Vanity Styling

Vanity Styling

Furniture style, vintage looks and more upscale medicine cabinet styling are hallmarks of a bath vanity market that caters to individual tastes.

By Daina Darzin

All of these needs are being met by an increasingly complex and varied bath vanity and medicine cabinet market, according to the manufacturers surveyed by Kitchen & Bath Design News.

Individual style
Today's hot style isanything consumers want it to be. "We've seen very ornate Old World stuff, Arts and Crafts and Mission looks, and some [styles] that really didn't fit neatly into any package," notes John Troxell, design director for Wood-Mode Inc., in Kreamer, PA. 

"The biggest thing is, people are looking to customize and express their own individuality in their bathroom [with] a semi-custom look," echoes Allison Kurtz, marketing manager for Robern, in Bristol, PA. 

Manufacturers agree, however, that furniture styling is a prevalent trend, no matter which era of furniture it evokes. "People are excited about furniture detailing anything that makes it look like you didn't just buy a standard vanity," says Sandra Luttchens, director of design and training for Omega Cabinetry, Waterloo, IA. 

Troxell cites period architectural styling, and table looks with a skirt in metal, wrought iron, wood and other materials, as new hot choices. "Vanities tend to be on the fanciful side," he notes. 
Similarly, Stacie Gilles, manager of marketing communications for Decora, in Jasper, IN, sees a growth in open shelving and glass doors to display decorative items, along with such furniture touches as bundt feet, tapered legs and flutes. 

Mark Conde, product manager for the Red Lion, PA-based Yorktowne Inc., adds that this trend extends to medicine cabinets, with "fluted columns flanking either side, rope or beaded moulding, and accent pieces that are incorporated into the vanity or medicine cabinet to give it that real custom furniture individual look."

Manufacturers emphasize that furniture looks aren't limited to Old World styles. Kurtz cites glamorous 1930s-1940s looks, with "a chrome, porcelain authenticity" as an up-and-coming trend. 

"Retro looks are popular," adds Gilles. "People like those smooth lines. You're seeing a lot of Shaker moving into the bathroom, with finishes you might not normally see, [such as] a Shaker door with a heavier glaze." 

"We have a free-standing Arts and Crafts [vanity] that's selling like crazy," agrees Luttchens. "We're also seeing [a look that is] more transitional not real contemporary, but with softer lines, not so much detailing, [with] a simple, tapered leg." 

Adds Sarah Reep, ASID, CKD, CMG, StarMark, Inc., makers of Fieldstone, Sioux Falls, SD, "Traditional still sells the most in all areas of the home. Contemporary influences are showing up in the kitchen, which will ultimately emigrate to the bath." She adds, however, that traditional looks aren't as elaborate as a few years back. 
Furniture looks

In kitchen cabinetry, the high-end market is veering toward contemporary styles, exotic woods and clear, minimalist finishes, but this trend has yet to reach the bathroom, manufacturers agree. 

Troxell explains that painted finishes, crackle glaze and antique painted looks reinforce an Old World, antique look. Darker woods and finishes are also coming into vogue "for something more dramatic in the bathroom: People are going for that elegant feel," adds Gilles, who further notes that traditional white cabinetry remains a bathroom mainstay.
Reep, on the other hand, cites the popularity of multi-step finishes in monochromatic, soothing colors with fewer brights or accent colors. 

Consumers want to experiment with different finishes in the bathroom, believes Luttchens. "They're reluctant to do something really innovative in the kitchen because it's such a large room," she explains. "But they'll experiment a little more in the bath."
As for wood choices, cherry and maple still lead the pack, while Conde notes that thermafoils are still popular because they resist moisture; he believes consumers will often choose a less expensive wood in order to invest in furniture styling. Manufacturers also cite oak and pecan as other vanity choices.