My decision to paint our bathroom vanity black came the second I walked into Sarah’s bathroom last spring. Okay, not really. But when I stepped into her bathroom, something just clicked.
It wasn’t love at first sight; it was more like oh-HOLY-CRAP-I-understand-this-look-now admiration. Her black vanity screamed in a room full of whispers. But somehow the matte finish pulled together all of the other design decisions she made and elevated the entire space.
When I looked at my bathroom that morning, I hated mine. It hadn’t always been that way.
When we bought our house two years ago, I kind of liked our honey oak vanity.
It wasn’t terrible, provided by the home’s previous owners as an upgrade from the cheap IKEA version that was there when we moved in. It just wasn’t exciting. Staring into my medicine cabinet each morning I started wondering how I could improve the blah.
Beige Walls. Beige vanity. Beige mood.
Friends, builder grade bathrooms are the absolute worst. Sure, mine was serviceable, but it lacked… soul. Every day when I would get ready for work I would think about how I couldn’t wait to upgrade it.
The problem was I didn’t know where to start. So while mine wasn’t horrible, I didn’t love it. Sarah’s definitely made me realize that if you want to DIY a black vanity, you can get away with it as one statement piece.
As long as you don’t get crazy with the other aspects of your bathroom design, it grounds the space without making it feel like a cave. If you want to paint your bathroom vanity black, the finish is everything. Well, that’s a bit dramatic.
The finish doesn’t matter… much. But when you’re working with black, it is a much bigger deal than you might think if you plan on keeping it looking nice. I spent nearly a month agonizing over this because girl who researched cabinet finishes.
Apparently, I had never considered them before and was immediately overwhelmed with options. Matte black is luxe. In person, it almost feels velvet-y to the touch.
It also hides fingerprints like a dream. Touchy husband? Living with other humans who think it’s funny to touch the cabinet doors with teethpaste-y fingers?
Matte black is your best friend. The only downside? Water spots are more visible on matte finishes, so if that bothers you you’ll be wiping down your cabinets daily.
Glossy finishes are beautiful because they reflect light which can really open up small spaces. One swipe of a wet cloth and it’s shining like new. The downside?
Every fingerprint, water drop, and dust bunny will be glaringly obvious at all times. You think I’m exaggerating? I tested this theory at three different home improvement stores.
Excuse me, I “splashed” water on their display cabinets to see how long water spots would last before mocking them behind their backs. Call me crazy. I ended up going with a satin finish which is kinda sorta glossy and kinda sorta matte.
It’s happy medium and still looks really chic without feeling high maintenance. You know me. Just like with paint colors, hardware is the first thing people notice.
It’s true in bathrooms, kitchens, and even your home’s exterior. Brass is so on-trend right now and paired with black, it creates this rich, vintage look that’s all over Instagram these days. For the longest time, I was set on brass.
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Then I actually held brass hardware up to my vanity and it felt like too much. Of COURSE it looked beautiful in photos, and on Sarah’s bathroom. It’s just something about seeing it in person that made me rethink my life choices.
Design is weird sometimes. Chrome is timeless and pretty muchmaintenance free. It doesn’t tarnish and is more resistant to scratches than other finishes.
Matte black hardware is also trending rn and creates a very chic monochromatic look. The downside? You kind of lose that pop of interest that bright or metallic hardware can provide.
Ultimately, I ended up settling on brushed nickel hardware. It’s still sophisticated, not too high maintenance, and pairs well with any finish your choose for your faucets. Trust me, I spent way too much time in Home Depot pouring over hardware with my painted chips and cabinet samples.
Choosing countertops was the death of me. I loved the look of white quartz or marble paired with black vanities. It’s classic “tuxedo” style everyone knows and loves.
Of course, choosing white counters means you better watch what you set on them because trust me, they will stain! I will never live down the incident with red wine and my white kitchen counters. Lessons learned.
Instead, I went with a warm gray quartz with subtle veining. Gray helped tie in my black vanity with my white walls without being too high of a contrast. Plus, gray doesn’t show every smudge and stain that pure white does.
Between my kids’ endless battle with getting ready for school in the mornings (hello spit up) and my own slapdash makeup routine, I’m just not sure I could handle white counters. Natural stone is gorgeous, but you do need to seal it and keep up with maintenance. I thought about black granite for about five minutes before realizing that black countertop might be too much for me, even though I liked bold design choices.
Designers call that visual weight. I like to call it stuffing your living room full of junk until it looks ‘purposeful.’ I knew if I painted my vanity black I needed to lighten everything else around it. You definitely want your walls to be a light color if you don’t have a ton of natural light or hate your self in the morning.
I ended up going with an absolutely basic, gray-eyellow-eywhite paint color. And by ended up, I mean it took me THREE WEEKS to decide on a paint color. Don’t ask me why I stress about “everything looks white” so much, but I just did.
Lighting is everything with dark cabinetry. Not only will you want some good ambient light to keep the space from feeling closed off, but you’ll need excellent task lighting to do your daily beauty routines. I installed some cute recessed lighting above our bathroom vanity and added wall sconces on each side of the mirror.
The sconces send light up and down which helps eliminate shadows and creates this beautiful overall glow when they shine on the black surface. Hang a big ol’ mirror above your vanity. Obvious choice, right?
Well yes and no.
A large mirror helps serve the obvious function we all need it for but also reflects light around the room and creates the illusion of more space. I chose a mirror with a thin black frame to help tie into my vanity without being too overpowering with the rest of the room.
Who knew mirrors had visual weight? Neither did I until I watched enough Homegirl on Youtube. Light colored tile is my friend.
You really want your floors or shower surrounding to be light. You don’t want your black vanity to feel so heavy in the room. I chose large white subway tile and had it installed in a classic herringbone pattern.
It was simple enough to be timeless but gave the bathroom that extra something. This one is specific to vanities, but if you’re painting your bathroom vanity black you’ll want to consider your storage options. Darker colors don’t allow you to see into your cabinets as easily so good interior lighting or lighter colored interior finishes can help A TON when you’re running late.
Our vanity has soft close drawers with white interiors which helps me find stuff quicker in the mornings.
