A good quality vanity is expensive, no getting around it. But you get what you pay for. Moisture is an issue in bathroom environments, so perhaps all wood, or thermofoil would be a good option for you. Our vanities are old - 30 yrs and 20 yrs for the 2 bathrooms. When we started planning our bathroom remodel, I couldn't find anything with the same quality as what we had (all wood) for an affordable price so I decided to paint one of them. (still haven't made up my mind whether to paint or gelstain the other one) Maybe try Barker cabinets, they are very reasonable and sell vanities and kitchen cabinets. You can get a price quote on line too.

I don't think it's as much the vanity as the countertop. How much overhang do you have on your countertop? The overhang if it is substantial enough really should protect the front of the cabinet. An eased edge on your countertop is also helpful since it directs any dripping downward to the floor.

What's the height of the vanity? Lower ones, like the old standard 32'' ones, encourage dripping. Higher ones, like the new standard of 36'', keep the splashing to a minimum.

Oak is pretty impervious to water (they make boats from it). What about looking at a restore for one of the recycled ubiquitous oak vanities and paint it?

Two or three cheap vanities from BB stores add up to more than one really nice custom wood cabinet.

I agree on the counters. You have to specify a deeper counter or they will be almost flush with the overlay cabinet doors, causing damage. It's ridiculous. Poor functional design. Built in obsolesence.

If the issue is the vanity contacting moisture on the floor, you might want to consider a "floating" vanity, mounted to the wall (and attached to side walls if available) but without touching the floor beneath. Ours is 12" off the floor, which leaves room under it for a bathroom scale, waste basket, step stool or whatever. Some people even install LED lighting below to act as a soft nightlight. I was surprised how much bigger it made the bathroom seem. Of course, your flooring has to extend under the vanity, which may involve extra expense if your current vanity sits on the subfloor.

Sorry I am so late to this party. dmflaherty, I would suggest a vanity that is raised off the floor with legs. I love mine because I can slip a smallish plastic tray under there that holds all my cleaning products and you can't see it. I have a similar problem and that is mdf doors on a very expensive vanity. The doors look spongy on the bottom, even though they don't hit the floor, so I must be dripping down them too. I guess I can sand and restain the doors but I am afraid they won't match the rest.

Corian doors are impervious to water in this application.

How about not be a slob? Just kidding!!!

Your issue struck home with me because I had a local cabinet maker build me a vanity - beautiful cherry 72" cabinet and he was very stern and warned me not to let water sit on the cabinet. I wondered, what's the big deal, a little water? But then I read what you posted and see what can happen.

Anyway, enjoy your new vanity :)

For the very same reason, I bend over my tub and wash my face. I can splash to my hearts content, I'm short so leaning over really isn't to stressful for me. I haven't used a vanity sink for years to wash my face!