Floor Mounted Furniture

A floor mounted vanity unit stands on the floor and takes its own weight, which makes it the easier of the two to fit: no special wall needed, and the plinth hides the pipework and any uneven floor. Floor-mounted, floor-standing and freestanding all mean the same thing, so if you have been searching all three you are in the right place. The trade-off against a wall-hung unit is that the floor does not run on underneath, so the room can feel a touch heavier and you cannot mop right under it.

The Blake and Amy units here run from 500mm to 600mm in Davos oak, dust grey, gloss white and matt anthracite grey, each one sold with its basin. Read on for the buying guide and quick answers if you want the detail before you pick, or see the wall mounted vanity units if you would rather the floor ran on underneath.

What to look for in a floor standing vanity unit

This is the no-fuss option for a basin and storage, and the easiest to live with if you are fitting it yourself. Three things decide which one you buy: the mounting question you are probably still weighing up, the size of the wall you have, and whether you want drawers or doors behind the front.

Floor-standing against wall-hung is the real decision. Most people land on this page choosing between the two, so here is the honest version. A floor-standing unit carries its own weight on the floor, so you are not depending on a strong wall or a timber batten behind plasterboard: the Amy Gloss White unit is listed as needing no wall fixings at all. You stand it, level it, and connect the waste and supply. For any other unit, check the fitting instructions for whether it also wants fixing back to the wall to stop it tipping. The plinth is the other reason people pick floor-standing, because the kickboard at the bottom conceals the trap and pipework and forgives a floor that is not quite true, which a wall-hung unit will not do. What you give up is the look. The floor does not carry on underneath, so a small room can feel slightly heavier than it would with a wall-hung unit, and you cannot clean right under it. If that matters to you more than an easy fit, the wall-hung range is the one to compare against.

Sizing comes down to 500mm or 600mm. The 500mm units are the cloakroom and ensuite size, and the Blake 500mm Dust Grey 2-Drawer Floor Standing Unit at £269, also in Davos Oak at £269, gets you two drawers into a small footprint. At 600mm you are into the standard family size, where the Blake 600mm Dust Grey 2-Drawer Unit at £299 is the drawer option and the Amy Gloss White 600mm Two-Door Unit at £189, also in Matt Anthracite Grey at £189, is the cheaper way in. It also costs less than either 500mm Blake, so the smaller unit is not automatically the budget pick. Measure the wall before you commit and leave yourself room to actually use the basin, particularly if a door swings or the toilet sits anywhere near it.

Drawers or doors depends on what you keep in there. The Blake units give you two drawers, which pull everything out to you and stop the small things disappearing to the back, and they cost more for the privilege. The Amy units put generous storage behind two soft-close doors, which is the better shape for taller bottles and cleaning kit, and at £189 they come in well under the £299 600mm Blake drawer unit. Neither is the wrong answer: it comes down to whether you are organising small bits or stacking bulky ones.

Basin, handles and finish. Every Blake and Amy unit here is sold as a set with its basin, so that is one fewer thing to buy and it is already sized to the unit. The three Blake units list a ceramic basin, and the two Amy units come with an integrated basin. Tap and waste are listed as not included on the Amy Gloss White, so read the specification on the product page for whichever unit you pick before you order a tap to go with it. On finish, these units cover Davos oak, dust grey, gloss white and matt anthracite grey. The gloss white is light-reflecting and easy to clean, the matt anthracite has a durable easy-clean surface, and the Blake units in oak and dust grey come with chrome handles as standard, with alternative handles sold separately from the furniture handles collection if chrome is not the look you are after.

Quick answers

What is a floor-standing vanity unit? It is a bathroom unit with a built-in basin that stands on the floor, with a plinth or kickboard at the bottom. “Floor-mounted”, “floor-standing” and “freestanding” all describe the same thing. It carries its own weight on the floor rather than hanging off the wall, and the plinth hides the waste pipe and any unevenness in the floor.

Floor-standing or wall-hung: which is better? Neither is better outright, it depends what you want from the room. Floor-standing is the easier fit and hides the pipework, so it is the practical choice for a straight swap or a floor that is not level. Wall-hung looks lighter, makes a small room feel bigger and lets you clean underneath, but the wall has to take the weight, so it is more of a planned-in job. If easy fitting matters most, go floor-standing. If the open-floor look matters most, go wall-hung.

Are floor mounted vanity units easier to fit than wall-hung ones? Yes. A floor-standing unit takes its own weight on the floor, so you are not relying on solid masonry or a timber batten behind plasterboard the way a wall-hung unit does. The Amy Gloss White unit is listed as needing no wall fixings at all. You stand it, level it and connect the waste and supply, and the plinth covers the pipework you would otherwise be boxing in. It is the more forgiving fit, which is why it is the usual choice when you are doing the work yourself.

What size floor standing vanity unit do I need? Measure the wall space and leave room to use the basin and any nearby door or toilet. 500mm suits a compact bathroom, a cloakroom or an ensuite, and 600mm is the standard family size with more basin and more storage behind it. Wider gives you more cupboard or drawer space, so size it to what you need to put away as much as to the wall you have.

Do floor standing vanity units come with a basin? Yes. Every Blake and Amy unit here is sold as a unit-and-basin set, so the basin is included and already sized to the unit. The three Blake units list a ceramic basin and the two Amy units come with an integrated basin. Tap and waste are a separate buy on the Amy Gloss White unit, so check the specification on the product page before you choose your tap.