Let's Hear It For the Boys’ {Bath Vanity}

Don’t get me wrong…I absolutely love our new house, but when it comes to bathroom vanities, I feel like the builders of our home definitely scored some bulk pricing.  Three of the four bathrooms have the exact same style vanity.  The fourth bath is different because it was added later down the line when the basement was finished.  And based on what we know about the house, it was done by different owners. 



With so many vanities the same (even down to the hardware and hinges), it was feeling a bit Groundhog’s Day sometimes.  I paint one…awesome…cheers for breathing new life into it.  And then I turn the corner and BAM!  There’s another one giving me the stink eye.  So hop aboard the vanity facelift train…we’re taking off again!

As I’ve mentioned before, many of our room updates will vary in scope and size since we sort of just tackle whatever feels right at the time.  This may be based on what materials we already have on hand, what will give us the quickest bang for our buck, what happens to be on sale/clearance at the time, my level of laziness that day, etc.  You know, very scientific stuff.  As such, we also know many, if not all, rooms will be completed over several phases.  This is combo of finances, my constant indecision, and time.  Oh yes, that ‘ol friend called time.  The thing I had much more of before the kiddos came along.  One day we shall meet again. 

Anyway, when we last left off, the boys’ bathroom had lost its towel bars, received a new paint job, a new shower curtain rod, and we hung up one of our old shower curtains.  (Sidebar: I stumbled upon this shower curtain in our most recent Crate & Barrel catalog and really like the colors and fun pattern…maybe one day when a sale hits?) With those changes, things were really starting to take shape.  I was itching to tackle the vanity, though, especially after such great success in the half bath.  

So begins the day the boys’ bath vanity got some lovin’.

Here’s what we started off with: (Please forgive the fact that the middle doors are already unscrewed…I got a bit excited to start and almost forgot to snap the before shots!)

And the most maddening part (that I won’t be AT ALL sad to see go) is the toilet paper holder.  It’s a cute design and all – I’m not complaining about that.  It’s the functional side that was driving me bonkers.  It’s the style where one side is open and you just slide the roll onto the holder.  Well, as you can imagine with a three year old boy (who’s the primary user of this toilet), he’s not the most delicate guy so countless times the roll would go flying into the wastebasket.  Not the most sanitary thing, if you feel me. 

So during the boys’ nap time one weekend afternoon I grabbed the screwdriver, popped the doors off, pulled the drawers out, removed the hinges and mostly importantly got real excited.  Forward progress, baby! 

Everything made the journey to the garage and driveway to begin the sanding process.  I followed the exact same process I did for the half bath vanity paint job.  This time, though, we made it a family affair and Sebastian helped do some sanding.  Here’s a snippet of him earning his keep.

And yes, sanding in your polo shirt and undies is totally acceptable in our house.  When the mood strikes for a DIY project, sometimes pants aren’t nearby and that’s A-OK. 

You can read the detailed step-by-step process on the half bath vanity post, but here’s the general how-to:

1. Remove all hardware and hinges.
2. Transport everything to your work zone (garage and driveway for us).
3. Wood putty any unnecessary holes, chips, etc.  Do as many coats as necessary.
4. Sand everything with 60 grit sand paper.
5. Sand everything with 220 grit sandpaper.
6. Clean everything with lukewarm soapy water.
7. Degloss all pieces.
8. Prime all pieces.
9. Paint all pieces.
10. Cure for 5 days.
11. Add new hardware and reassemble.
    

The only thing I did differently for this vanity was making the boneheaded move of deciding halfway through my paint job - step #9 - that I wanted the doors to have knobs instead of pulls.  That meant I’d need to patch one of the two holes each of the doors had for the old pulls.  I made that decision because this vanity was about to end up the same color white as the half bath vanity (due to the minimal light in this bathroom, I wanted it light and bright feeling PLUS I already had the paint on hand).  That said, I still wanted it to look somewhat different so different hardware was the solution.  So out came the wood putty to patch one of the holes on each door.  And then out came the primer again.  And then three coats of paint. 

While they were curing up over the five days (which actually ended up being more like 10 since other things kept coming up), I tackled the shelf liner in the drawers and vanity frame.  I did the same process as I did here in the boys’ bath closet and in the half bath vanity.

 

 

And here we go…here she is with her facelift complete:

And the lovely new toilet paper holder where the roll won’t fall into the wastebasket every time! 

And the side by-side of where we originally started and where we are today:

Total Project Cost: $65

Zinsser’s “BIN” shellac-based primer: $0, already had
Disposable paint tray liners: $0, already had some
Foam rollers (6-pack) plus roller holder: $0, already had
Sand paper (220 and 60 grit): $0, already had
Sanding block: $0, already had
Liquid Deglosser: $0, already had
Elmer’s wood putty: $0, already had
Putty knife: $0, already had one
Denatured alcohol: $0, already had
Old rags (for applying deglosser): $0, already had
Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec paint, “Simply White” color, semi-gloss: $0, already had
Angled paint brush: $0, already had
New hardware pulls, knobs, and hinges: $41
New toilet paper holder: $18
Shelf liner: $6

This ended up being one of those fun projects since I knew it would have a nice impact for such a low cost since I had so many of the supplies on hand.  And the more furniture painting I do, the more courage and confidence I’m building to tackle larger painting projects around the house. Stay tuned on those!

Here’s our current to-do list for this room:

• paint the walls and ceiling
• do something with current light fixture as interim fix; paint?
• new artwork
• new flooring
• new crisp white toilet
• do something with the vanity
• new vanity top & faucet
• do something with linen closet (organization)
• replace lighting
• frame out mirror
• paint the trim and doors white? 

What bathroom projects have the rest of you been up to?  I’m still on the hunt for a new shower curtain for the boys.  

♥,
Anne