Bathroom Vanity From Baby's Changing Table
by
Margaret E
5 Materials
$900
6 Weeks
Medium
I was pregnant when my dad brought me this maple dresser with attached mirror. It became my son's changing table, forty-plus years ago. I knew it would turn into a fantastic vanity some day. I just needed the bathroom to put it into. It was variously in use and in storage till the cute 1956 bungalow came along.
This is where it started, bad stain job and all. The house is in the early stages of renovation, so the mirror was safely stored in my apartment kitchen while I worked on the dresser at the house, so you won't see it till the last pictures. This is the photo I posted on the ask-and-answer section of Hometalk, about removing the top. When all the TV home-remodel shows have a dresser to be turned into a vanity, you see the intact piece of furniture, but no one ever shows just how hard it is to get that top off!
The top was glued and screwed on. The screws were easy to take out, once I could maneuver the screwdriver in to get to them. The weapons I had to use to remove the top of the dresser are in the picture - a saw, hammer, pry bar and assorted screwdrivers. The entire process took at least two hours of sawing, swearing, pounding, prying and more swearing. Which is why it's never shown on TV.
I think this is after one coat of the Minwax Polyshades Stain and Polyurethane in 1 Step, Expresso color. I was NOT pleased at this point. I think I ended up putting on 4 coats to get the deep rich finish I wanted, as you'll see in the next photo.
I saw this painting with lace technique (lay lace on pieces to be painted; spray paint the design) here on Hometalk, and just knew it would be perfect... until the gorgeous granite slab for the top was brought in for its final fitting. The stars had to go.
Another step they just don't show on TV is cutting the drawers up to fit around the plumbing - frequently the top drawers are eliminated with the fronts permanently fixed, i.e., useless. I needed all that space for toothbrushes and medicine bottles and all that other stuff you don't want sitting out on top or taking up space in the linen closet. I don't have photos of the drawers after I boxed in the back parts - just not my prettiest work, but once the drawers are closed - and nothing falls out - that's all that matters.
This part hurt, sanding the drawer fronts. I had been so pleased with how they came out! The lace effect had come out perfectly. But it just didn't work with the granite!
This is why all the stars on the drawer fronts didn't work - that sink was such a find, on a clearance rack in a Savannah Tile & Decor store, a steal under $120! The granite is called Oceana, from a local granite supplier, Distinctive Granite. When I first walked into their display yard, I had my heart set on something else. I was wandering around with a sheet of the mosaic tile and a white 12 inch tile for the floor, and saw this slab. No question, this was it. I love how the colors remind me of the beach.
The finished vanity. Yes, there is a different faucet in this picture. I spent a lot of time searching for a faucet that would come up higherabove the back of the sink and extend out over it; this one is called Charleston and was a discontinued model (on sale!) I found on Build.com. The glass knobs came from Hobby Lobby; I dipped the backs and screws in the same Minwax product that stained the vanity. I didn't properly plan the height of the mirror - any very tall guest will have to bend down a little to use it, but it works for me. The "estimated completion time" of 6 weeks is inaccurate because I only worked on it on weekends, a couple hours at a time.
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2 of 4 comments
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Love the look and that granite is spectacular!
I have a similar dresser, but don't want to leave it when I move.
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Thank you! I was happy to finally find a better place for this piece than a storage unit!
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