Why Bathroom Vanities & Bedside Tables Finally Deserve Better!

Designed by Travel, Made to Last, How European Interiors Shaped My Collaboration with Parker Howley

As Inspiration rarely arrives while sitting at a desk, More often, it appears unexpectedly, walking through an apartment in Milan, noticing the proportion of an antique washstand, or running your hand across timber cabinetry softened by decades of use in a Spanish townhouse.

Travel has always shaped how I design interiors. Not in an obvious or literal way, but through atmosphere,  the feeling certain spaces leave behind long after you’ve returned home.

"European interiors, in particular, have a quiet confidence."

Rooms feel layered rather than styled, collected rather than completed. Furniture carries history, craftsmanship is visible, and nothing feels unnecessarily new.

It was this sensibility that ultimately shaped my collaboration with Parker Howley.

In the studio, many ideas begin long before a project formally starts, Its like designing from memory Rather Than Trend. I keep photographs, sketches and material references gathered during travels  details noticed almost subconsciously at the time. A reeded cabinet front in southern Spain. Marble worn beautifully uneven through years of use.

"Decorative carving that feels architectural rather than ornamental."

What fascinates me about European homes is how naturally different influences coexist. There’s rarely a strict adherence to one style. Instead, harmony comes from material consistency and thoughtful selection.

Each piece feels intentional. And increasingly, that’s exactly what my clients are searching for.

They don’t necessarily ask for “European design,” but they do ask for homes that feel calm, authentic and enduring spaces that won’t feel dated within a few years.

"Over recent years, I’ve noticed homes becoming far more architectural essentially furniture falling behind architecture."

Clients are investing in natural stone, bespoke joinery and carefully considered layouts. Kitchens and living spaces have evolved enormously yet bathrooms and bedrooms often lagged behind.

We would complete a beautifully resolved scheme and then struggle to find a vanity or bedside table that truly belonged within it.

Too contemporary. Too generic. Too temporary.

As designers, we spend surprising amounts of time adapting off-the-shelf furniture to behave like bespoke pieces. Eventually, it became clear that

"the issue wasn’t styling, the right furniture simply didn’t exist."

That’s was the spark for this natural collaboration, I had already worked with Parker Howley across several client projects, specifying their handcrafted cabinetry for bespoke bathrooms.

What immediately stood out was their commitment to traditional making methods, solid timber construction, careful joinery, craftsmanship that prioritises longevity over speed.

Our conversations often returned to the same question: how could we create furniture that captured the permanence found in heritage European interiors, while still working within modern homes?

The answer became a collection of bathroom vanities and bedside tables designed not as trend pieces, but as future classics.

My approach was the European Influence, Rather than reproducing antique furniture.

"Wanting to translate the qualities that make older pieces so compelling"

Texture, Proportion, and essentially the beauty of each natural Material

The Gabe vanity introduces reeded detailing, something I’ve long admired across southern European interiors softening the harder surfaces typically found in bathrooms.

The Jorge vanity, crafted in solid oak, reflects the reassuring weight and architectural presence of traditional washstands often seen in older continental homes.

The Monty Vanity, with its decorative fretwork, draws subtly from Spanish and Moroccan craftsmanship, introducing personality without overwhelming a space.

Each design was intended to feel familiar, as though it could comfortably exist within both period and contemporary settings.

Interestingly, the bedside collection grew from exactly the same thinking, Rethinking Everyday Furniture!

Bedrooms today are more layered than ever upholstered headboards, tailored lighting, considered palettes yet bedside tables are frequently chosen late in the process.

I began to see them less as accessories and more as architectural companions to the room.

In many European interiors, even the most functional furniture feels deliberate. Pieces age well because they were designed with permanence in mind.

So that became our baseline.

Wall-mounted or freestanding, timber or painted finishes, optional stone tops  each bedside was designed to integrate seamlessly rather than feel replaceable.

There is a growing shift away from fast interiors toward something slower and more meaningful. Essentially Craftsmanship as Quiet Luxury.

My clients increasingly want pieces that settle into their homes over time,  furniture that evolves alongside family life rather than being replaced as trends change.

Working with Parker Howley allowed that philosophy to remain intact. Every piece is made using traditional carpentry techniques, ensuring longevity not only structurally but visually.

Good craftsmanship has a reassuring quality.

You feel it in the weight of a drawer.

The texture of timber.

The way materials age gracefully rather than deteriorate.

Ultimately, this collection was never about creating more furniture for the sake of it, but about closing that all-too-familiar gap between beautiful architecture and the pieces we actually live with every day.

The vanity you lean on half-awake each morning or the bedside that quietly accumulates books, chargers and the occasional abandoned cup of tea should feel just as considered as the space around it.

Working alongside Parker Howley has allowed ideas shaped through years of travel and, if I’m honest, years of designer frustration  to become pieces designed to evolve with a home rather than be replaced by the next renovation phase.

So whether you’re remodelling floor by floor, refining a single room, or simply ready to retire a bedside table that’s survived since your first flat, I invite you to explore the collection and discover how thoughtful craftsmanship can make everyday living feel effortlessly resolved.

Interior Design & Bathroom Design Services Across Surrey, Sussex & South London

Emma Merry Styling is an interior design studio specialising in luxury bathroom design, interior architecture and full home renovations across Surrey, Sussex, South London and the Home Counties. We regularly work with homeowners in Reigate, Cobham, Guildford, Weybridge, Oxshott, Wimbledon, Richmond, Esher, Dorking, Farnham and surrounding areas, supporting clients through considered, floor-by-floor home renovations as well as complete property refurbishments.

Our studio works closely with architects, builders and specialist craftspeople to design bespoke bathrooms, custom vanity units, master suites and family homes that balance practicality with timeless design. From early spatial planning through to final interior styling, our approach focuses on creating cohesive interiors that evolve naturally with the architecture of the home,  ensuring every renovation stage contributes to a unified and enduring result.