Bathrooms! Every one uses them, everyone loves them. Especially if they look beautiful, are renovated properly and designed to your liking.

The thought of going through a bathroom reno is daunting, and choosing the vanity top feels like it’s a bit far off. I’m here to tell you there’s really only 2 types of tops to choose from and I have a cheat for you if you want to make things really easy.

Option 1: Quartz AKA Manufactured Stone

Some people get confused as to what a quartz vanity top is, but let me make it really simple for you. Quartz is stone bits blended with stone dust and epoxy. Yes I know, but hear me out. Vanity top companies have marketed their product well, but at the end of the day, that’s all it is. The good news is that quartz tops are actually really durable, beautiful, customizable cost effective and long lasting. Yes, they have it all!

The two downsides to quartz are that its made to look like marble or quartzite. So it’s…fake stone. The other is that they’re not easy to re-finish if the surface gets etched by harsh cleaners. But unless you really want to make a statement with your bathroom, it’s usually a perfect choice.

What quartz is great for:

• Clients that want an amazing vanity top that’s long lasting, budget effective and looks like (and technically is) stone!

A Silestone Quartz countertop in a kid’s bathroom. Quartz was a perfect choice for this bathroom based on the use.

Option 2: Real Stone Ie: Marble or Quartzite

This one’s the crème de la crème. Real stone! Real stone is great for a lot of obvious reasons but lets get into them and look at some downsides.

Marble: Real stone, a bit translucent with waves of dark through it, needs to be sealed every few years with a penetrating sealer, can stain if the wrong type of soap dish is left on it for too long. Can always be re-surfaced unlike manufactured stone.

Quartzite: Real stone, looks like crystals, needs to be sealed every few years with a penetrating sealer, can stain if the wrong type of soap dish is left on it for too long. Can always be re-surfaced easily unlike manufactured stone.

I’ve left out the outlier stones like granite or limestone as these are currently out of style or not not suitable for a top.

Marble vanity tops work work great when you’re blending it with other marble elements

The Cheat!

If you’re not into the whole choosing vanity top process, you can take a really simple approach and use a pre-manufactured vanity. These vanities are ready to go with sinks, faucets, drawers and yes, the top already done! You can typically get pre-manufactured vanities in any style, plus they function and look great. The only downside? You can’t use them when you have limited space or if your vanity needs to be built into the wall.

An interesting pre-manufactured vanity!