The Vanity Sizing Mistake We See Customers Make Time and Time Again
Most people buying a vanity online go through the same process. They measure the wall, find the biggest vanity that fits within that measurement, and order it.
The problem we see time and time again is that whether a vanity fits and whether it makes a room feel right are two different things. A vanity can clear every wall by a comfortable margin and still make a bathroom feel cramped, heavy, and smaller than it actually is. We see it happen regularly, and it almost always comes down to the same handful of mistakes.
The biggest mistake isn't about technical size, but visual weight
Here's the thing most people don't realise without a designer in the room: a small vanity can make a bathroom feel bigger than a larger one, depending on how it sits in the space.
A floor-mounted vanity with a full-height cabinet – even a modest 750mm vanity – sits on the floor and interrupts the sightline across the room. Your eye hits the cabinet base and stops. The floor disappears behind it. In a standard Australian bathroom of around 3m x 2m, that's enough to make the space feel noticeably heavier.
A wall-hung vanity of the same width, or even wider, does the opposite. Because the floor runs continuously underneath it, your eye travels further and the room reads as larger than it is. The floating effect changes how a space feels to be in.
If you're renovating a small to medium bathroom and you're on the fence between a freestanding vanity and wall-hung, this is the single most impactful decision you can make for how the finished room feels.
Going too large in pursuit of storage
The next most common mistake we see people making is upsizing the vanity to get more drawer space. It's an understandable trade-off — bathrooms never have enough storage — but a 1200mm or 1500mm vanity in a room that really only suits an 900mm will dominate the space in a way that feels uncomfortable.
The rule of thumb we'd suggest: there should be at least 600mm of clear floor space between the front of the vanity and the opposite wall or shower screen. That's the minimum you need to stand comfortably, open drawers, and not feel like you're wedged in. If a larger vanity puts you under that threshold, the storage gain isn't worth it.
If storage is genuinely the problem, a shaving cabinet above the vanity will often give you more usable space than upsizing the vanity itself — without eating into the floor area.
Pairing a shaving cabinet with a smaller vanity is a great way to save space and add storage.
Going too small as an overcorrection
The opposite mistake happens too, particularly in powder rooms. People assume that a smaller vanity automatically means a larger-feeling space, so they go as compact as possible, and end up with a vanity that looks undersized and slightly lost against the wall.
A vanity that's too small for its wall reads as an afterthought. Proportionally, it can actually make a room feel more cluttered than a correctly sized one would, because nothing anchors the space.
For most powder rooms, a 600mm vanity is the sweet spot — compact enough to leave circulation space, substantial enough to look intentional.
The depth problem people tend not to think about
Standard vanity depth in Australia is around 460–500mm. That's the measurement from the wall to the front edge of the basin, and it's calibrated to be deep enough to use comfortably without taking up more floor space than necessary.
Where people run into trouble is going shallower — sometimes down to 380mm or 400mm — to claw back a bit of floor space in a tight bathroom. What they don't account for is that a shallower basin is noticeably less comfortable to use. You end up leaning further forward, water runs down your arms, and the daily frustration adds up quickly.
Unless you're working with a genuinely unusual space where every centimetre matters, stick to the standard depth range. The floor space you save with a 400mm vanity versus a 460mm one is 60mm — barely noticeable in practice, but the usability difference is real.
The measurement most people forget: door swings & clearances
Buying a vanity online means you're working from a floor plan rather than standing in the space, which makes it easy to miss how a vanity interacts with doors and other fixtures.
Before you confirm a size, we always tell customers to check the following:
1. Your bathroom door swing. If it opens into the bathroom, map out the full arc and make sure the vanity — including any open drawers — clears it comfortably. A door that grazes a drawer handle every time you open it is a small but persistent annoyance.
2. The wet area clearance. There should be adequate space between the vanity and the shower screen or bath edge — both for comfort and to allow proper waterproofing at the junctions. If your vanity is going right up against a wet area, check with your tiler before ordering.
3. Drawer opening depth. A 900mm vanity with deep drawers needs space in front of it for those drawers to open fully. Measure from the front of the vanity to whatever is opposite — wall, toilet, shower — and make sure there's enough room.
What to actually measure before you buy
The wall length available for the vanity is only the starting point. Before you order, you want to know:
- The clear floor space in front of where the vanity will sit — aim for at least 600mm to the nearest opposite fixture.
- Your door swing arc, and whether it clears the vanity and open drawers. The rough-in position of your plumbing — this affects where the vanity can actually sit, not just where you'd like it to.
- Whether the wall can take a wall-hung vanity — it needs to be a solid substrate, not just plasterboard.
If you're not sure on any of these, it's worth a conversation before you order. We'd rather spend a few minutes helping you get the sizing right than have you receive a vanity that doesn't work in your space.
Not sure what will work in your space? Come and see us in person.
Buying a vanity online without seeing it in person is one of the reasons sizing mistakes happen in the first place. At our new Buildmat Selection Centre, you can see the full range, get a feel for the finishes, and talk through your bathroom dimensions with someone who knows the products.
We're not a showroom where you wander around unassisted. Our team will sit down with you, look at your plans or measurements, and help you figure out what will actually work before you spend a cent.
Need help in the mean time? Read our full vanity buying guide.
Buildmat Selection Centre
45 Warrigal Rd, Hughesdale VIC 3166
(03) 9917 5588
Monday to Friday, 9am – 3:30pm (by appointment)
Book a visit or browse our full vanity range online.
