Repurposed furniture as a DIY Bathroom vanity

I’ve been working hard on our bathroom. For the vanity I wanted to do something unique while saving money and using a quality piece of furniture. It took awhile (mostly because the vanity space is so small), but I found the perfect vintage cabinet! I thought I’d show you how to use a repurposed furniture as a DIY Bathroom vanity

Repurposed furniture as a DIY Bathroom vanity

I searched Facebook Marketplace and MANY thrift and vintage spots before finding this solid wood cabinet for $35. Getting something with the correct measurements was very tricky. The longest I could go was 28″ and I wanted something less than 18″ wide while being over 34″ high.

Getting something counter height (over 34″ tall) is important so that it is comfortable to use as a sink.

Another goal when searching for furniture to use for a vanity is to look for something sturdy and is made of quality materials. I wanted a solid wood (not laminate) so I could sand it.

That doesn’t really exist in vintage furniture so I got something 24″ long by 18″ wide, but it was too low- 30″ high. Let me show you how we took this short upcycled cabinet and turned it into a bathroom vanity.

SUPPLIES

step 1

Start by removing the back off the cabinet. The pipes need to go to the wall so having the back off gives full access. My husband pulled ours right off.

Then we mocked up how our vanity will work. For this, we used a 4×4 and a 2×4 board stacked on top of each other with the cabinet sitting on on the wood. Our plan is to put a piece of baseboard in front of those for a seamless base. This makes the cabinet tall enough to work as a bathroom vanity! It was exciting to see my vision come to life when we tested out this set up!

step 2

Next, while the vessel sink is on top of the cabinet, trace the hole in the middle with a pencil. Also trace the faucet so a hole can be created for that too. We made sure to center the holes on the cabinet so it is perfectly placed.

Then we drilled holes that matched the sizes of the holes we needed to create two circle openings for the faucet and drain. For the faucet hole, we used a 1 1/4″ spade drill bit. For the drain hole (which needs to be bigger), we used a 1 3/4″ hold dozer.

step 3

To see if we like the original finish, we sanded just the drawer. I love the light color! We also cut out the center of the drawer so that it can still function while going around the pipes.

We added some wood around the opening so that if items are stored in the drawer, they won’t fall into the cabinet. There is still a good amount of storage in here! Makeup or tooth brushes will be perfect in here.

step 4

And now, sand the cabinet. I didn’t like the dark stain finish, so we sanded it all off. Then I cleaned it nicely.

I tested a bunch of stains and didn’t like any of them. So I sanded off all of them. Instead, I opted to finish the whole cabinet with a product called Gator Hide from Dixie Belle Paint. I used this because it’ll keep the wood color while protecting it from water. I applied it with a brush thinly (if you put it on too thick it can yellow).

step 5

Finally, place the cabinet on the new base. You can connect them all with screws or they should be sturdy enough to just stand on top of each other like this.

Then, attach the baseboards to the base with nails. Caulk and paint the baseboard.

For installing the sink, put a ring of silicone around the drain hole and then place the sink over the hole. This keeps water from getting under the sink onto the wood cabinet top. We also used construction adhesive to attach the vessel sink to the top.

Then, around the sides, use silicone to create a seal between the cabinet and the sink. Next, install the faucet and drain as normal.

A note on the drain, if you’re doing a vessel sink like this- make sure the drain on your faucet is non-overflow. If you get an overflow drain, that means there’s holes in the drain and water will get inside the cabinet. Which is obviously a big problem!

after

Alice Tile / Rose Tile / Blush Tile / Flamingo Tile / Dijon Tile / Golden Coast Tile / Lima da Persia Tile / Aquamarine Tile / Monaco Tile / Auckland Tile / Serena Tile / Wonderland Tile / Iridescent wall tile / Bullnose tile / Laura Ashley Dove Floor Tile / Frosted Sage door paint / vessel sink / Light Fixture / Medicine Cabinet / faucet / Trip Lever for the Toilet / toilet paper holder / Toilet /

And here we are! The finished vanity! This was WAY more labor intensive than buying a vanity from the hardware store, but I love how it’s unique and solid wood.

For this project, I spent $35 on the cabinet, $10.50 on pulls, $60 on the vessel sink, $150 on the faucet. All the other supplies we had on hand. This vanity cost us $255.50

The cheapest vanity I could find with a faucet from the hardware store is $375, so we did save some money! Plus, I guarantee that an inexpensive option would have been laminate not solid wood.

I am really, really happy with how this room is coming together so far! The next time I show more, it’ll be all finished for the grand reveal. I can’t wait to show it off then. What do you think of the repurposed furniture as a DIY Bathroom vanity?!

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