You decided to renovate your bathroom and things are not working out as you had hoped. Your bathroom is in a state of total disassembly and you are still going over color chips and tile samples. You can't decide if you should go with a water-saving toilet or a sleeker, all-in-one commode. Do you want an enclosed bath/shower stall combination, or would you prefer an open model? You seem to have seen every option and you just can't decide on your direction for renovation. What you need is something to tie the space together, to establish tone and theme for the rest of your decisions in regards to cabinets, countertops, sinks etc. Is the commode or the bath the centerpiece of your design? No? The vanity and sink are what define that space. Finding the right vanity for bathroom upgrades is not as hard as you might think.

Here, you have options, but don't panic. A little design sense goes a long way in helping you create the feel of any room. One of the first considerations is how the bathroom relates to the rest of the home. A transition between spaces should have a distinctive effect, but not too abrupt. Rooms need to be different, but not too different. Look at the rest of your home, especially the areas leading to the bathroom. Characterize those areas. Do they have a European influence, are they more exotic, or are they a mix of Americana you have assembled over the years? The right combination of commode, wall color, tile work vanity and bathroom fixtures can bring a space house together, or it can stand out in striking contrast.

Look to your trims, moldings, and wall finishings. Is the feel more classic or modern? All of these things can give you hints to the theme you want to carry through to your bathroom. Relating these things can seem tricky, they are not. What ultimately matters most is how they work for you, that you like them. Do you want your vanity and bathroom to have the same feel as the rest of your home? Are your walls painted, papered, textured? These, too, can provide direction for colors and surfaces of your vanity. And don't assume you have to match them.

Sometimes a contrast is what you need. If your walls are plaster and have a lot of character, you may want to contrast that with something with compact and elegant in your bathroom vanity form. If your decor colors are light throughout the house, a vanity with a dark coffee finish can still work. Darker colors can make a space feel smaller, lighter colors can perceptually open a space. Would you prefer a vanity or bathroom that conveys the same flow as the rest of your house, or do you want something truly unique, set apart?

It is important to go into any major design project with a sense of vision. If you find yourself launching into projects and you lack that vision, look to the one thing in a space that really defines it functionally and is centrally located. In the case of bathrooms, the vanity is an obvious choice. Then you can reflect upon, or respond to, design influences in the rest of your house to make sure the whole experience meshes well. Vanity and bathroom details are the things that can make this happen for you.

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