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Bathroom Vanity: Drawers vs Doors

When choosing a new bathroom vanity, there are several to consider. Probably one of the most important things to think about is how functional your vanity will be for your lifestyle.

When choosing the storage for your vanity, you will typically find you have two options: drawers or doors.  

Each of these storage options has unique pros and cons, which will be covered in detail in this article, so you can decide which door type and design work best for your needs!

Bathroom Vanity Cabinet Drawers 

A bathroom vanity with drawers can be a great choice. They offer easy access to your belongings and a polished look!

Ella Zermatt navy blue bathroom vanity quartz top 31 inches

See our full collection of 25 inch bathroom vanities with drawers.

Space

Drawers can take up less space than doors because they pull out from the front. Drawers are simple to organize, as you can simply pull out a drawer and see all the items in it.

With a door, you must swing open the door and then peek inside the cabinet to see what’s in there. With drawers, you can easily see everything you are storing without having to bend down.

Since drawers are smaller than cabinets with doors, it can be simpler to categorize and store your items by item type. You can easily use one drawer for hair products, another for cleaning items, and so on. 

Since drawers open frontward, you do not need to worry about a drawer hitting anything nearby as you may with a cabinet door that swings open sideways.

Accessibility

Vanity drawers are very easy to use. Unlike doors, you will not need to bend down to look inside. You can simply pull them out and find the items you need while standing over the drawers. This makes vanity drawers very accessible and pleasant to use. 

A gentle push will easily slide the drawer to a closed position. You will find it easy to open and close your drawers as much as you need.  

With drawers, you do need to be mindful not to overfill them. You do not want an excess of items to cause the drawer tracks to get stuck on something.

To avoid this, organize your vanity drawers with dividers or containers, and try not to overfill your vanity drawers.

Check out our full line of 31 inch bathroom vanities with drawers.

Appearance 

A vanity with drawers can look sleek and polished in almost any bathroom. Drawers keep all of your personal items tucked away and out of sight.

However, they are still very easy to access and allow you to take quick stock of what items you have when you need them. 

Ella Zermatt Grey Bathroom Vanity Quartz Top 31 inch

The finish of the drawer handles, such as this bathroom vanity featuring minimalist steel handles, adds easy-to-clean functionality while still maintaining an elegant look.

The fully finished interior of these drawers makes them simple to clean and keeps them looking great for ages!

Bathroom Vanity Cabinet Doors

A bathroom vanity featuring cabinet doors can be the perfect fit for some bathrooms. Bathroom vanities that feature doors offer large, open storage options with a simplistic and classic design.

Ella Bathroom Vanities include base bathroom vanity cabinet options with doors and drawers.

Space

Cabinet doors on vanities offer wide-open storage space, perfect for the person who has a lot of items to tuck away. Since the cabinets are so large, they offer lots of flexibility in how you can store items.

Doors open from the front, but do swing to the sides, so you just need to make sure your bathroom setup allows for the doors to swing open fully without obstruction.  

You will enjoy much more flexibility when it comes to storage by choosing doors over drawers in your vanity. You can customize the storage space as much or as little as you’d like. 

You may decide to put storage bins or dividers in your cabinet space to make excellent use of every inch. Since the opening is larger, you can fit larger items inside and position items in a variety of ways to maximize your storage efficiency.

You can easily change the way it’s organized as your needs change, so you can be sure this kind of vanity will serve you at all stages of your life. 

Cabinet doors also do not feature tracks like drawers do, so you do not run the risk of accidentally getting an item jammed in the tracks. If you’re prone to overfilling your drawers, it may make sense to switch to a design with doors instead.

Accessibility

Cabinet doors are easy to use with a classic design that everyone will understand. Unlike drawers, you won’t be able to see everything in your vanity by simply pulling out the drawer.  

Doors are nice because they hide your items very well, you will never worry about a guest coming over and easily seeing your items just by pulling on your drawers. On the flip side, you may have to do a little more legwork to access your items with a door setup. 

People of all ages will find vanity doors self-explanatory and simple to use. However, door cabinets may not be best for those who are physically limited or can’t bend down too often.  

Doors are supported by reliable hinges, which are easier to maintain than the tracks that are featured in drawer cabinets. Unlike drawers, with a door you do not have to worry about items getting stuck, resulting in an inability to open your cabinet. 

Appearance 

Ella Taos Espresso Bathroom Vanity Quartz Top 25 inch

Cabinets with doors offer a simple, classic, and polished look for any bathroom space. Vanities with double doors, such as this one, keep all of your items hidden away nicely under the structure and invisible to guests. 

Bathroom vanities with door cabinets offer a simple yet sturdy design that can be used for years. The open-air storage offers tons of space to customize and organize to your liking. 

See our full collection of modern bathroom vanities and choose from drawers or doors.

Bottom Line

Different vanity styles have different advantages. Drawers offer ease of use, a sleek look, and various separate compartments for easy organization.

Vanity doors offer larger storage space, more flexibility, and a simple yet classic design that everyone will find easy to use.

Ultimately, it comes down to your storage and lifestyle needs when deciding which is right for you!