Sarah’s bathroom clicked. I stepped inside hers last spring and instantly knew this was how I wanted my bathroom to look. Not in a HOLY-SHIT-THE-MOMENT-I’VE-BEEN-WAITING-FOR-YOU’RE-HERE kind of way.
It clicked in a soft, understated way. Her black bathroom vanity anchored the entire room, but instead of weighing it down like a black hole, it elevated the surrounding finishes. I touched the countertop (don’t laugh, you’d touch it too if you sat down and felt that matte finish) and thought: why the fuck isn’t everyone doing this?
I’d been wanting to redo my own bathroom vanity for ages. Every time I entered my flat to brush my teeth in the morning, I’d catch myself staring in the mirror, wondering what else I could do to cover up how ugly everything else looked.
The beige walls.
The beige grout. God bless the beige plateau we’re currently living in outside of design-loving circles, but holy shit do I hate it in my bathroom. My builder-basic vanity wasn’t horrendous.
Trust me, I kept telling myself that too. It wasn’t HORRENDOUS like some of the gold toilets I’ve seen out there. It was…..fine.
Pleasant. There’s nothing wrong with the builder-basic honey oak vanity that came with my NYC flat – unless you despise its soulless appearance every time you enter your own home. Then it kind of sucks.
Before Sarah’s bathroom clicked, I’d been anxiously trying to figure out how to upgrade my bathroom without actually committing to the upgrade. I just stared blankly at paint chips and mutely scrolled through Pinterest to avoid making a decision. But what if I only changed the vanity?
Would that look weird? See, most people opt to redesign the entire bathroom when they want to upgrade it. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that approach.
Kitchens and bathrooms are the hubs of your home and when they’re outdated, it can bring down the vibe of your entire space. But what if you just changed your vanity to black? Would that automatically make your whole space look dated?
Black vanities are a thing. They can anchor your bathroom beautifully, but not make it feel like the dank caves we all tried so desperately to live in throughout quarantine. Naturally, everything you pair your luxe black matte vanity with matters… Cabinet finish.
UGH. Don’t even get me started. Black paint gives you THREE options.
Matte, high-gloss, and my personal favourite – satin. Gloss and matte were really the only options we considered before Sarah’s bathroom. Matte looks sophisticated and feels like velvet once you run your fingers along the countertop.
It hides fingerprints like a dream. Got kids? Great you don’t have to stress about smudgy fingerprints!
Living with other humans who touch everything in toothpaste-covered hands? Matte is your best friend. The downfall is water spots are more visible with a matte finish, so if you’re lazy like me and hate wiping down your counters every other day, high-gloss may be your best bet.
High-gloss vanities are a godsend if you have a small bathroom. Light reflects off the surface and instantly makes your space feel bigger. And hey – it’s one splash and you can wipe down the countertop and it’s good as new.
The downside is every fingerprint, water drop, and rogue piece of glitter will show up on your counters. I did lots of testing at showrooms (as you can see my running fingers through water on faux vanities is how I spend my free time), and boy do those water spots show on high-gloss finishes. Marginally better than finger prints at least.
I ended up going with satin finishes. It hides fingerprints decently, doesn’t show water spots like a dark mirror, and still looks sophisticated. Hardware was another battle.
Hardware is the first thing people see when they walk into your bathroom. It sets the tone for the entire space. I LOVE brass right now, especially against black.
You Might Also Like
It creates this vintage-inspired feel that’s very on-trend right now on all the Insta architecture accounts I follow. But brass ended up being too bold for my space. It seemed like it tried too hard against my big, beautiful black matte vanity.
Chrome is very Kim Kardashian. Sleek! Modern!
DON’T DRINK MILK AROUND ME CAUSED I’S CRISPY! But in all seriousness, chrome is also super low maintenance. It doesn’t tarnish (unlike poor, hard-working brass) and is fairly scratch resistant.
Matte black hardware is very on-trend right now and I love the all-black vibe, but it will look flat next to your high-end matte black countertop. You lose that lovely contrast between materials and it’s just kinda…there. I ended up going with brushed nickel hardware.
It’s fancy without being overbearing, easy to keep shiny, and warm enough that the entire space doesn’t feel cold. Countertops. UGH.
Don’t get me started. I researched quartz versus marble versus granite countertops for weeks. Don’t be me and research this for weeks.
White quartz or marble paired with a black vanity is like a bathroom tuxedo. It’s classic. It’s timeless.
It looks expensive as hell but also high-maintenance AF. White gets stains, y’all. Nothing will make you hate your beautiful new countertop like a splatter of red wine during your weekly kitchen remodel doom-scrolling session.
Stay clear of white countertops if you dread cleaning around your sink like I do. I ended up going with a warm grey with subtle veining. Grey quartz worked perfectly with my dark floors and light walls.
It wasn’t too much contrast with the black vanity but stood out against the walls. You can also go with natural stone for your countertop. It will look absolutely gorgeous, but will require resealing every few years.
I wanted black granite originally. For all….five…minutes I spent looking at black granite countertops. Then I realised that black countertop + black vanity = dipshit living in a cave.
Maybe that’d be cool? I don’t know the Andy Warhol household, but I’ll never feel bold enough to embrace that level of black. Make sure you also brighten the space around your new black vanity!
I painted my walls a soft white with grey undertones. Should you decide to paint your walls white too, you will understand my pain when I tell you that shopping for white paint was the worst. Seventeen thousand different takes on “white” later and I finally settled on the perfect grey/white ratio.
Proper lighting is also key when you’re working with dark cabinetry. You need general ambient lighting to keep the space from feeling too closed off, as well as task lighting you’d normally use when applying makeup or brushing your teeth. I installed recessed lighting above my bathroom vanity, as well as wall mounted sconces on either side of my mirror.
The sconces are meant to direct light up and down, which eliminates any overly bright spots on your dark countertop and creates an evenly lit glow around your entire space. Don’t forget about your mirror either. Yes, you need a mirror above your vanity to do your goddamn makeup, but also pick a stylish mirror to amplify your new countertop.
I bought a large mirror with a thin black frame to help compliment my vanity without taking too much attention away from my beautiful new countertop.
Lastly, consider your floors! I would’ve never thought my floor pairings would make or break my bathroom vanity, but light-coloured tile really opened up the entire space and helped balance out my dark floors.
I went with large white subway tile in a herringbone pattern. It was classic enough to not go out of style within the next year, but gave my bathroom that extra something I was looking for. Just remember that if you’re going dark on your countertops, you’ll want to ensure you have ample storage with nice finishes on the inside of your drawers and cabinets.
You can’t see stains and clutter as easily when it’s painted black, so having nice interior finishes or even built-in lighting can help when you’re rushing to find something in the mornings. I love my black bathroom vanity. It was literally the first thing I bought when we moved in and I haven’t regretted the decision since!
The black really grounds the entire space and gives me that je ne sais quoi I wasn’t getting from my old vanity. Plus, I don’t hate spending five extra minutes making myself look somewhat decent in front of it every morning. Win win.
