Black Furniture

Black bathroom furniture here means vanity units: a cabinet with a basin on top that hides the pipework and gives you storage. The units picked out in this guide run from a 400mm matt black cloakroom unit at £139 up to a 900mm wall-hung unit at £499, with floor-standing units on black handles in between. Matt black hides watermarks and toothpaste far better than gloss does, but it shows dust, so it suits a room you actually wipe down now and then.

The black range is below. Floor-standing units just need plumbing in, and wall-hung units look cleaner but want a solid wall behind them. Read on for the buying guide and quick answers if you want the detail before you pick, or see the wider bathroom vanity units range if black is not the only finish you are weighing up.

What to look for in black bathroom furniture

Most black bathroom furniture is a vanity unit, which means two things decide what you buy: how it mounts to the room, and how much space you have. Finish matters as well, because matt and gloss wear very differently day to day.

Floor-standing or wall-hung. This is the big one, and it is mostly install difficulty against the look. Floor-standing sits on the floor and just needs plumbing in, so it does not care what your wall is made of and you will not be paying to reinforce one. If you are swapping an old unit out, or you are not sure what is behind the plasterboard, that is the safe default. The Jodie 650mm 2-door vanity unit at £179 is a two-door floor-mounted unit with a ceramic basin included and black handles on a gloss white body, and the Lennie 600mm vanity unit at £199 does much the same job with two soft-close doors and a ceramic basin with one tap hole.

Wall-hung bolts to the wall with the floor clear underneath, so it looks cleaner, makes a small room feel bigger and is far easier to mop under. The honest trade-off is a harder fit. You need a genuinely solid wall, or proper noggins behind the plasterboard, because the unit, the basin and a basin full of water all hang off those fixings, and if your wall is hollow stud with nothing to bite into, budget for reinforcing it first. The Linea Curve 900mm wall-mounted vanity unit at £499 is the wide option, matt black with a curved fluted front and a stone cast basin included, and there is more in the wall-mounted furniture range if you want to compare sizes.

How much space you have got. A compact 400mm unit is the move when the basin is mostly for hand-washing and floor space is tight, which is what the Linea 400mm fluted matt black cloakroom unit at £139 is built for: wall hung, integrated basin, soft close door, sized for a downstairs loo or an en-suite where every centimetre counts. Handily, it is also the cheapest of the four units in this guide. In a main bathroom, 600mm is the standard that gives you real storage without dominating the room, and 650mm buys you a bit more of both. Step up to 900mm only if you have the wall for it and you want the extra width.

Drawers or doors. People search for a black vanity with drawers for a reason: drawers are easier to use than reaching into the back of a cupboard, though a cupboard swallows bulkier things more happily. Worth knowing before you get attached to the idea, the Jodie, the Lennie and the Linea 400 are all door units, two doors on the first two and a single soft close door on the cloakroom unit. Check the specification on each product page for the configuration you are getting.

Matt black or gloss black. Matt is the finish most people picture when they search for black bathroom furniture, and it is what both Linea units on this page use. It hides watermarks, splashes and fingerprints well, which is the main reason it suits a bathroom. The catch is dust: matt shows it more than gloss does, so it reads clean when you keep it wiped and neglected when you do not. Gloss bounces more light, which helps a darker room feel less closed in, but every smear and water spot turns up on it. One note on spelling while you are browsing. You will see both “matt black” and “matte black” on product names here. It is the same finish and two spellings of the same word, so do not read anything into which one a unit uses.

What else to check before you buy. What is in the box is the thing that catches people out. All four units linked above include a basin: ceramic on the Jodie and the Lennie, an integrated basin on the Linea 400, and a stone cast basin on the Linea Curve 900mm. None of the four lists a tap or a waste as included, so plan to buy both separately unless the full specification says otherwise, and a matt black tap to match is its own purchase. Handles deserve a second look too, because the Jodie and the Lennie are gloss white units sold on their black handles rather than fully black bodies. If you want a black unit rather than black handles, the two matt black Linea units are the ones to be looking at. Either way, read the specification on the product page for the unit you have picked rather than assuming.

Quick answers

What is black bathroom furniture? On this page it is vanity units: a cabinet with a basin on top that hides the pipework and gives you storage. The units in this guide run from a 400mm cloakroom unit for a downstairs loo, through 600mm and 650mm units for a main bathroom, up to a 900mm wall-hung one. Some are matt black units, like the Linea units, and some are gloss white units sold on their black handles, so check the photos and the specification for the exact look you want.

Black vanity unit: floor-standing or wall-hung? Floor-standing if you want the simpler fit. It just needs plumbing in and does not care what your wall is made of, which makes it the safe choice for a straight swap. Wall-hung if you want the cleaner, floating look and an easier floor to mop, but it is a harder job: you need a solid wall, or proper noggins behind the plasterboard, to take the weight of the unit, the basin and the water. The Linea Curve 900mm wall-mounted unit at £499 is a good wall-hung pick if your wall can take it, and the Linea 400 is the compact wall-hung alternative for a cloakroom.

Does matt black bathroom furniture show marks? Matt black hides watermarks, splashes and fingerprints well, which is the main reason it works in a bathroom. What it does show is dust, more than a gloss finish would, so it looks great when you keep it wiped down and tired when you let it go. Gloss black is the opposite: it bounces light nicely but shows every water spot. For most bathrooms, matt is the lower-maintenance choice.

What is the cheapest black vanity unit you do? Of the units in this guide, the cheapest is the Linea 400mm fluted cloakroom unit at £139, and the unit itself is matt black rather than white with black handles: wall hung, with an integrated basin and a soft close door. If you would rather have a floor-standing unit, the Jodie 650mm floor-standing unit at £179 is the cheaper of the two here, a gloss white two-door unit with black handles and a ceramic basin, with the Lennie 600mm at £199.

Do black vanity units come with a tap and waste? The four units linked on this page all include a basin, but none of them lists a tap or a waste as included, so budget for both. The Lennie’s ceramic basin has a single tap hole, so that is one tap to buy for it rather than a pair. Read the specification on the product page before you check out and you will not be caught short on fitting day.

Black vanity with drawers or with doors: which is better? Drawers are easier to use day to day, because you can see and reach everything instead of rummaging at the back of a cupboard. Doors take bulkier items better. It comes down to what you store: toiletries and small bits suit drawers, spare towels and cleaning gear suit a cupboard. The Jodie, the Lennie and the Linea 400 on this page are all door units, so check each product page for the configuration you are getting.