Brown Design + Development

Details of the Vanity Featured in California Home & Design

The vanity at a 1920's Los Feliz Spanish revival home was featured on the cover of the July 2008 issue of California Home and Design.  There has been a tremendous response to it and we wanted to reveal all the details with our readers!

As we designed the interior, it was important to select pieces that would restore the home to it's original Spanish charm.  Collectively, a mix of new and vintage pieces were used in the home.  In the master bath however, we used new pieces, but carefully selected those that provided a vintage feel. 

We custom designed the double vanity that was made of reclaimed douglas fir.  The hardware was purchased from a Beverly Hills store called the Golden Lion who specializes in traditional european hardware. 

The trough sink is by a company called Wet Style.  We used traditional, oversized hardware and also undermounted the sink (rather than surface-mounting as shown in the picture below) to deemphasize the modern appeal of the sink and to maintain the classic and luxurious feel of the bathroom. 

To complete the vanity, we chose a carrara marble from Ann Sacks for the countertop.  It is a versatile surface, as it can be used in modern and traditional applications.  Carrara has elegant silver to charcoal veining throughout, giving it an opulent feel. 

 

Floating Vanities

When it comes to designing a modern bathroom, we love to create a minimalist look with a floating vanity. There are many options at different price points and lead times.

A higher end option would be from Duravit. Duravit’s vanities are very well made, and great built-in storage units to make the most out of your space.  These units are made to fit perfectly with Duravit’s line of wall mounted sinks and typically take 6-8 weeks from time of order.

Recently we were introduced to a line of bathroom sink cabinets from Tonusa.  They come in a variety of finishes, have coordinating mirrors and storage cabinets and most versions are in stock and the prices are very reasonable.

Sometimes we do not have the luxury of six weeks to wait for a cabinet or just wish to build something that will fit perfectly in the space we are designing. That’s when custom cabinetry comes in.

At a recent project on Valley Oak Drive in Franklin Canyon, we designed and commissioned our cabinet maker to build three bathroom vanities. The cost of custom vanities depends on the species of wood used and how intricate the design is.  For the powder room we opted for a long floating cabinet with the sink set on top of the wood counter. 

The guest bathroom required we build a larger cabinet to fit below the sink we purchased, allowing more storage space. When building a custom floating cabinet, it is important to leave at least 9” from the floor to the bottom of the cabinet to achieve the look.  Your cabinetmaker must also take into consideration the height at which the plumbing and drain fall at to ensure they are covered by the cabinetry.

 

The master bathroom vanity shown below was custom made to fit this particular bathroom.  The countertop was fabricated out of Blizzard Caesarstone and we undermounted a 36” trough sink instead of using two separate sinks.