When we moved in, we knew we wanted to do something about the bathroom configuration in our house. How it is now, We have a full bath in the hallway and a half bath in the master. Alot of ideas went through our heads about knocking out some closets, and creating a huge master bath complete with a separate tub/shower. The hall bath would turn in to a .75 bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower (no tub). Then the economy tanked in 2007 and 2008. We reevaluated everything and decided it just wasn’t smart to sink a ton of money into a house that we know we won’t be in forever. Not to mention, we need to get out of debt and this would not have helped!
So we went to plan B… we evaluated what annoyed us the most about the master bathroom (besides the fact that it doesn’t have a shower)…. and the height/look of the vanity won. It was too narrow and too short for our preferences. The vanity measured 24 inches wide, right at 30 inches tall, and it had very limited storage.
Here it is on move in day:
Since move in day I have painted the back wall red and added a curtain:
Changed out the old light
and tried to work it the best we could.
and hung a gorgeous chandelier (and I have painted that ugly rim since taking this picture):
The obvious fix was to get a new vanity. My parents offered it as a Christmas gift so that got us looking pretty quickly because we didn’t want to turn down that offer! We measured the opening in the wall and it was 30 3/4 inches wide. Most vanities are 30 in wide, but then the granite top makes it 31+ inches. bummer. We did find a few at Lowes and Home Depot that would have worked, but none really jumped out at us (and that didn’t require notching the door trim because of the overhang of the top). The absolute CHEAPEST vanity we could find that we liked was $270. Ouch. That doesn’t include ANYTHING else (floor, paint, trim, etc).
We did more and more brainstorming, and I started pinterest-ing of course. We decided that the best thing for us would be to repurpose what we already had.
I came upon a few ideas and created the mental picture in my mind of what I hoped to accomplish. Basically I wanted him to build a “box” or stand to raise the vanity 4 or so inches.The vanity top was in great shape so we really wanted to keep as much as we could by adding here and taking away there. Our ultimate goal was to change the color of the vanity, and make it look more built in- like it was meant to be there, not just dropped into place like it used to look. Fortunately I am married to practically a master carpenter who isn’t afraid of power tools. He was actually thrilled to be able to use some tools that he doesn’t typically get to use.
On the old vanity I didn’t like how the base of it leaned in. I wanted that gone. This is such a tight space and I couldn’t get a good angle for a picture. But take my word for it, it angled in…
I also didn’t like the color. I call it builder’s grade oak. ick. Nothing about the color of oak appeals to me- ever.
We primed everything that we wanted to paint. I used a spray primer in gray. It leaves a smooth finish, I didn’t have to worry about drips, and it dried really fast.
I let the primer to set for a few hours and then started painting. I used a quart of Martha Stewart semi-gloss (only because it was on sale) in “Deep Cavern” by Behr (Home Depot color matched it for me). I used a small foam roller to apply 2 coats of the semi-gloss. I did the initial coat, and then let that fully dry- then I did a second coat, and then touchups. The foam roller puts a beautiful finish on it (without a bunch of brush marks). I did use a brush in the cracks and crevices, but most of it was rolled on.
Next came the glaze. Once again Martha Stewart came through. I found the glaze in the same area I bought the crackle paint for my magnetic make-up holder. It is called Black Coffee and it is a delicious brownish bronzey glaze that adds depth to the paint. I applied this with a practically dry brush. Once the vanity was placed in the bathroom, the natural light showed some places that I needed to go over with the glaze. It turned out 10 times better than expected and I love it!
Josh also replaced all the pipes under the sink. They were old, outdated, and ready to be changed. Plus when we raised the vanity 4 inches, we needed longer pipes. He did all that and even added tile underneath to match the new floor!
Storage space was lacking in the old vanity so that was one thing we made sure to include. The shelves to the left of the vanity are custom built to fit a paper towel roll and toilet paper perfectly (I use papertowels when I scrunch my hair- totally un eco-friendly: I know). The top shelf is tall enough to hold my tall bottles that won’t fit in drawers (lotions, hairspray).
Inside the vanity he added a small shelf to hold another bin. I wanted it to be “fun” under here since there aren’t many places in my house where I can use pink and lime green!! This is also a really great picture of the glaze!
Here it is all put together! Love the new look! I actually look forward to getting ready in here…
We are planning on updating the faucet eventually to an black/bronze finish- but we just haven’t found one we love! Thankfully the old one is fully functional and will stay put until we fall in love with one.
Thanks mom and dad for funding this project! And to give a sneak peek to Friday’s post we came in $100 under the price of a new vanity (including new floors, paint, storage, etc.).
So that’s it! Parts 2-5 are coming! Part 2 is the floor, part 3 is the paint, part 4 is the mirror, and part 5 is the cost breakdown (’cause boy did we save alot of moolah!)
EDIT: I've done an update a year later about how the vanity is holding up! Check it out here.
We did more and more brainstorming, and I started pinterest-ing of course. We decided that the best thing for us would be to repurpose what we already had.
I came upon a few ideas and created the mental picture in my mind of what I hoped to accomplish. Basically I wanted him to build a “box” or stand to raise the vanity 4 or so inches.The vanity top was in great shape so we really wanted to keep as much as we could by adding here and taking away there. Our ultimate goal was to change the color of the vanity, and make it look more built in- like it was meant to be there, not just dropped into place like it used to look. Fortunately I am married to practically a master carpenter who isn’t afraid of power tools. He was actually thrilled to be able to use some tools that he doesn’t typically get to use.
On the old vanity I didn’t like how the base of it leaned in. I wanted that gone. This is such a tight space and I couldn’t get a good angle for a picture. But take my word for it, it angled in…
Thanks mom and dad for funding this project! And to give a sneak peek to Friday’s post we came in $100 under the price of a new vanity (including new floors, paint, storage, etc.).
So that’s it! Parts 2-5 are coming! Part 2 is the floor, part 3 is the paint, part 4 is the mirror, and part 5 is the cost breakdown (’cause boy did we save alot of moolah!)
EDIT: I've done an update a year later about how the vanity is holding up! Check it out here.
