Vanities and Storage

Where everything goes

Clutter is the enemy of a calm bathroom. Toothbrushes, skincare, hair tools, medicines, spare toilet rolls, cleaning products, towels and children’s bath toys all need a home. When there is nowhere to put them, they end up on benchtops, window sills and the shower floor. Good storage makes a bathroom easier to clean, nicer to use and far more relaxing.

We design and install vanities and storage as part of bathroom, ensuite and laundry renovations in Drouin and nearby towns. Sometimes we also replace vanities and add storage as standalone projects where the rest of the room is sound.

Choosing a vanity

The vanity is the centrepiece of most bathrooms. It holds the basin, provides bench space and usually offers the main storage. Key decisions include:

Wall-hung or floor-standing

Wall-hung vanities float above the floor, showing more floor area and making the room feel larger. Cleaning underneath is easy. They need solid noggins in the wall to carry their weight and contents.

Floor-standing vanities sit on the floor or on legs and kick boards, offering more storage volume. They suit traditional styles and rooms where wall framing cannot support a wall-hung unit.

Drawers or doors

Drawers make it easier to see and reach items, especially at the back. Doors suit tall items like cleaning bottles. Many vanities combine both. Drawers often need to be notched or shaped around the basin waste, which we plan in advance.

Size

Vanity width should suit the room and the number of users. Depth matters too: a deep vanity offers more storage but narrows the room. Slim-line vanities suit small bathrooms and powder rooms.

Single or double basin

A double vanity lets two people use the bathroom at once and is popular in ensuites and family bathrooms. It needs enough width for each person to stand comfortably. A wide trough basin with two taps is an alternative.

Materials

• Moisture-resistant board, the most common carcass material, with a range of finishes.
• Two-pack painted finishes, smooth and available in any colour.
• Timber and timber veneer, warm and natural, requiring good sealing.
• Laminate, durable and practical, with timber and stone looks.
• Stone, engineered stone or solid surface tops, hard-wearing and easy to clean.

Basin type

• Undermount basins sit below the benchtop for easy cleaning.
• Above-counter basins sit on top for a feature look.
• Integrated basins are moulded into the top for a seamless finish.
• Semi-recessed basins suit shallow vanities.

Storage beyond the vanity

Mirrored shaving cabinets

A cabinet behind the mirror stores daily items at eye level. Recessing it into the wall cavity keeps it flush and avoids bumping heads.

Shower niches

Recessed niches keep bottles off the floor and out of the way. They are framed between studs, waterproofed as part of the membrane under AS 3740 and positioned away from the direct spray.

Tall cabinets

A tall cabinet or linen tower beside the vanity holds towels, toilet rolls and cleaning supplies. Where space allows, recessing it into a wall gains depth without encroaching on the room.

Open shelving

Open shelves display folded towels and decorative items but need tidying. They work best in larger bathrooms or as a small feature.

Toilet surrounds

Shelves or cabinets built above or beside an in-wall cistern provide storage that is often overlooked.

Hooks and rails

Hooks near the shower, rails for hand towels beside the basin and heated towel rails help towels dry and keep the room tidy.

Custom joinery

Where off-the-shelf vanities do not fit the room or the design, custom joinery can be made to measure. This allows full use of awkward spaces, such as alcoves, sloping ceilings or rooms with unusual dimensions. Custom joinery takes longer to produce, so it is planned early in the design stage.

Storage in laundries

Laundry storage is discussed on our laundry renovations page, including tall cupboards, sorting baskets and space for pets and cleaning products.

Lighting vanities and storage

Lighting can make storage easier to use and add atmosphere. Strip lighting under a wall-hung vanity provides a soft night light. Lights inside shaving cabinets or tall cupboards help you find items. Mirror lighting improves visibility for grooming. Our licensed electrician installs fittings suited to each wet area zone.

Installing vanities properly

A vanity must be level, securely fixed and sealed where it meets walls and benchtops. Wall-hung vanities need noggins installed during framing, which is one reason to choose your vanity before the walls are sheeted. Plumbing must align with the vanity’s drawers or shelves. Silicone at junctions prevents water getting behind the unit.

Replacing a vanity only

If your bathroom is otherwise in good condition, replacing a tired vanity can refresh the room. Things to consider include whether the new vanity covers the footprint of the old one, since tiles may not extend behind it, whether the plumbing positions suit the new unit and whether the wall can support a wall-hung vanity. We check these during the consultation.

Planning storage around what you own

The best way to plan bathroom storage is to start with what you actually keep there. Before the design consultation, it can help to empty your current bathroom cupboards onto a table and sort items into groups: daily items, weekly items, spares, medicines, cleaning products and towels. Daily items belong within easy reach, in a top drawer or a shaving cabinet. Weekly items can sit lower or further back. Spares and bulk supplies may be better stored outside the bathroom altogether, in a hallway linen cupboard or the laundry. Medicines should be stored safely out of reach of children, in a cabinet that can be locked if needed. Cleaning products are best kept in the laundry or in a closed cupboard. This simple exercise often reveals that a bathroom needs a different kind of storage rather than more of it.

Benchtop clutter and how to avoid it

Even with plenty of storage, benchtops tend to collect items. A few design moves help. A ledge or narrow shelf behind the basin holds soap and a toothbrush cup without spreading across the bench. Power outlets inside a shaving cabinet allow electric toothbrushes and razors to charge out of sight. A drawer with an insert for hair tools, designed to cope with warm appliances, keeps cords tidy. Mirrors with integrated shelves suit small powder rooms.

Children and storage

In family bathrooms, storage should work for children as well as adults. Low drawers for bath toys and children’s toothbrushes encourage independence, while child-proof catches on cupboards with medicines and cleaning products keep young children safe. Hooks at a child’s height make it easier for towels to be hung up rather than left on the floor. As children grow, the same storage can be reorganised without changing the room.

Durability in wet conditions

Bathroom joinery faces steam, splashes and cleaning products every day. Edges should be sealed so moisture cannot get into the board, hinges and drawer runners should suit humid rooms, and handles should be easy to clean. Good ventilation also protects joinery, so an effective exhaust fan is part of every storage plan.

Matching storage to the style of the room

Storage should look like part of the design rather than an afterthought. Handleless drawers with finger pulls suit minimal bathrooms. Shaker-profile doors and knob handles suit heritage-inspired rooms. Timber fronts bring warmth to contemporary country bathrooms. Matching handle finishes to tapware ties the room together. We bring samples to help you see the options side by side.

Common questions about vanities and storage

Can a wall-hung vanity hold a stone top? Yes, provided it is fixed to suitable noggins in the wall.

How deep should a vanity be? It depends on the room. Standard depths suit most bathrooms; slim-line units suit tight spaces.

Can you build storage into an existing wall? Often, if the wall is framed and free of pipes or wiring in the area.

Do drawers work around the plumbing? Yes. Drawers can be shaped around wastes, and plumbing can be positioned to suit.

Book a design consultation

If your bathroom is short on storage or your vanity has seen better days, book a design consultation. We will visit your Drouin home, look at how you use the room and plan storage that works.

Areas we service

• Buln Buln
• Bunyip
• Darnum
• Drouin South
• Drouin West
• Drouin
• Garfield
• Jindivick
• Labertouche
• Longwarry
• Nar Nar Goon
• Neerim South
• Tynong
• Warragul