ᐅ What to consider when choosing a mirrored cabinet and a vanity unit?

FrankChief schrieb:

@ypg It can’t be lower than 120cm (47 inches) because of the baseboard.

But we definitely need the mirror cabinet, otherwise we have no space to put things down.

The bathroom is quite small, and not everything fits inside the vanity unit.

What I could imagine is hanging the mirror cabinet just a bit higher than the baseboard.

Around 125-130cm (49-51 inches), then you can’t put anything underneath, but it wouldn’t look as bad as if the mirror cabinet sat directly on the baseboard.

But keep in mind you’ll still have to clean underneath. It’s best to test beforehand whether the clearance is still enough to comfortably reach underneath by hand.

We also have a small bathroom, and in addition to the vanity unit, there is a mid-height cabinet in the corner. It’s not wall-mounted because there’s no space for it, but stands in a corner partly under the window. Maybe a freestanding cabinet could be an option too?

FrankChief schrieb:

Are you sure these can always be replaced? I mean, that they are screwed on and not, for example, glued?

I can’t imagine they would be glued — that wouldn’t hold up over time. With any decent-quality products, the handle should always be screwed on. Usually, you can unscrew the handle from the inside and, for example, spray-paint it. Or buy another handle with the same hole spacing.

Jurassic135 schrieb:

But keep in mind that you’ll still need to apply the final skim coat underneath. It’s best to test beforehand whether there’s enough clearance to comfortably fit your hand underneath.

We also have a small bathroom, and in addition to the base cabinet, there’s a mid-height cabinet in the corner. It’s not wall-mounted, since there isn’t space for that, but stands in a corner partially under the window. Maybe a freestanding cabinet could be an option?

Thanks for the tip.

Adding another cabinet is unfortunately not that easy; maybe only next to the entrance (between the door and the shower).

There is about 56cm (22 inches) of space there (not counting the door frame, so realistically more like 50cm (20 inches)); possibly a 30-35cm (12-14 inch) wide cabinet could fit, but it would need to be checked first how that would work.

Or there’s some space between the shower and the bathtub, about 58cm (23 inches), but the wall there is only about 1.20m (4 feet) high, at least the base of it.

Have a look for mid-height cabinets. Usually, there are matching furniture pieces for washbasins, such as mid-height cabinets, tall cabinets, and so on. I just looked it up, and a mid-height cabinet is available, for example, in 30 and 33 cm (12 and 13 inches) widths. We didn’t mount ours on the wall as specified by the manufacturer; instead, I simply got suitable furniture legs with a stainless steel look and screwed them underneath. That wasn’t difficult, and I didn’t have to drill into the tiles—or rather, we didn’t have any space left on the wall for that. With 58 cm (23 inches) of space, something like that fits easily in between and will probably look airy rather than cramped.

I would suggest setting up a mock-up at home with furniture or boxes to get a feel for the spacing and measurements. At 1.20 m (4 feet) height, the mid-height cabinet could even be relatively tall; ours is about 80 cm (31 inches).

Yes, we’ll see.

But drilling through the tile is not a problem, at least it makes cleaning under the cabinet easier if it doesn’t have legs.

The only issue is that we can’t install these cabinets near the sink; they would have to be on the other side of the bathroom. Therefore, we still need the medicine cabinet.

If the medicine cabinet is installed at 130 cm (51 inches), there should be enough visibility, and 10 cm (4 inches) of space should be sufficient to clean around it.

Very flat items, like a hairbrush, can also be placed there temporarily. The base next to the medicine cabinet extends further for taller items as well.

If we hung a mirror at 120 cm (47 inches), there wouldn’t be much space to place things because it would cover the mirror.

The cabinets are still a good addition for towels or similar items.

FrankChief schrieb:

It can’t be lower than 120cm (47 inches) because of the baseboard

I know, we have the same setup. But having a mirror that is too high is a big problem. Also, the entire bathroom ends up looking bad because of it. Mirrors have a strong impact on the room. Look for alternatives, for example, a vanity cabinet. Or even omit the shelf altogether. 50cm (20 inches) of space on the side is enough for a tall cabinet. There are plenty of options.

FrankChief schrieb:

Are you sure they can always be replaced, meaning that they are screwed on and not glued, for example?

I was also referring to painting 😉

ypg schrieb:

I also mentioned painting 😉

You can usually tell if we painted them afterward. Even if we dismantled them and sprayed the paint, it would still be noticeable, right?

That’s why buying different handles might be a better option, which would probably look much nicer.

ypg schrieb:

I know, we have the same situation. But having the mirror too high is a big issue. Plus, the whole bathroom looks worse because of it. Mirrors have a strong effect on the room. Look for alternatives like a base cabinet or just skip the shelf entirely. 50 cm (20 inches) on the side is enough space for a tall cabinet. There are many options for that.

How would it look if there is air behind the tall cabinet (at least at the top) because of the plinth?

The plinth is 10 cm (4 inches) deep.

If we hang the mirrored cabinet at 130 or 135 cm (51 or 53 inches), that should still work, right?

At 135 cm (53 inches) I see myself down to just below my chest 😀 My wife is about the same height.