Nothing about remodeling a bathroom is easy, but anything involving rerouting plumbing is an especially big headache. Even slightly repositioning your pipes can be expensive and invasive – a hassle that’s worth avoiding if you can help it. This can present a significant problem if you want to rearrange the major fixtures in your bathroom. Now, there’s no way to avoid costly plumbing work if you want to move your shower, tub, or toilet. But bathroom vanities with offset sinks make it possible to get away with altering the size, shape, or positioning of your bathroom vanity pretty significantly without having to reroute your plumbing.
Situating Your Vanity
Typical pre-made bathroom vanities come with a cutout on the back panel to accommodate the plumbing. But these holes tend to be on the smaller side. If you reposition your bathroom vanity by as little as a few inches, the opening may no longer match up. Trying to work around the problem by extending your plumbing or expanding the cutout might work. But depending on your setup and skill level? Both are vastly less elegant and efficient than starting with a vanity that’s properly lined up with your plumbing.
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Move Your Vanity Without Moving Your Plumbing
The vast majority of bathroom vanities have sinks placed squarely in the middle. But even on a small bathroom vanity, offsetting the sink gives you more wiggle room in terms of positioning. If you’re downsizing your existing vanity to make more room for alternative storage? Offsetting the sink allows you to scoot the vanity out of the way. That means making more space for your new furniture without turning a simple remodel into an expensive renovation. Alternatively, if you want to squeeze a larger vanity into the space of a smaller one? An offset sink means you won’t need to keep the vanity perfectly centered on the existing plumbing.
Customizable Modular Sets
Many asymmetrical and offset bathroom vanities are available in the 30″-48″ range. If you have a larger space to accommodate, you might want to opt for a multi-piece modular bathroom vanity. These combine standard small-sized bathroom vanities with a variety of modular add-on pieces, like extra drawers or makeup stations. If you’re significantly changing the floor plan of your bathroom but don’t want to move your plumbing, this is the best way to get a vanity that fits the space exactly.
Add-On Surface and Storage
Similarly, many modular bathroom vanities include an add-on storage cabinet. These can extend the width of the vanity without moving it away from the existing plumbing. A multi-piece offset won’t give you the same uninterrupted, level counter space. But the cabinet fits snugly up against the vanity for a seamless look you won’t get from a conventional storage cabinet. As a bonus, you can set up these storage pieces on either side of the vanity for added flexibility.
More Counter Space in A Small Bathroom
Even if you’re opting for an asymmetrical bathroom vanity to avoid having to do any major construction, these unique vanities also come with a few of their own practical advantages. Center-set sinks are nice for symmetry, but wind up leaving you with a lot less counter space. Pushing the sink off to one side doubles the usable surface space on the opposite side, creating ample room for counter top storage. Vanities in the 30″-36″ inch range are on the smaller end. But offsetting the sink can make them significantly more usable.
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Drawer Space On Small Vanities
Offsetting the sink (and by extension, the plumbing) also opens up a surprising amount of space inside the vanity cabinet itself. When the sink drain and trap are shifted, it opens up room for drawers in the space they normally occupy. On vanities 36″ and under, which are typically too small to have drawers at all, this can significantly increase the available amount of internal storage space while maintaining a compact footprint.
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Whether you’re trying to avoid a plumbing-related headache or just squeeze a little extra functionality into a small bathroom, bathroom vanities with offset sinks give you that little extra wiggle room you need to get the job done.
