Antiques add an immediate sense of history, charm, and one-of-a-kind style to any room… including the bathroom and powder room! Dressers, cabinets, secretaries, and tables are the perfect way to create additional storage in your bathroom, and many pieces can also be converted into sinks. Antique furniture is underpriced these days, so not only is this an economical solution for creating a luxurious space, but it is also good for the environment to recycle. Below please find over 40 ideas of ways to use antiques in your bathrooms and powder room…
Christopher Burns Interiors
Meredith Ellis
Jim Joseph and Scott Frankel
via Sister Parish
DecorPad
Windsor Smith
Patrick Cline
Jenny Rose Innes
Thyme & Place Design (This is technically a built in designed to look like an antique cabinet… too pretty not to include!)
James Michael Howard
Jill Kantelberg
Interior designer Rachel Halvorson suggests using an antique dresser as the vanity in the powder room. The top is removed and replaced with a sink. Halvorson says some people can be nervous about tearing up their antiques to turn into a sink, but this way you are using and seeing it everyday. Excellent advice!
Rachel Halvorson
Suzanne Kasler
Phillip Mitchell Design
John B. Murray Architect
Michelle Smith
Charlotte Moss
Mariette Himes Gomez
I just love this idea! Do you use antiques in other unexpected ways?
Tara Shaw’s Antiques-Filled New Orleans Home
A Passion for Antiques in Maine
La Chaise Percée
A Chic 1930s Miami Beach Home
So many beautiful bathrooms. Really like how some of the sinks have visible plumbing that is either chrome or brass plated. Gorgeous!
Great post! I have turned a chest into a vanity in a powder room and it looks beautiful. Appreciate your commentary…….old is the new “new”! Who knew!
Great Topic! I particularly liked the RL image from AD…
Was reminded of when I was decorating a 14,000 square foot new construction in South Carolina, and was able to incorporate a large Victorian stained glass window into the master bath over the free standing tub- it was directly opposite the double door entry and under a beautiful Czech crystal chandelier, with colors in the crystal that tied in with the color in the antique stained glass window! Heaven ! All it needed was a bottle of champagne and some bubble bath !
Hmm… I have mixed feelings about converting antique furniture into vanity pieces. They are beautiful, not doubt. But doesn’t it destroy the antiques’ value if they are so altered from their original state? I’d understand it if the antique piece is badly damaged and the only way to re-use it is to convert it into a vanity. But if it is still able to function according to its original purpose, why convert it?
Agreed. There has to be some destruction taking place if the marble top is cut for the lavatory and the pipes are being run underneath. Not for the faint of heart, if it’s a fine antique. And many of the cabinets will be put to good use as storage or display, but might need some rethinking if daily, steamy showers are taking place in the same space. The steam will affect the finishes and lift the inlays and veneers.
Spot on.
Absolutely beautiful. Thanks for all the inspiration! Pinning a few of these for future homes 🙂
Beautiful baths! Yes…use antiques in any room no matter the piece! I use China cabinets in sunroom. Bedroom chest in dining room.
Beautiful! Each bathroom is unique and doesn’t look like an ad for Home Depot or Lowe’s.
Really great article!
An old piece in a bathroom adds unexpected warmth and coziness so that you look forward to going in there …right?!!! Add a vintage chandy and an old oil painting and one could sleep in there.
Really nice article! Use antiques anywhere, it will look beautiful.
Do you know the shade of the dark green bathroom? It’s gorgeous and have been searching for the perfect shade of green.
Really lovely. I especially like the use of the rounded corner vanity. It is such a clever solution for a small space.
I love your website!
Thanks for these awesome tips. I love vintage furniture so much! I’ve never used it before in my bathroom, but I think I found some pretty sweet used pieces. I did get an upholstered ottoman so I’m definitely going to have a professional furniture cleaner come in and deep clean it before I start using it, but once that’s done I can’t wait to pair it with a sweet 1950’s hutch I found.