
Before you make any decisions about which bathroom furniture to buy, you need to spend some time thinking about your available space. After all, that will dictate the size of furniture you choose, and even to some extent, what type of furniture you can opt for.
The first step is to measure carefully the available space in your bathroom, so you can see just how much room you have to play with. You need to make sure that you’ve measured all of the dimensions correctly, including the length, width, and height of the space. After all, if you make a measuring mistake and order furniture in the wrong size, you’ll find it very difficult or even impossible to make it fit, and that could be a very costly error.
Making a bathroom floor plan is always a good idea when renovating an existing bathroom or building an entirely new room, as you can mark in where the fixtures and fittings will go and check that they will all fit in the space.
Don’t forget, though, you’ll also need to leave enough room to walk around your furniture, and to open the doors and drawers comfortably. Don’t forget, too, that you have to be able to open your bathroom door!
While creating your floor plan, you should also take the time to mark in where the pipework, light fittings, and electric sockets will go. That will enable you to avoid placing furniture in the wrong locations, and enable you to make the best use of the space you have available.
If you have a very compact bathroom, there’s no need to despair when it comes to choosing furniture for your space. Fortunately, manufacturers today have recognised the need for smaller, slimline bathroom furniture due to the more compact size of modern homes, and have developed effective space-saving solutions like combination basin and toilet units and wall hung cabinets that will save valuable floor space while also ensuring your room is convenient, functional, and stylish.
Storage Requirements
You don’t want to spend a lot of time planning your new stylish bathroom only to realise once it’s been fitted that you don’t have enough storage for your essentials. At the planning stage, make sure you think carefully about your storage needs.
What will you need to store in your bathroom? Would you prefer drawers, cabinets, shelves, or a combination of storage solutions? When you know your requirements, you can start deciding which type of units would be the best options to meet those needs.
Fitting
One aspect of renovating a bathroom that many homeowners overlook is the fitting and installation of their new bathroom furniture. While they may have considered arranging for a plumber to come and fit the new toilet, basin, bath, and shower, they may have overlooked the fitting of the vanity unit, WC unit, and cabinets.
However, unless you’re an experienced expert, it’s probably a bad idea to try to fit your bathroom furniture yourself. Furniture that is installed badly is unlikely to stand the test of time and could experience some serious long-term problems. For example, if you fit a wall-mounted vanity badly, it could fall off the wall and damage your flooring, and other fixtures and fittings, not to mention being a potential health and safety hazard for you and your family.
The best option is to choose pre-assembled bathroom furniture that is ready to fit. It’s the quickest and simplest solution for installing your new bathroom cabinets and units. All of the furniture we sell here at Tradebase is already pre-assembled and will be transported to you ready to fit in your bathroom, so you won’t need to worry about assembling the furniture yourself.
That helps you to not only save a lot of time and effort, but also enables you to avoid the possibility of causing damage to your new furniture before you’ve even had the chance to use it. As all of our bathroom furniture comes ready assembled, fitting it is fairly straightforward, especially if you’ve chosen a floor-standing vanity. Although wall-mounted units are somewhat more complex to install, if you’re good at DIY, you shouldn’t have too many difficulties.
If you have any concerns about fitting your new bathroom furniture, we always recommend that you use the services of a professional, and if you’re purchasing furniture that comes with an integrated wash basin or toilet, it’s always best to hire a plumber to complete the installation on your behalf so that you can avoid any costly errors.
Wall Strength
If you’re choosing wall mounted units or cabinets for your renovated bathroom, you have another consideration to keep in mind. You’ll need to consider the strength of your wall before you make your final purchasing decision.
Most walls will be suitable for mounted cabinets, but in some cases, you may find that it may require additional reinforcement. Sometimes, it’s best to avoid wall mounted furniture altogether and simply opt for floor standing units to minimise your risks.
Pipework Positioning
If you’ve chosen a vanity unit with an inbuilt basin or a WC unit for your bathroom, you will need to keep the position of the pipework in your bathroom in mind. Although it’s possible to sometimes extend pipework, you probably don’t want to have visible pipes spoiling the appearance of your stylish new space.
When you’re creating your bathroom floor plan, make sure to mark the position of the pipework on it, so that you can see at a glance where the best location for your new furniture would be, and whether your chosen options will work conveniently and easily in the space you have available.
Style
It’s likely that the style of your new bathroom furniture will be the first thing that you consider when you’re deciding on what to choose for your newly renovated room. While all of the considerations above are more important, you certainly shouldn’t overlook the appearance of your new furniture.
After all, it needs to complement and harmonise with your new bathroom’s overall look. Traditional bathroom furniture may look out of place if you’ve chosen a very modern bath, toilet and shower cubicle, whereas sleek and streamlined modern units may clash badly with a Victorian-style bath tub and pedestal sink.
Fortunately, we have an extensive range of products here at Tradebase, including both classic and contemporary choices, and we also boast plenty of finishes and colours to suit all tastes and preferences.
Materials
When you’re choosing new furniture for your bathroom, there are several types of material you can choose from. The most common, however, are made from wood materials of some kind, with the three main options being:
MFC or Melamine Faced Chipboard – this is a well-known material that is commonly used in the manufacturing of kitchen furniture. MFC is made of a melamine resin material that is bonded to chipboard.
This material is very resilient as it has a tough outer finish. It can also be cleaned easily, making it a low maintenance solution. It’s important to bear in mind, though, that it can be susceptible to damage from water, and therefore need to be properly finished to prevent this from occurring. In general, MFC units are good value, and are especially suitable for use in buy-to-let properties or in less frequently-used bathrooms.
MDF or Medium Density Fibreboard – this is another popular and well-known material. MDF is made up of waste and offcuts from the wood manufacturing process. These offcuts are mixed with glues and binders then pressed together.
MDF is more substantial and dense than MFC, making it a very popular choice when it comes to bathroom furniture. Another great benefit of MDF bathroom furniture is that it resists changes in humidity levels and temperatures very well. It’s also available in a wide range of different colours and can resist warping.
Solid wood – if you’re keen to achieve a premium, luxury finish for your bathroom, you might want to consider opting for solid wood bathroom furniture. Walnut or oak are sometimes chosen for bathroom cabinetry, and its natural character can be enhanced by using paints and stains that are able to reveal the woodgrain.
Although solid wood bathroom furniture is very attractive, it needs to be cared for properly. If it is exposed to fluctuating temperatures and high humidity levels, it can get damaged very easily. For this reason, its use is typically avoided in bathrooms as it is a high maintenance option and is also more costly than other, easier to care for, solutions.
Colours And Finishes
Many homeowners find that they want to add some colour to their renovated bathroom to give it a more lively and modern look. There are many different colours of bathroom furniture available these days, so it isn’t too difficult to find something that suits your aesthetic.
There are also a choice of finishes too. You can opt for a matte, gloss, or woodgrain finish to give an illusion of additional depth to your space while also adding a luxurious, premium look. You may even be able to use your creativity, and change the colour of the components like door handles, in order to make subtle differences to your bathroom’s overall feel.
Now that you’ve read this comprehensive buyer’s guide to bathroom furniture, you should be well-equipped with all the information and helpful advice that you need to make well-informed purchasing decisions.
When you know what type, size and style of furniture you’re looking for, visit us at Tradebase to discover our extensive product range, and to choose the perfect bathroom furniture to complement your newly renovated room and to suit your style and preferences
