Guest Bath Makeover pt. 2: Custom Bath Vanity

After a few months, I have finally gotten this post ready! Our guest bath has actually been sitting completed for a while (except for accessories), just waiting for pictures to be taken. A while ago, I posted about the cabinet I found at a thrift store. I loved it, but it sat in our garage for a long time, while I was still deciding on a paint color. In the mean time, we decided it was high time to re-do our guest bath. We put down new flooring (Allure vinyl planks in country pine), painted with a can of Behr paint & primer that I found a long time ago in the "oops" paint section, and then we were deciding on a vanity. Our budget for this room was next to nothing (literally), so our options were slim. Re-do the existing vanity? Maybe, but the bones weren't very good and it would require a new counter top and sink. Buy this guy at Home Depot? Cheap, but clean. I was leaning towards the latter. Evan was never happy with the quality.

Then, Evan reminded me of our cabinet. It is a little shorter than a vanity, but with a vessel sink mounted on top, the height would be perfect. We might spend a little more than we'd like, but it would be totally unique, and the cabinet is so solid. My guidelines for a vessel sink: large enough to cover most of the counter top, have a ledge for guests to put toothbrushes and other items, at least 5" high, and made of ceramic or porcelain. Unfortunately, those don't usually come so cheap.

On the way home from the William & Mary/Towson game in MD, Evan made a stop at Ikea (without me, and totally unprompted by me. Isn't he amazing?). He found a perfectly sized ceramic vessel sink in the "As Is" section on super sale. No visible imperfections, just a floor model or return. He sent me a picture. It met all requirements. Sold.

After some sanding, drilling of holes for the faucet and plumbing (see below), 2 coats of Minwax stain in ebony, 3 coats of poly, some new hardware and some sink installation (we laid it down and used clear silicone caulk that we used elsewhere in the room on the edges), we've got a brand new vanity, and we love it. It's so much more quality than we could have bought and the look fits perfectly with this bathroom. It's narrow, which works for this small space. We bought the faucet on eBay for a super cheap (like $20), but, it is SO loud - I guess that's the price you pay for buying a "Made in China" faucet off Ebay :)

 

 

And here it is, with the sink and faucet:

 

 

Yikes! I really did shower today.

I also asked Evan to make a towel hanger, instead of putting up a towel bar (I've really come to hate the look of wet towels hanging sloppily on a towel bar). He primed and painted a scrap piece of wood and added three hooks. Easy peasy.

 

 

We are going to live with the bisque-colored shower/tub in here because it's clean, and it gets covered up by the shower curtain.We still need to add some art and accessories to this room, but it feels good to have 2 out of 3 bathrooms mostly updated!