Many people believe that beauty and budget don't go hand-in-hand but that's not the case, and these IKEA hacks are here to prove it. Those looking to buy a new bathroom vanity will find these beautiful, custom pieces by DIYers super helpful. After all, vanities are important to the overall look of the space, and finding just the right style, design or shade can be a task. But these made-to-measure pieces by DIYers will certainly help inspire your bathroom makeover.
All you need is a few tools, the right IKEA unit, and a little extra imagination. Here we've rounded up some of our favorite IKEA hacks for bathroom vanities so you can get a modern, sophisticated piece without breaking the bank.
1. Choose IKEA Enhet to fashion the perfect storage
'Since we are renting, we wanted a cost-effective bathroom set up with as much storage space as possible (you can never have enough with two kids!),' says Lisa Demelt of @mamimitstil. 'But having said that, I still wanted an attractive interior because I value aesthetics. After weeks of research, I couldn't find any affordable bathroom furniture that matched my taste. So, I decided on a simple and inexpensive IKEA option that fit perfectly under the sink and in the niche next to the door.'
To create the perfect piece for her modern bathroom, Lisa went with the best designer IKEA hack — she chose Enhet and embellished the fronts with materials from the hardware store. 'I assembled the cabinets as described in the instructions and installed them in the bathroom,' she says. 'However, I left the fronts aside and enhanced them with half-round wooden rods from the hardware store. For the tall cabinet next to the door, I cut the rods to the right length with a handsaw and glued them to the front using mounting adhesive. For the sink cabinet, I wanted a more unique pattern. I sketched it on paper beforehand and determined the best arrangement for the rods. Finally, I added new handles from Prettypegs (they specialize in handles and legs for IKEA hacks) to both doors.'
And, the result is impressive! 'I think the only challenge I faced while doing this hack was the pattern on the sink cabinet. Angling and aligning the rods perfectly involved a lot of trial and error, with frequent adjustments. I had to repeatedly place, cut, angle, and file the rods until they fit perfectly.'
2. Build a modern bathroom vanity with Godmorgon
Designer Jenna LeBlanc of Jenna Sue Design took on the project of renovating her bathroom and carefully planned every element, including how she wanted the bathroom vanity to look. For this bathroom storage unit, she decided to go with IKEA with customized wood panels for an elevated look. 'I wanted a custom oak wood vanity with a clean, minimalist style—without spending a fortune,' says Jenna. 'The Ikea Godmorgon was a great compromise because I found a company that could design doors and panels to fit my budget.'
To create this IKEA bathroom hack, she first reached out to The Cabinet Face to choose a nice, Godmorgon font. She ordered several samples and landed on their Brushed White Oak, which has nice wood grain texture and tone. 'I sent over a mockup with my measurements, and asked if they could build a custom shelf as well,' she says. 'My design included two 40” Godmorgon vanities with two 5.5” filler pieces on either side against the wall. Total width = 90 1/4”. The vanities were mounted 10” off the ground to keep them at standard counter height (34”) and leave enough room under the faucets.'
After assembling the vanities, she built the base of the floating shelf. 'We built the 2×4” frame directly on the floor and made the depth shallower so you wouldn’t see the frame underneath,' shares Jenna. She then proceeded with a support piece (made from a ripped down 2×4) attached to the wall, which the bottom of the vanities would sit on. She used the supplied metal brackets from IKEA, and inserted heavy-duty toggle metal bolts. Before installing the counters, blocking was added on the sides of the vanity for the filler pieces. Finally, the counter and sink were installed.
'I chose Hanstone Quartz, 3cm in the color Coast,' says Jenna. 'It is a light gray with subtle white veining and a neat honed ‘river washed’ texture that feels like natural stone. Since we were using under-mount sinks, the Godmorgon drawers were modified to accommodate the plumbing.' To complete the piece, Jenna chose a mix of metals for the hardware — black hardware, bronze faucets, and brass sconces.
3. Design a double vanity using Sektion and Maximera
'In our primary bathroom, we created an IKEA storage hack with a combination of IKEA's Sektion cabinets, IKEA's Maximera drawers, and Semihandmade's CLJ Cove door and drawer fronts to achieve the look of a custom, light wood 93" double vanity,' says Jackie of @jackie_ziz.
For this master bathroom, Jackie built the vanity base from Ikea's Sektion line and used three 15x24" Sektion base cabinet frames for the drawers stacks, and two 24x24" Sektion base cabinets (without doors). For the drawers, she went with nine Maximera medium 15x24" drawers (with no fronts)and ordered cabinets from IKEA, as they helped plan out exactly what was needed for the piece. They even advised on door hinges, suspension rails, and cabinet legs.
'Then, we ordered the drawer fronts and cabinet doors from Semihandmade to get the look we wanted,' shares Jackie. 'This method took some work (and math!), but it allowed us to get a custom-style vanity in our new bathroom that fit our budget.'
4. Use IKEA Godmorgon for a small bathroom vanity hack
Small bathrooms lead to the best, creative solutions. Interior designer Kristen Forgione wanted a compact, floating vanity unit that would fit her tiny bathroom, yet be pretty and practical. To design this unit, she used one of the best IKEA products, the IKEA Godmorgon, and transformed it with stylish fronts from Semihandmade.
While white is always considered the best, go-to color for small spaces, the designer chose a different neutral with Semihandmade’s Supermatte Slab cabinets in Desert Grey. 'The warm undertone of the vanity fronts makes them a great pairing with the room’s peach wallpaper – proof you don’t have to choose between pattern and color in a smaller space,' she says.
5. Opt for IKEA Billy to DIY a glam bathroom vanity
If you already have a marble bathroom and are looking for an IKEA furniture hack that further elevates the room, then this example is worth noting. 'For the tall units at the side we replaced the glazing in the IKEA Billy/Oxburg with a reeded glass to obscure the contents,' says Marissa of @oakappledecor. 'You could use a reeded glass film too. We then painted the units and replaced the handles. For the vanity drawers we attached reeded stripwood to the front of the drawers. We did this across the top and bottom drawers and then cut them apart afterward to ensure the reeded pattern lined up.'
To finish the product, she painted the fronts with Little Greene Ashes of Roses and added handles from Superfront.
