Was your bathroom vanity a dresser in a past life?

TURNING VINTAGE DRESSERS INTO BATHROOM VANITIES SEEMS TO BE ALL THE RAGE.

And I don't usually buy into things like that. And, just for the record, I loved succulents WAY before they were fashionable. But, that's besides the point. I DO love the idea of merging old and new. So, I thought I'd give this fad a try.

We had 2 bathrooms to completely renovate on Lincoln Avenue. Well, actually 3 if you count the cottage bathroom. Given that we were creating a real vintage, modern theme to this 1927 Tudor, I decided to try this in all the bathrooms.

 

FINDING A VINTAGE DRESSER

I got really lucky with two of the three of these dressers. But more about that in a minute. The best place to find vintage vanities is a consignment store or, better yet, flea market. And then there is Craigslist. Not the place you would usually think about for nice, vintage goods. Take a look at these vintage dressers featured on Craigslist right now!!!

In any case, we got really lucky. We found a gal that renovated them. She had two matching ones. So I had her do a lighter one, American Chestnut, for the guest bath and a darker one, Espresso, for the master. 

 

So, this is the guest bath. 

Here's where you can get a similar sink, faucet or these fabulous floor tiles.

Here's where you can get a similar sink, faucet or these fabulous floor tiles.

WATERPROOFING THE TOP SURFACE

I've had a lot of questions about this so here's a bit more detail about it. First, you want to purchase a small can of satin-finish polyurethane. Apply a coat with a paint brush and let it dry thoroughly. Once dry, use #0000 steel wool (that's not a typo), sanding lightly WITH the grain. Wipe off dust remnants with a tack cloth (which can be purchased with everything else at a hardware store). Apply another coat and repeat this process 4-5 times until you feel confident that you have waterproofed the surface.

 

DON'T DO THIS AT HOME.

I know, it's sort of sad that I am saying not to try this at home on a DIY-ish blog. Here's the deal. Retro-fitting a dresser into a vanity is a pretty large undertaking. Generally speaking, the top two drawers will need to be rebuilt in order to accommodate the sink and or plumbing. Best to hire a carpenter and plumber. Better yet, a handyman who can do both plumbing and carpentry!

 

GOTTA HAVE A BEFORE/AFTER SHOT

Just thought I'd throw in this BEFORE and AFTER shot so you can see the transformation. In this case, the vanity stayed in the exact same position so it's super satisfying to see the results.

 

Here's the master bathroom vanity

If you look closely, you'll notice that this is the same vintage dresser style as the one we used for the guest bathroom. This time, we went with an Espresso color with more modern drawer pulls. The vanity wasn't long enough for two sinks. And we've heard that marriages survive better with separate bathrooms and, at the very least, two sinks, we decided to go for a trough sink with two faucets instead. It's sort of like two sinks, right?

Can you say 'custom'?

Remember how I was telling you about the fact that these dressers need to be customized inside to accommodate the sink and plumbing?

Well, take a look at these. 3 out of the 4 larger drawers had to be customized. And we basically lost the functionality of the top two due to the trough sink so Lance found these fancy stainless steel gizmos. They are called "Tip Out Trays". Imagine that? And they are more popular that I realized. Here's a link to some on Amazon. 

 

And, here is the cottage vanity

The aesthetic in the cottage was much more vintage overall so we went with a more classic look with vintage faucet. We used a black stone countertop since we had some left over from another project.

 

Here are some other dresser-turned-vanity inspiration

Restoration Hardware, Maison Powder Room Vanity Base, $860

 

Other clever uses for vintage vanities

A BAR CART

 

A KITCHEN ISLAND

Source

Source

 

A T.V. CONSOLE

Converting a dresser into a vanity is simple when you follow these DIY instructions.

One final tip, pay attention to your height when shopping for a dresser to use as a vanity.  A standard vanity is 30” but many adults find that height to be too short, and prefer a more comfortable height between 32” – 36”.   Bring your tape measure with you and be sure to factor in the additional inches added from your chosen countertop.

TURNING VINTAGE DRESSERS INTO BATHROOM VANITIES SEEMS TO BE ALL THE RAGE. And I don't usually buy into things like that. And, just for the record, I loved succulents WAY before they were fashionable. But, that's besides the point. I DO love the idea of merging old and new. So, I thought I'd give this fad a try.