Bathroom Tallboys

Bathroom tallboys buying guide

A bathroom tallboy is a tall, narrow cabinet that adds storage for towels, toiletries and cleaning items without a wide footprint on the floor. This page holds tallboys from Timberline, Marquis and ADP, wall hung and floor standing, from 350mm to 800mm wide and from 1200mm to 1950mm high. This guide answers the questions people ask before they buy: what size, wall hung or floor standing, where it goes, how to fit it, and whether it takes moisture.

Are tall cabinets good for small bathrooms

A tallboy is a slim, vertical storage cabinet that adds space without taking up floor area. It stacks the storage upward, so it suits a narrow wall beside the vanity or the shower. The limit is clearance, not floor area: allow space from the vanity, the toilet, the shower screen, the door and nearby fittings, and confirm the door count and the opening direction. Allow about 700mm to 750mm clear in front of a vanity to stand and move, and do not let a tallboy take it away.

The tallboys on this page

The Timberline Colby tallboy has curved doors and is 450mm wide, 450mm deep and 1500mm high wall hung, or 1650mm high floor standing. It matches the Colby vanity. It has adjustable melamine shelves in each section and European soft-close hinges.

The Timberline Fraser tallboy has doors and drawers, and is 400mm wide, 450mm deep and 1800mm high wall hung, or 1950mm high floor standing. It has adjustable melamine shelves per section, soft-close hinges and a soft-close full extension drawer. It comes in Grey Beige, Olive and Light Grey satin finishes with fingerpull handles.

The Timberline Sutherland House storage cabinets come in four designs, Regency, Retro, Deco and Farmhouse, in a 400mm single door or an 800mm double door, all 450mm deep and 1750mm high. They have five adjustable internal shelves, white and oak finish interiors, soft-close fittings and a solid back, in 2 pack polyurethane painted finishes. The floor standing versions stand on straight or angled metal legs in four finishes, and the height excludes the legs.

The Marquis Cove and Pier tallboys are 375mm wide, 450mm deep and 1200mm high wall hung, with one adjustable shelf behind each door. The Cove has a fluted timber grain front and the Pier has a shaker front, and each matches the Marquis vanity of the same name. The Cove comes in a choice of cabinet finishes and handles, including Prime Oak and Bottega Oak with a brushed brass top pull. See Timberline vanities and Marquis vanities for the matching vanities.

The ADP Glacier Pro Door and Drawer tallboy is 350mm wide and 390mm deep, wall hung or floor mounted, from 1500mm to 1950mm high. It has a premium graphite interior with adjustable shelves, a soft-close centre drawer in graphite, a 6 litre stainless steel bin mounted on the inside of the bottom door and a mirror on the inside of the top door.

Sutherland House: four designs

The Sutherland House storage cabinets are a set of four designs that match the Sutherland House vanities. Regency has curves and vertical details and suits a glamorous room with classical lines. Farmhouse is the heritage design, for upmarket country style. Deco takes its flowing curves from the Art Deco form, and Retro has a strong geometric form from mid-century design. Each comes as a 400mm single door or an 800mm double door, 450mm deep and 1750mm high, with five adjustable internal shelves and a white and oak finish interior, so the inside looks as good as the outside when the door is open. They are painted in 2 pack polyurethane, which is hard-wearing and easy to wipe, and the solid back adds stability and makes mounting easier. The wall hung versions hang on the wall, and the floor standing versions stand on straight or angled metal legs in four finishes.

The 800mm double door is the largest storage on this page, and it suits a main bathroom or a master ensuite with a long wall. The 400mm single door suits a narrow gap. Choose the design to match the vanity if you have one from the range, and choose the finish and the leg style to match the tapware and the handles.

Glacier Pro: the tallboy with a bin and a mirror

The ADP Glacier Pro Door and Drawer tallboy is built for a small room. At 350mm wide and 390mm deep it fits a slim gap, and the inside of the doors does extra work: a 6 litre stainless steel bin sits on the inside of the bottom door, so the rubbish is out of sight, and a mirror on the inside of the top door gives you a quick check without a separate mirror. The graphite interior hides marks, the shelves adjust, and a soft-close centre drawer holds small items. It has a woodgrain cabinet finish, soft-close doors with a hinge you can choose left or right, and a choice of premium handles. One option is wall hung in Prime Oak Woodmatt with a bevel edge fingerpull.

Safety with children and tall furniture

A tall, full cabinet can tip if a child climbs or pulls on the doors, so fix every tallboy to the wall. Keep medicines, razors and cleaning products out of reach, on the top shelves or behind a latch, and choose a cabinet with a door that closes softly and does not swing wide. Soft-close hinges also keep fingers safe. If you have young children, a wall hung tallboy mounted with its lowest shelf above the reach of a toddler keeps the first shelf out of reach, and a floor standing tallboy needs a fixing at the top as well as the base.

What size tallboy

Check the width, depth and height against the wall and the room. Confirm the order of the dimensions on the product drawing, because a label can be read either way, and the specification sheet in each product's downloads is that drawing. Match the depth to the vanity beside it: most of these tallboys are 450mm deep, the ADP is 390mm, and the vanity depths in the bathroom vanity guide run from about 450mm to 560mm. Check the ceiling height as well, and the room to lift a tall cabinet into place.

Which tallboy suits which job

For towels and spare rolls in a main bathroom, the Colby and the Pier are simple and roomy, with adjustable shelves behind a door. For toiletries and small items that you want to see, the Fraser, with its drawer and its door sections, gives you both. For the largest storage, the Sutherland House 800mm double door cabinet has five adjustable shelves behind two doors. For a narrow gap, the ADP at 350mm wide, with a bin and a mirror built into the doors, is the slimmest. The Cove suits a coastal bathroom with a fluted vanity beside it.

A tallboy also works in a laundry. The Colby, Fraser and Pier suit a laundry as well as a bathroom, and a laundry takes detergent, cloths and linen well on adjustable shelves. See laundry cabinets.

Wall hung or floor standing

A wall hung tallboy leaves the floor clear underneath, which makes cleaning easier, and it needs suitable support at its mounting position. A floor standing tallboy sits on the floor and needs a level, solid floor. A floor standing tallboy still needs fixing to the wall, so it cannot tip. See wall hung vanities and freestanding vanities for the matching vanity styles.

Door and drawer layout

The tallboys here are door only, or doors with drawers. Confirm the door count and the opening direction, the drawer travel, and whether the shelves adjust. Every tallboy on this page has adjustable shelves, so the shelf spacing can follow what you store. Think about the swing of the door: a door that opens towards the vanity, the toilet or the room door can hit it, so choose the hinge side before you order. The ADP lets you choose a left or right hinge.

Is a tallboy waterproof

No bathroom cabinet should be treated as waterproof. Bathroom furniture should sit at least 300mm from wet areas. The materials resist moisture but are not waterproof, and the room needs ventilation, because steady high humidity damages the materials over time. Keep the cabinet away from direct shower spray and wipe up splashes. Where a tallboy sits beside a shower screen, keep that 300mm clear.

Fixing a tallboy to the wall

A tall cabinet is top heavy when it is full, so fixing it to the wall is a safety step and not an option. For a wall hung tallboy, locate the studs, mark a level line and use anchors, and use a licensed tradesperson in a wet area. Fix the cabinet to support nogs fitted between the studs, added before the wall is sheeted, and make the nog wider than the cabinet. Secure the cabinet to at least two supports, with horizontal fixings no more than 300mm apart, and make sure the fixings clear water and electrical services. The wall must be plumb and straight, and the cabinet is packed out if not, because a bowed wall twists a cabinet when it is fixed. Check the position of any pipes and cables before you drill.

Matching the finish

The Timberline tallboys come in Timberline's cabinet finishes, including 2 pack painted finishes on the Colby and the Sutherland House cabinets, and you choose the handle: the Colby takes black T bar handles, and the Fraser takes fingerpull handles. Match the finish with the vanity and the mirror cabinet, so the wall reads as one design. See mirrors. Match the handle metal to the tapware and the vanity handles.

After fitting and care

Doors and drawers can move during transport and installation, so adjust them once the cabinet is fixed. Check the cabinet for damage when it arrives and do not install one that is damaged. Wipe a cabinet with a soft cloth and a weak solution of non-abrasive detergent, and dry any spill. Avoid strong chemical cleaners and abrasive pads. Wipe the shelves with a damp cloth when you restock them, and check the silicone and fixings once or twice a year.

More vanity and storage options

For compact vanities to pair with a tallboy, see small vanities and ensuite vanities.