Your guide to choosing a new bathroom cabinet
Bathroom furniture comes in all sorts of colours, materials and sizes. Choosing a new piece of furniture can therefore cause some stress. You obviously want a beautiful piece of furniture, maybe even a touch of luxury, but don't lose sight of practicality either. First and foremost, your furniture should be functional and fit in perfectly with your lifestyle. The tips below will help you make an informed choice.
Define the style of your bathroom
Everything starts with defining your style. These days, you can choose from a wide variety of styles when decorating your bathroom. From romantic rural to robust industrial, from contemporary modern to soft Scandinavian.
If you want modern and timeless furniture, opt for simple white. Or perhaps it could be a bit more playful? Then choose a piece of furniture in candy or pastel colours. These colours often work well in Scandinavian interiors too. If you are looking for something warm and romantic, wood-look furniture is a good choice. Black furniture or furniture in dark wood with grooves fit perfectly into a tough, industrial interior.
Choose materials that suit your personality
Not only the style, but also the material is an important choice when putting together your bathroom furniture. Again, you have a wide choice depending on your taste, budget and personality.
- Sheet board material
Wood-based materials such as chipboard or mdf are by far the most commonly chosen for bathroom furniture. In the case of chipboard, these are usually finished with a thin layer of laminate or melamine. This gives you a scratch- and wear-resistant piece of furniture with a long lifespan that requires little maintenance. In addition, they are also the most budget-friendly solution. If you want a slightly higher-quality material that is still more resistant to moisture, choose MDF as your baseboard. Thanks to its smooth surface and high density, this gives you even more finishing options, such as veneer or lacquer.
- Solid (hard)wood
A piece of furniture in solid (hard) wood adds charm and character and is in itself very strong. However, it is also more sensitive to moisture and temperature fluctuations. Solid wood furniture therefore requires a bit more maintenance if you want to enjoy it for a long time. If you are someone who prefers to spend as little time as possible on maintenance or does not like to brush, choose low-maintenance sheet material.
- Stainless steel
Stainless steel as a material in the bathroom is hugely versatile. A steel cabinet in classic black fits perfectly within a modern, industrial setting. A steel cabinet in sand colours, on the other hand, lends itself perfectly to the boho chic atmosphere. Steel furniture often consists of a frame, with or without drawers. Its open character means it will never feel cumbersome or heavy.
- Natural stone
We see more and more marble furniture in the bathroom these days. This furniture combines beautifully with solid wood or wood veneer and gives your bathroom a warm, modern and luxurious look. Despite being a waterproof material, it requires some extra attention towards maintenance. But if you treat natural stone carefully, it will last forever.
Match the dimensions of your furniture to your personal situation
When deciding on the size of your bathroom furniture, you are of course dependent on the total space available. Even though you may really want a double washbasin, if it prevents you from moving around your bathroom comfortably, it's a no go. It is also best to ask yourself a few questions beforehand so that you can look for your ideal piece of furniture in a focused way:
- How many people will use the bathroom? Look at your current family composition, but perhaps also think about the future.
- Will several people use the bathroom at the same time? A double sink is often a desirable choice, but is it really necessary in your situation? The budget you save by doing this might be better invested in quality materials.
- What products do you need to store and how much space do you need for this? Think, for example, of bottles of bath foam, which are often larger and therefore require sufficient high storage space.
Bathroom furniture with a single washbasin starts from 50 cm wide, although in practice you will more often come across furniture of 60 or 80 cm. For furniture with two washbasins you need at least 100 cm, but in this case 120 cm is a more common size. In terms of depth, we see more and more furniture of 40 - 45 cm instead of the standard depth of 50 - 55 cm. Because as we live smaller and smaller, our bathrooms are also getting smaller and the demand for compact solutions is increasing.
Think about the design of your furniture
Now that the style, materials and dimensions have been determined, the really fun work begins! Nowadays, many furniture suppliers give you the option to put your furniture together completely by yourself. Do you opt for a built-in washbasin or prefer top-mounted washbasins? A piece of furniture with or without handles? Traditional drawers, cabinets or an open frame? Each of these choices will determine the final look and feel of your bathroom furniture and, by extension, your entire space.
- Sink or countertop washbasins?
Countertop washbasins have risen sharply in popularity in recent years. They come in all sorts of shapes, colours and materials and are ideal for adding a personal touch to your bathroom. You also keep more space to put toiletries, which makes them a perfect choice for the compact bathroom. A sink, on the other hand, provides a sleek modern, look and, due to the lack of seams, is very easy to maintain.
- Drawers, cabinets or an open frame?
Bathroom furniture with 2 or 3 drawers is by far the most frequently chosen. Their popularity can be explained by the fact that they allow you to store all your bathroom stuff neatly and clearly. When you work with a cabinet with shelves, you can still store your things cleanly out of sight, but it is a little more difficult to access the products at the back. We also see open frames and structures popping up more often in the bathroom these days. Ideal for those looking for a unique and minimalist piece of furniture.
- Floating, standing or on legs?
A floating bathroom cabinet visually enlarges your space. An added advantage is that the floor underneath remains free, making it very easy to clean. However, the vintage trend means that furniture on legs is enjoying a revival. Not only are they stylish and elegant, but they are also very easy to place in the room. You can also combine both options nicely. Finally, the advantage of standing furniture is that it gives you more storage space. Due to their robust character, however, they often come into their own in a slightly larger room.
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- With or without handles?
Choosing handles may seem like a detail at first glance, but it is so decisive for the look and ease of use of your bathroom furniture. For instance, you can choose to use your handles as eye-catchers. Still prefer something more subtle? Then go for a handle that is elegantly hidden between the drawers. For the sleekest result, opt for drawers without handles. They have the added advantage that you can easily clean the fronts. A final option we often see these days are push-to-open drawers. Here too, you don't have visible handles, but push on the drawer to open it. To close them again, you push them gently.
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