Wooden Vanity Units

What most bathroom vanity units are actually made from

The majority of vanity units sold in bathroom showrooms and online retailers are built from MDF or moisture-resistant chipboard — sheets of compressed wood fibres bonded with resin, sometimes wrapped in a thin veneer or painted finish. These materials are cheaper to produce and machine than solid timber, and they look fine when new. The problem appears over time, and particularly in bathrooms, where humidity and temperature cycle constantly.

MDF and chipboard absorb moisture at the joints and edges — the areas that sealant misses, the back panel where the plumbing runs, the base where water pools after a shower. Once they start to swell, the finish lifts and the structural integrity of the carcass goes with it. A chipboard vanity unit has a typical bathroom lifespan of 5–8 years before the carcass starts to fail.

Solid timber behaves differently. Wood expands and contracts slightly with changes in humidity, but a properly seasoned and wax-finished piece doesn't swell or degrade the same way. The joinery stays tight, the surface stays intact, and the unit doesn't hollow from the inside. Our vanity units are solid wood throughout — the carcase, the doors, the shelves. There's no chipboard core or veneered panel anywhere in the construction.

Choosing a style to suit your bathroom

We make several distinct vanity unit styles, and they suit different spaces and uses. The rustic open-shelf unit has a drawer for basin essentials and open lower storage — it works well in bathrooms where you want a more exposed, furniture-like look and don't mind what's on the shelf being visible. It suits farmhouse-style and rustic bathrooms where the unit is meant to be a feature rather than hidden storage.

The enclosed cupboard units — both the double-door freestanding version and the drawer-over-cupboard version — give more contained storage and a cleaner visual. The double doors hide everything behind the basin; the drawer-over-cupboard gives daily-access storage for smaller items at the top with larger cupboard space below. These suit en suites and family bathrooms where the priority is keeping the room looking tidy.

The wall-mounted unit fixes directly to the wall with a single drawer and open floor space below. It's the most contemporary of the range — minimal, clean lines, and the open floor makes compact bathrooms feel less cluttered. It's the better choice for cloakrooms and smaller bathrooms where floor space is the limiting factor.

Why made-to-order matters more in bathrooms than any other room

Bathrooms are routinely the most awkward space in a house to buy furniture for. Alcoves built around the bath, boxing covering pipework, non-standard wall widths, recesses that are 50mm narrower than a standard vanity unit — these are common in older properties and in bathrooms that have been fitted and refitted over the years. Most vanity units come in fixed sizes: 595mm, 800mm, 1000mm. If your space doesn't match, you either leave a gap or box in the sides yourself.

Because we make to order, the unit is built to fit the space rather than the other way around. If you have an alcove that's 740mm wide, or a wall recess with a specific height constraint, or a layout where the basin waste comes through at an awkward angle — those are things we can accommodate before the unit is built rather than after. Get in touch with your measurements before ordering if you have anything non-standard; it's far easier to adjust the dimensions at the workshop than to modify a unit on site.