Vanity Repurpose - Part 1

Klc
by Klc
7 Materials
$60
4 Days
Medium

Recently, my in-laws were in the midst of cleaning out some of their extra bedrooms. This antique vanity had been taking up space for quite a while and they decided it was time to put it to the curb.


Wait a minute! Hold on! There has to be something that can be salvaged from it, right? They gladly gave it to me with the understanding that I really might not be able to do anything with it and it might end up at MY curb. They were fine with that.

icon We got it home and immediately took it apart. After removing the center piece, the remaining 2 pieces were the exact right size for nightstands. So, nightstands they would be. My daughter would be able to use them.


The biggest challenge was that the veneer was extremely damaged, but overall it was a sturdy piece. I decided I would give myself 2-3 days to repair it. If I could not get it into salvage-able shape in that time, I would abandon the project.

Bondo Wood Filler to the rescue. Although I have seen plenty of posts describing projects that use it, this would be my first time using it.


The veneer was cracked, peeling, and in some spots, missing altogether. I did glue some of the smaller loose edge pieces, but, for the most part, I peeled it completely off and filled it in with the Wood Filler.

Originally, each drawer had 2 small knobs. I filled in all of those holes with a small piece of dowel and bondo because I wanted different hardware on the finished pieces.


I used an entire can of bondo. Fill, sand, fill, sand some more, and on and on. After 2 days, I believed I had gotten the 2 pieces as ready as they were ever going to get for some primer. Honestly, after all that work, there was no way I was giving up now.

icon Time for primer/paint/sealer:


  • 2 coats of Kilz 3 Premium Primer on cabinets and drawer fronts.


  • 2 coats of Rust-oleum Chalked in Linen White on cabinets.


  • 2 coats of polyurethane on cabinets


I decided that the drawers needed something more than paint. I also decided that each drawer would have 1 pull, so I drilled a hole in the center of each drawer front.

icon I was lucky enough to find this on the clearance shelf at Home Depot. The gray/white check pattern would go great with the colors in my daughter's room.

I found a section of the pattern that I wanted to center on the drawer. I used a ruler to find the center of the larger, dark gray square and inserted a skewer through the wallpaper and into the hole I drilled for the installation of the pull. This would keep the pattern centered while I worked getting it secured.

Once I removed the backing paper from the wallpaper, I used some extra wallpaper glue on the drawer fronts to make a more secure bond between the drawer and the wallpaper. Using a plastic smoother, I worked out all of the bubbles and extra glue.


I then weighted the wallpaper down with a few old books for a several hours.


Once the glue was dried, I used a utility knife to trim the extra wallpaper from around the edges of the drawers.

icon One more addition...the pulls. I went for sparkly glass knobs.

My daughter was extremely pleased with her new nightstands. I know they are not perfect, but I am happy with the result and so glad I had a chance to try something new!

Suggested materials:
  • Bondo Wood Filler   (Home Depot)
  • Kilz 3 Premium Primer   (Home Depot)
  • Rust-oleum Chalked in Linen White   (Home Depot)
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