One of the biggest challenges when remodeling a bathroom in an older home is working around the existing plumbing. Unless you are planning on moving pipes and ripping up the floors/walls, you will often have to work around the existing plumbing in order to remodel your bathroom. Unfortunately, most older bathrooms didn't feature the large vanities that most homeowners would like to have. That being said, it doesn't mean that you have to give up your dreams of a large, luxurious bathroom just because the vanity won't fit exactly where you would like it.



Most vanities today come with an open back so that working around the plumbing is easier. The latest trend in bathroom design is to use vanities that look like pieces of furniture. With furniture vanities, they usually have drawers that could interfere with your plumbing. While it presents a challenge, this shouldn't shatter your dreams of having that vanity installed. The best option, which I have done several times, is to take the drawer front and attach it to the face frame. While you lose the use of that drawer, it will allow the needed space to accommodate any odd arrangements with your existing plumbing.

Another factor to consider is where you plumbing is originating from. Many of the new style vanities feature legs that lift it off the floor and make it look like a free standing piece of bathroom furniture. While this looks great, if your plumbing is coming up through the floor, it is going to be exposed. In a case like this, you may have to settle for a vanity that has a toe kick to cover up the unsightly pipes.

So before shopping for the bathroom vanity of your dreams, make sure you take into account where the plumbing is originating from and how it will affect the design of the vanity itself. By taking this step, you should be able to accommodate any vanity on the market.