Build a new DIY bathroom vanity with this tutorial.
Say goodbye to your basic bathroom vanity! A new vanity that looks like a piece of furniture is the perfect way to update your bathroom.
A new vanity is a fun DIY project. These easy to follow plans are a great weekend project.
I partnered with Kreg Tools to share the build plans for our 8′ vanity for free. Or you can get build plans for this open shelf vanity in other sizes here.
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Open Shelf Bathroom Vanity
You may think you want a closed cabinet to hide away all your bathroom stuff. But an open shelf on the bottom helps to make a smaller bathroom feel less closed in.
This DIY vanity also has plenty of storage!
Under each sink is a large cabinet with room for plumbing as well as storage.
There are also 2 deep drawers by the cabinet. I prefer deep drawers in the bathroom because you can stand containers upright making more room for storage.
Below the closed storage is the large open shelf. The shelf is the full length and width of the bathroom vanity.
You can use this open shelf for tons of storage too!
The open shelf turns the storage into decor. I like to use it to display:
- Towels
- Extra toilet paper
- Hair styling tools in bins
- Canisters for bath accessories
Our vanity is 8′ long, so it is two 48″ cabinets combined. The 48″ cabinet has large drawers, more than I can even fill up!
But even if you do not have room for an 8′ vanity, you can still build your own beautiful open shelf one. I have created plans for each standard size from 36″ to 60″.
All of these plans have room for a single sink and two drawers with the open shelf below.
But best of all, each one is designed to fit a standard bathroom vanity top. You can buy a solid surface vanity top at the home improvement store to update your bathroom fast and on budget!
Classic Vanity Design with Shaker Doors
This DIY vanity is a simple classic design, perfect for updating any home.
The vanity is built like a piece of furniture for your bathroom, instead of basic cabinets. This gives a bathroom a high-end design without a high-end price tag.
The shaker style doors are built without a router. This makes it an accessible build for a newer woodworker.
The cabinet is built with a classic face frame and inset doors. It makes a nice clean design for the bathroom.
Budget Bathroom Vanity
The very best part of our new DIY bathroom vanity might be that is was so much cheaper to build than buy!
The entire vanity cost less than $300 to build! And I didn’t use the cheapest wood to build it.
I used my favorite budget friendly hardwood: knotty alder. It is an easy hardwood for beginners to use and is beautiful. If you stain it, it looks like cherry. You can see the natural color on this DIY dining room hutch.
Find a lumber that fits your budget to make your own vanity. Then learn how to get a professional paint finish on it here.
DIY Bathroom Vanity Build Plans
If you are ready to build your own bathroom vanity, I am sharing the build plans for the 8′ double vanity on the Kreg Tool website.
Get the 8′ vanity build plans here.
Or get the printable PDF plans for this vanity in other standard sizes here.
Off to finish another project!
This post was sponsored by Kreg Tools. All opinions are 100% my own. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
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We have followed the plans for a double vanity to a T and everything is coming out great, but I didn’t see instruction in the build plans on how the drawers were installed or how you installed the drawer fronts? Any tips or suggestions?
I am glad you like the design enough to build it! That was a very early project of mine. Here is a recent post on installing drawer slides.
https://housefulofhandmade.com/how-to-install-cabinet-drawers/
I typically make the drawer completed then install it. I have lots of posts on building cabinets and drawers if search through you can get all the info you need.
Regarding your 8’ vanity… how many sinks did you install & where did you put them (photo of finished project)? We want to build this with double sinks.
Hi Shanelle, I added two sinks. They are over the cabinet (not the drawers). You can see the finished vanity in this post: DIY Master Bathroom Retreat.
What about your baseboards? Does the vanity stand away from the wall due to the depth of the baseboard, or did you modify the baseboard or vanity so that it sits flush to the wall?
I left the vanity sitting slightly away from the wall so that the baseboards remained because it is an open vanity. I detailed the whole install process here: How to Install a Bathroom Vanity. Then I made my vanity top just slightly larger to fill the gap behind.
Love this, do you have the sketchup file available? Thank you!
No, I do not share my SketchUp files. Thanks!
Sorry I can’t post my pictures, but I loved your design and modified the plans to fit our needs. Our double vanity was 88” in length so finding one to fit was not an option and having someone build a custom double vanity was way too expensive.
I would like to send you the pics if you’re interested. Otherwise, thanks for the ideas!
Hi Steven! I am so happy you were able to modify the plans to work for your space. Large vanities are so expensive, this is a much better budget option 😉 I’d love to see pictures, you can always email them to me or tag me on social media if you share them there.
This looks amazing!!! What did you use for the vanity top. Do you have any pictures.
Thank you
I do have pictures! I built the vanity top out of wood and you can see all the details here: How to Build & Protect a Wood Vanity Top.
Really gorgeous and very similar to what I was looking for. Thank you so much for making the plans available.
You are welcome! Have fun building.
Maybe its just me but im not seeing a link to these plans anywhere. i even see a jpg that says bathroom vanity plans….but, no link to actual plans and cut sheet. i even signed up for the library and still no vanity plans.
Sorry about that, the plans are shared on BuildSomething.com. The link was a little easy to miss, so I made it bold! Hope that helps 😉
Also, this might be a silly question, but where do you find the lumber?
I bought all mine at Home Depot.
Thanks for the plans!
I have 52″ of space to work with, and ideally would like two stacks of drawers. Do you think it would be feasible or would it make the cabinet space too small?
I am also thinking about making it a couple inches taller as I am 6’4″.
Any help?
The size of your cabinet will be dictated by the size of your sink. We went with wide above counter sinks so we needed the large cabinets (you can see them here). You could probably add two slightly narrower drawers and a narrower cabinet but I would decide on what sink you want first so you know it will fit. Also, with the above cabinet sinks, the vanity is the perfect height for my 6’3″ husband and a little too tall for me at 5’6″. Hope that helps!
I used your great plans to build my vanity. I’m stuck on installing doors. The plans don’t show a picture of this part or a picture of the hinge used. Can you please send me pictures of the door installed from inside and the hinge. Thanks so much!
The doors actually were not installed in the photos because I was still waiting on hinges to arrive. I used traditional hinges not invisible hinges because I was afraid to cut out the hole in the doors (though I cannot wait to try the hinge jig from Kreg). Here a couple pictures of the hinges installed. Hopefully it helps!
I really want to try this but am limited to 42 inches, I am totally struggling with modifying the cuts….help!
Hello Heather! I would take the extra inches you need away from the drawer space. The cabinet under the sink needs to be big enough to accommodate the sink and it is harder to remove the couple inches split between cabinet doors. Make sure all the width boards are 2″ smaller than stated in the plans, including the drawers and drawer fronts. Hope this helps and happy building!
Totally awesome project. It’s gorgeous! We’re so glad you party with us at Merry Monday. We always look forward to your projects.
Thanks so much Shirley 🙂
Wow! I’m just floored that you made that vanity yourself. It looks like it came out of a high end store!
Thanks so much Vineta! It makes me happy to hear that because I was little worried it wouldn’t turn out as I had planned. I can’t wait to finish the vanity so I can start to use it, those giant drawers are calling to me 🙂
Enjoy those giant drawers! When we moved to our new house, the one downgrade was in the bathrooms. Just a pedestal sink in the main bath, and no room to install a vanity. 🙁