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Thread: bathroom vanity dimensions

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    walnut creek, california
    Posts
    2,347

    bathroom vanity dimensions

    alright, it's commonly known that bathroom vanities tend to be 21" deep and 32" high but why is that? i made my bathroom vanity as high as my kitchen cabinets (34 1/2") so that my wife (5'9) and i (5'11) wouldn't have to stoop over so much to wash our faces.

    lately i've been wondering about the reasons behind a 21" depth. is it so that you can reach the mirror to wipe it? is it to accomodate the sink size? any explanations would be highly appreciated.

    and let's not forget folks: keep it civil

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Franklin, TN
    Posts
    68
    Frank,

    Depths and height vary. 36" (including top) height is fairly common for a adult bath. The 21" depth is a standard that allows for a decent size sink and faucet without taking up too much room. I've built several 22, 23 and 24" vanities in larger bathrooms. Many arch/builder's baths are narrow and don't allow for this depth. Also, the countertops will cost slightly more with additional depth.

    I recently built a vanity to replace a pedistal sink in a shallow bathroom that couldn't even handle a 21" depth. Pictures attached.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by brent lenthall; 09-01-2006 at 12:08 AM.

  3. #3
    Fank,

    I am buildng a simi custom house and the builder has designed a 2 level sink for the master bath. LOML will have the lower level (she's 4'10" and I'll have the higher level I'm more average geight of 5'10"). The counter is split with 2/3rd at her height amd 1/3 at my height (go figure). Id love to take picture but right now it's all on paper.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    walnut creek, california
    Posts
    2,347
    Thanks for the responses, gentlemen! Sorry it took so long to respond - I've been wrestling melamine panels around for the last few days trying to build some new wall-to-ceiling closets and pantries in the frameless style.

    Don, that's quite clever of you to build a split level to accomodate the 1 foot difference in your heights! Whatever makes the little lady happy...

    Brent, glad to hear that I'm not the only one building 36" high vanities. Thanks for the reminder of bathroom dimensions. I just looked over my master bathroom layout and realized that the toilet has about two feet clearance from the cabinets and that if I had built them 24" deep, it would have been a little tight. BTW, love that contoured granite countertop and it appears like the cabinet grew in the corner with that unbelievable nice job of scribing - or did you cut the molding back?

    As my first project for plumbing, I picked the installation of a pedestal sink. PAINFUL arms and hands contorted in all sorts of unhuman positions is all I can remember!

  5. #5
    Probably half of the vanities I build are 35" high box.
    I still use the standard 18 and 21" box depth though.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Los Angeles, CA
    Posts
    919
    When we re-did the master bath about 10 years ago we specified an "adult" height vanity (about the same as the kitchen counters). The cabinet maker thought we were crazy, but I guess we were ahead of the times. We love not having to bend over to use the sink.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Central Michigan
    Posts
    1,508

    vanities ......

    I used to work in the kitchen and bath industry designing layouts for customers on the 20/20 design program and worked with 4 different stock cabinet companies. The norm for years was the lower heights but now just about all of the companies offer both heights and two of the cabinet companies I worked with has the taller vanities as there standard size and if you wanted the low heights vanity it cost more….. Also the taller cabinets work well for adults but if you have kids they can be a problem …
    Richard Poitras
    Central, Michigan....
    01-02-2006


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