'Comfort Height' is Comfortable!

In my last post I touched on how nearly all of the custom vanities I build are at 36" to the height of the countertop. This is worth exploring and explaining in detail because this dimension has an enormous influence on how comfortable a vanity is to use, day in and day out.

First, what is comfort height and what makes it comfortable?  While this rule is subjective to the heights of the user(s), it is designated at 36" to the countertop.  This is the industry standard for kitchen countertops and is based on ergonomic form and function.  The below drawing is in metric, but illustrates this well enough for us imperialists to use, although .9m actually equals 35.5 inches.  

The issue as it relates to vanities is that traditionally, standard bathroom vanity height has been many inches shorter than this, with heights as low as 30 - 32" in the marketplace. It seems that kitchen design has kept pace with the fact that people are taller now than they were just several decades ago but bathroom design standards have been slower to adapt to this reality. Another reason for this is that a lower vanity would make it a little more child friendly.  As a direct response to this, I propose a step stool to bring the child up to an agreeable height as opposed to building a piece of furniture down to meet the temporary need of the young one(s)!  

That said, it seems the time has finally come for these industry standards in the washroom to shift - and they have indeed been slowly inching up - but the vast majority are still undersized for comfort.  

Starting your day at a properly sized vanity feels awesome and feels right, as doing everything from the casual wash up to a full on facial scrub down is far easier when height is considered!