The only positive I can think of is that you gain several more square inches of horizontal space for decorative items. However, you may as well just use the toilet tank lid for those items. Save yourself a little money on materials and the extra effort tiling the banjo extension. Not to mention you will never have to go through the aggravation of it being in the way.

Never mind that the banjos just don't look aesthetically pleasing.

We really like our banjo vanity top. I sent you an email, Amity.

We had a banjo vanity before the reno and I went back and forth over whether to replace it or not. I really thought I would miss those extra few inches. Decided not to and don't miss it one bit. We got a toilet that has a lid with a little lip all the way around and we use that as a shelf for tissue and lotion. Also, I find we are just better about putting away junk that we'd otherwise leave out on the counter.

I'd do the shelf idea mentioned above if you really think you need the space.

Count me in for not really caring for the look of the banjo and thinking that shelves (or a pretty wall cabinet) are much better both functionally and aesthetically. While yes, you'd be able to lift off the tank lid with 8" of space between lid and counter, you wouldn't be able to see what you're doing in there, and I don't know of any plumber who would be happy replacing a flush valve by Braille. ;-) (Although I'm sure there probably is a blind plumber out there!) If you just have to have the banjo, the hinges are a good idea, although the seam between the two sections might be a PITA to hide nicely.

But then I know I'm odd - I intentionally reduced the counter/sinktop space a bit in my last bathroom so that things would get put away rather than left out to clutter up the joint. ;-) It really worked VERY well for reducing the messiness problems we had had before. I had a nice closed cabinet literally two steps away from the sink where most things that would have gone on the sink top were stored, toothbrush holder and soap bottle were wall-mounted, etc. Dunno about anyone else but when we have too much open horizontal acreage it just accumulates STUFF!

Hi mqmoi,

I agree, and I used to use the toilet tank lid for the Kleenex box, room freshener, etc. but with this new Toto, there's practically no lid! Iddy Biddy thing.
Who checks out the size of a toilet lid when they are researching toilets? Ok, maybe some do but the tiny lid never caught my eye when researching.
Had it, I probably would have opted for a different toilet.
Hindsight, and all that. *s*

Hiya skypathway,

To be honest, I had never seen one until we went to my Aunt/Uncle's new home in Az.
In a very small guest bathroom and I saw how without the banjo, there would be no place to put her extras.
At that time I thought it was the perfect idea when we ever got around to remodeling our tiny bathroom.
Then my neighbor brought up the hard access should something go wrong with the toilet and I started the second guessing game with myself.

TeeDup1,
Hi! I responded and thank you so very much for the offer!

Hi Budge1,
Thank you.
You reminded me about the 'stuff' we would not put away when we had the larger toilet tank lid. LOL
In our case a banjo would add more than a few inches --- with a vanity of 25 inches, drop-in 16" diameter sink and the faucets on the tiled vanity top, heck, I'm not sure we'll have room for the liquid soap dispenser! LOL
But maybe just one, narrow shelf above the toilet for the extras wouldn't give me the closed-in feeling.

I decided on the Toto two years ago---took us months to save up for it.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think about the iddy bitty lid on this toilet and the less space I'd have.
Who'd a thunk? LOL

Hidee Johnmari !

Again, it's brought up about the 'Stuff' that won't get put away.
Hmmmm.... my real concern was the lack of access but now that two people have brought this up, I certainly don't need 'stuff' not put away in such a small bathroom.

It's the same reason I opted for a smaller dining room table.
The larger table ( 2 1/2 x larger than the smaller we have now) held more 'stuff'.
It was a drop-off point for everything.
With the smaller table and centerpiece, there's not much room for stuff and I certainly have liked it that way! lol

Great points, everyone --- Thank you sooo much for your responses!

What IS a banjo vanity top?

Hi Oceanna,

It's called Banjo because the counter at the vanity extends, sorta like the arm of a banjo.
Here are two of the 5 pics that I found while searching online (I must not being using the correct search words because I had a heck of a time finding these!).
For our bathroom I was thinking more along the lines of a curved front of sink (Plywood is easy to shape. *s*) and then having it curve back again toward the toilet and along the back of the toilet with a tile back splash behind the sink running the length of the rest of the wall, including border back splash behind the toilet.
Geesh, that explanation even confused me. lol

I am glad someone else asked what this was. I had to google it. I have never seen this type of counter before. Are these more common in some parts of the country than others? I live in New England.

Oh! Thank you!

I wouldn't want it. It would drive me absolutely nuts if the toilet were running and I couldn't easily access it to change out parts, untangle the chain, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've had to dig into the backs of misbehaving toilets.

Geez, we have no problems here with getting into the inner works of our toilet tank which sits 6.5 inches below the banjo "handle".

We liked our old banjo-shaped vanity top (30-year old cultured marble) so much that we replaced it with the very same shape (out of engineered quartz) when we redid our hall bath last June. We find the "handle" portion very purposeful in our small bathroom.

If you can get in and out of the tank top and see in there well, then I can see why you'd like it.

My father-in-law has it in his home, and I think they are a great use of space. I don't mind individual shelving on the wall over the toilet, but I like the look of items on the banjo shelf better than on the toilet tank, given the choice.

I know there has never been a problem getting to the toilet tank at his home. Also, unless you havea power-assisted toilet, the tank insides aren't that complicated to fix or remove, so it isn't like you are going to be working on a million tiny parts in a toilet if you need to do repair.

With my in-laws raising 5 kids and having one bathroom in their home, I know that length of countertop was welcome for them years ago, and I still like the look. In fact, I thought about that as an option should we ever re-do the downstairs bath.

If you used glass shelving above the toilet, you wouldn't get as much of a space-taker-upper effect (yeah, that's a technical term) as you would if you had solid shelves.

As for the toilet fixing issue, I was simply thinking about the number of times I was hunched over the open toilet tank with flashlight in hand and ear smushed against the wall peering into the toilet tank trying to figure out what the heck was going on with the toilet. Totos are amazing toilets indeed (had two in the last house and there's a third out in the shed awaiting installation here) but they are definitely not infallible!

rucnmom, I think they may be regional, but I think they were also very much a "thing" of a certain era in our area - I was raised in ME and live in NH and the few I've seen were mostly in houses built or remodeled during the late 1960s and 1970s.

We have had one in our daughters' bathroom for the past 17 years, and will keep the shape when we replace it this year with either granite or quartz. We have had no issues at all with toilet repairs. We did change the toilet out a few years ago in order to get a more water conserving one, and had no limitations in which one we could use. The extra shelf space has been great, they keep many of their cosmetic items on it and a small mirror for tending to those eyebrows. The continuous ledge is very useful overall. I say go for it, though it does add a bit to the price of the top for the long finished edge and also some waste of the product for the narrow portion--well worth it as far as I am concerned.

I am staying with my banjo countertop and large construction grade mirror in my small powder room. This mirror fell off the wall about 7 years after installation , luckily did not break. So my husband really glued it back on, It seems like a huge undertaking to move the light fixture, try to get the mirror down, So I've decided to stay with the banjo countertop for ease of the remodel and I like the extra counter space for for needed items

I like the idea of storage between studs as mentioned above (maybe an alcove above your toilet instead of shelves if you want it to feel more open.) Also look into a toe kick drawer for your vanity. It will cost extra but IMO could be worth saving up for; you could put things in there like a hair dryer, extra toiletries, etc.

I also like these concealed cabinets, but find them a bit pricey. If you're handy they might be something you can DIY.

FYI - eight (8) year old thread that was brought back up for no good reason ...

I've only seen those here in older and lower-cost homes and thought they didn't look nice. Maybe because I'm lucky enough to be the only one to use the bathroom off the MB it's never even occurred to me to use the toilet top for placing anything there. There are four built-in cabinets to the left of the sink in a recess where a lot of my items go and drawers under double drawers under the sink on each size that house my make-up, hair brushes, shaver etc. There's even enough room for two people's things with the large cabinets. There's very little on the sink counter top except a little make-up bag with items for touch-up during the day, a little ceramic bird, a water glass and a small faux bouquet of flowers in an antique toothpick holder. I hate clutter and was totally amazed when a friend came to stay for some months and the counter in her bathroom was literally covered from one end to the other. Different strokes, I guess.