I had one once and always wished I had more cabinet space instead. I never sat at the counter. We actually stored our laundry hamper underneath. I'm sure that there are women who love their makeup counters though.

I never used the ones I had... don't have on in our current home. I always found myself standing and leaning in toward the mirror. Could be that it's just what I"m used to.

I never used them when I had them, I always stand to put on make up.

It really just depends on your preference.

We are building a house and we are putting one in for me. Where we are renting the bathroom is too small for a stool at a counter and I am really looking forward to having that space again. I don't use it for applying make-up, but do like to sit down when drying my hair.

I had one yrs ago (in my 20's) and loved it. It wasn't lower than the rest of the counter tho. long counter top with 1 sink and so half was left open underneath. I used it all of the time.

now I hope to have one again in the future but I'll have it dropped down for that section.

I think it's great for putting on make up, doing your nails or just to sit down to put lotion on your legs or whatever. these days I'll probably just wanna rest ! lol!

I would love one!

I have one now and never sit down, so I'm mostly planning to get rid of it in the reno. but it does cross my mind that when I'm older I might like to have a spot to sit whether I'm putting on makeup or not, so I'm not sure about this, either.

When storage is tight it's an easy question, but I have plenty of closet space in this bath.

I have one and love it. In our last house we included it with the remodel and we are keeping it in the master remodel we are doing right now. I love to be able to sit down to blow dry my hair and put on my make-up. It also gives me somewhere to sit when getting dressed; pants, shoes, etc. We are installing the electrical outlet underneath so that I can plug the dryer in and store it there. We are doing it now so I'll post pics soon. Good luck :)

I never thought I'd want one, but a couple years ago on a cruise we had a stateroom that had a separate makeup area. Boy how I loved it! The only way I could incorporate it in this remodel is to put it in the center of the run of cabinets and drop it down. As much as I'd like to have it in another part of the room, we don't have the space. So it's either in the center or not at all. That said, I absolutely understand the comments about magnifying mirrors. As I get older, I'd have to lean in more toward the mirror...more than what I'm currently doing now. Between having to see what I'm doing and wanting to sit as I get older, I'm leaning toward the makeup area.

Another consideration...our current countertop run is 114" and we're thinking of remodeling and putting in a counters that would span anywhere from 114 to 120 inches depending on the design. That said, it is very hard to find a piece of granite that is that large that wouldn't require a seam. Granite place said it would be in the middle. I can't stomach spending all the money for cabinets and granite to have a seam in the center or a seam anywhere for that matter. Splitting the run to: sink cabinet - makeup area - sink cabinet would eliminate the seam issue. Sounds like I'm talking myself into it! We will give up storage to put this makeup area in however, that's a big CON.

I just put one in my new bathroom. The older I get, the harder it is to see up close. I have a 5X mirror on a stand and a small mirror on a suction cup that is a 15X that I stuck on the 5X so that I can see when my eye liner is crooked. I like to be able to sit down to flat iron my hair, do my makeup, tweeze my eyebrows.
The sink area of our bathroom is U-shaped with two sinks on each of the long sides and the lowered make-up counter along the short end. The corners will have (not yet) tall cabinets with electric outlets for the toothbrushes, hair iron, etc.

It's a bad idea:
1 - Encourages teenagers to spend even MORE time in the bath.
2 - Waste of storage space on a seldom-used knee hole.
3 - The usual humidity in a bathroom affects the application of makeup and affects hair styling.

i had a 'makeup' area in 3 bathrooms and never once sat to put on makeup... occasionally would pull out the stool to use as a step stool to reach something high.

i'm not much of a 'sitter' though- and i'm much more comfortable standing to put on makeup, do my hair, looking in mag mirror, etc--i would choose useable storage space any day over a vanity area... if you're a 'sitter' tho, you would probably like it!

I imagine it really depends on whether you personally would use one. I spend only a small amount of time on my hair and makeup and prefer to stand. As others mentioned, this might be because that's what I'm used to. I would find a seated makeup area to be essentially useless and would prefer more storage (bathroom products - even extras, cleaning products, clean linens, etc) or maybe a hamper. However, if you already have all the storage you could possibly want and have plenty of sink and counter space and you think you might use one, then go for it.

I agree that it's really a personal preference. It sounds like you would really use and enjoy the space since you did in the stateroom. If you have a large enough room then I think it's a very glamorous look with great lights around that part of the mirror and a cute little chair or stool.
Your counter sounds long enough to include one - and maybe think of other places you can use for storage. A great hideaway between the beams in the wall is a great idea for some unexpected and useful storage. Good luck!

I have a tiny bathroom but am making room for a "makeup" counter though I don't use makeup much these days.
Master bedroom is quite small in our 75 yr old home. I am looking forward to having a place to sit and dry my hair on my little stool I've bought that has castors. Good to have a moving stool in the bathroom so might as well have a place to put it under the counter.
Though biggest reason is my age and knee and feet problems - I think this type of space is good for "aging in place" which is quite trendy these days and good for resale, I'm told.
But if I had a teenager, probably wouldn't do it.

We did not have room for a makeup counter in our master bathroom, so we put a makeup vanity with a sink in our master closet. We used leftover materials from our bathroom remodel and the fixtures from our old bath. We also had a custom medicine cabinet installed. I use this space all the time - probably more than the master bathroom!

We are finishing up on our master bath remodel. When we built our house 19 years ago I opted for a makeup area in our 60" cabinet run. I've used it every day and have it again now. Our bathroom is small so I thought 2 sinks would be too tight. We have one continuous counter and I'm perfectly happy. Our closet is off the bathroom so the stool comes in handy when getting ready in the morning.

Our home was built in 1988 and came with a make up table built into the corner between both sinks. We had it updated about 6 years ago keeping the make-up table.

I use it every single day.

I don't think they're in or out. Maybe old ones are being removed as part of overall remodels, but I see new ones being put in with new remodels as well.

I see the main considerations as - is the bathroom a nice place to sit and do makeup, with good lighting too? And is there space?

I spend a lot of time on hair and makeup and I mulled this over quite a bit for my new master bath remodel. I decided there is not enough space in my ideal layout. So I am now going to put a drop-top, secretary-type desk in my bedroom near a window to use as:

We put one in and I love it. I sit down there several times a day. I agree that if you have to sacrifice needed storage, then don't do it, but it sounds like you have plenty of storage. Plan for as much natural light as you can...I was doing new construction on this part of the plan, so put a window right in front of the makeup area.

I also wanted it close to a sink so I could rinse my hands while applying makeup. I use it primarily for makeup and grooming, as my hair care doesn't include dryers/irons/etc but does include several different goopy products...so I prefer to do that at the sink.

Good luck! Old picture of our setup: