In an ideal world, money wouldn't be an issue when choosing features for your bathroom renovation. Unfortunately, the reality is that most people have a budget that they must work within the confines of when creating a new bathroom. This means you'll have to choose wisely in order to get the look you want without overspending.

The bathroom vanity is one of the primary features in a bathroom and contributes heavily to the overall style of the room. It's a functional feature but it still needs to look beautiful and stylish. Fortunately, you don't need to spend a fortune to get a stunning vanity that oozes class and contemporary style. Here are three affordable vanity surfaces that you might like to consider for your new bathroom. 

1. Engineered stone

Natural stone vanity surfaces are a timeless and elegant addition to a bathroom. They also come with a hefty price tag that may be well outside of your available budget. A more affordable but equally beautiful option is engineered stone.

This material is made from recycled stone chips and ground recycled stone which are bonded together with resin. The result is a vanity surface that has the look and feel of natural stone. Engineered stone can also have pigment added during the manufacturing process to recreate the colour of a variety of different natural stones.

2. Timber veneer

Timber is another material that is always in fashion in interior design. In the bathroom, it makes a beautiful vanity surface that provides natural beauty, warmth and a splash of subtle colour to the room. Solid timber can also be very costly, particularly if you opt for a high-quality hardwood variety.

You can get the aesthetic benefits of timber for less by opting for a timber veneer vanity surface. This material uses a very thin strip of real timber that is adhered to an inexpensive chipboard base. This gives you the look and feel of solid timber for a fraction of the price of the real thing.

3. Laminate

Laminate has made a big comeback in recent years as an affordable, attractive and contemporary vanity surface material. Modern laminate has come a long way from the dowdy style that was popularised in the '60s and '70s and now provides a range of beautiful, high-quality finishes in a wide variety of colours that will enhance your bathroom.

Opt for a laminate that has a dense and durable top layer for a hardier and scratch resistant surface. It's also important to choose a laminate vanity surface that has a good quality core that's strong and solid if you want your vanity surface to last.