Bathroom vanity cabinets are an essential component of any bathroom and can add drama to your design and decor. Bathroom sink cabinets provide countertop space, a place for the sink and faucets and great storage below. It’s amazing how often bathroom cabinets and storage are left out of the planning process. It’s important to have a place for everything in your bathroom that is easily accessible to everyone. Bathroom vanity cabinets and storage provide home organization and reduce clutter. You never can have too much bathroom storage!

Here are some considerations before buying bathroom vanities online or in stores:

bathroom vanity cabinets are available in widths of 18 inches up to 48 inches and in increments of 6 inches. When looking for bathroom vanities online or in stores, shop where you can find a wide variety of styles and sizes. From traditional to contemporary, you should be able to choose from vanity cabinets made of woods such as walnut, oak, maple, cherry and finished with high-gloss lacquer that showcases the natural wood finish.

Here are types of bathroom storage cabinets:

1. Cabinetry – bathroom vanity cabinets, wall cabinets, recessed cabinets and medicine cabinets.

2. Open shelving – recessed shelving, corner shelving and surface mounted shelves.

3. Over the toilet cabinets – cabinets that use the wall space over the toilet for storage cabinets.

4. Linen closets, towers with baskets, built-in closets and cabinets or freestanding bathroom sink cabinets that often extend from the floor to the ceiling and provide excellent bathroom storage for linens and other bathroom items.

You should be able to find bathroom vanity cabinets in these two styles:

1. Face-frame vanity cabinets. These bathroom cabinets will give your bathroom a more traditional and formal look. The frame and panel doors are designed to frame the cabinet box, and the hinges can be either hidden from view or visible.

2. Frameless vanity cabinets or European style cabinets. These modern bathroom vanities will give your bathroom a more contemporary look. Frameless vanity cabinets will provide you with heavy-duty cabinet boxes and hinges that are hidden and easily adjustable.

When selecting bathroom sink cabinets and door hardware, make sure you match the period cabinets with period style knobs and pulls. You can sometimes find the antique type of knobs you may be looking for at flea markets. Knobs for your cabinets can be $3 to $5 each, and some can run $20 or more each, perhaps creating a problem for your budget.

For your bathroom vanity cabinets countertops, you have several options. You can choose from laminates, ceramic tile, wood, composite materials or solid surface materials such as stone, stainless steel or concrete. Laminates, composite materials, solid surface materials and stainless steel are more susceptible to scratches. However, composite or solid surface materials can be repaired and replaced very easily. Stone countertops are beautiful and durable, but they can stain easily and are expensive.

Ceramic tile is the most commonly used countertop surface. It is durable and you can select from a wide variety of sizes, colors and textures. However, the grout used between the tiles can stain and the tiles can have irregular surfaces. Wood surfaces are beautiful but can stain or mildew if not maintained well. Concrete is a durable and heat-resistant countertop surface, but it can discolor or crack.

Whether upgrading an existing bathroom or planning a new one, the bathroom is one of the best home improvement investments you can make. You, your family or guests will enjoy the bathrooms in your home every day. And should you ever sell your home, attractive and functional bathrooms add to the desirability and to the selling price of your home. Before you buy, read as much as you can on choosing the bathroom vanities online or in stores that will be the best for you and your bathroom. Learning as much as you can will be time well spent.

Copyright 2005 InfoSearch Publishing

When you are planning to remodel or renovate your bathroom and maximize its feel and over-all look, here are some suggestions in maximizing your whole bathroom layout.

Install frameless shower doors if your budget includes a new shower. A pivot hinge will minimize the shower door swing, which also eliminates the need for a larger clearance.

Think about putting in a pocket door. This will do away with the call for any door clearance, which is usually a thirty degree wide arc. Get rid of linen closets if those are not useful. You can substitute the shelf space with hanging wall cabinets. Get rid of the partition walls. These partition walls are commonly seen in much older homes, and they are just space eating items that originated from a design era where the partition were used to separate rooms and create smaller areas. The recessed lights should be positioned next to the vanity mirror in order to illuminate the room brightly. Get rid of all the clutter. Uncluttered rooms make a space appear more open and larger. Go for cool paint palette, like the neutrals, pastels or variants of whites to provide the delusion of open space; put in more color by adding accessories, like the fixtures and towels. Make sure they go with the color scheme of the bathroom. Add mirrors, it can make the room seems bigger. Prefer wall mounted vanities than custom made cabinets since the latter will cost more. Plus, wall mounted sinks or corner vanity cabinets are space savers but very stylish as well.