Everything you need to know about turning an old furniture piece into the DIY bathroom vanity of your dreams!
I know friends, this project has been a long time coming!
It’s been nearly three weeks since we first shared our beautiful {farmhouse style bathroom} and I really can’t thank you enough for the kind words and sweet comments y’all had to share! We put so much of ourselves into that space and it means the world to us to know that y’all loved it as much as we do!
From the plumbing and electrical, to the tiling & of course those lovely ship lap walls, Brady and I worked through every inch of that space ourselves. I’m telling you – the entire room really was one big DIY project after another. And I promise, I’ll get around to sharing each and every one of them soon!
There are so many parts of this bathroom to love…
But, I think the piece I was most surprised by, would most definitely have to be our DIY bathroom vanity.
I mean really, who would have thought that we could turn this…
Into this!
Oh boy had this thing seen better days. Truth is, I’ve always kind of hated this thing. I really disliked the colour, the doors were hanging on by a thread and the entire piece was covered in scratches and water stains. It just looked so sad.
But of course, I knew it had potential!
I’m so happy we found a way to show it some love and give it some life once again!
I can’t wait to show y’all how we turned this old buffet into a gorgeous DIY bathroom vanity!
Our very first step was to cut this thing to height. We wanted it to sit at a typical counter height – about 36 inches high. I knew the sinks we’d picked out would also add a bit of height, so I wanted to roll the height of them (another 4 inches) into the total height of the vanity too. The buffet table was about 38 inches tall to begin with, so that meant we needed to loose 6 inches of height from somewhere – the bottom of each leg seemed the easiest and most likely place. As he cut down each leg, Brady was careful to leave just a bit of extra, which would leave some wiggle room to sand it down and ensure each one was perfectly level and straight (nobody wants a vanity that rocks around every time they touch it!).
With the legs cut to the proper height, we decided to move on to refinishing that wood top, creating a pretty wood counter top for our vanity. Though I knew we’d be cutting some big holes in it for our sinks, I decided to finish the entire top first simply because I didn’t want to have to worry about keeping any mess I might make outside of the vanity once those holes were cut.
Refinishing this top was a pretty easy process actually. After using a bit of this varnish remover to find the bare wood again, I simply gave it a good wipe down with some water and then a quick coat of stain. Voila, good as new! Because the top is made of wood, which isn’t always a water friendly surface, I decided to add some extra protection with a bit of danish oil. I absolutely LOVE Danish Oil (you can read more about all of it’s amazing capabilities here). It does need to be reapplied every once in a while, but it’s a two minute process and I really like that it’s low sheen and brings out the grain and colour of the wood.
Painting the base was a pretty simple process too – with a little help from this brilliant tool, I had two coats of paint on it in no time! I really think this Loggia colour from Sherwin-Williams was the perfect beige to go with – it paired perfectly with the wood top and was exactly what I had been picturing in my head. Finally, I finished it all off with a quick coat of this Tough Coat from Country Chic Paint to protect all that hard work.
You’ll notice I just painted right over the hardware, mostly because I think painted hardware gives such a charming look. But, I couldn’t resist adding a couple of these pretty crystal knobs from D Lawless to the drop down drawers for a bit of sparkle.
And, now that we had a prettier buffet table to work with, it was time to turn this baby into a bathroom vanity!
This basically meant cutting a whole lotta holes into this thing.
The sinks we’d chosen from American Standard Canada came with a template to cut the hole in the top, which made it so easy to not only decide where we wanted to place the sinks, but to cut the perfect hole for each one to sit in. *You can see how we put the cut out pieces to work building some pretty shelves in our reveal post here.*
We also needed to cut a few holes in the back of the vanity to allow for any plumbing to fit through. Instead of playing around with the jigsaw for this, Brady put a few of these to work and had them all cut in a matter of seconds.
The last cuts we needed to make were to the backs of the drawers that sit under the sinks to allow for the plumbing to fit through.
For that narrow top drawer directly under the sink, we simply cut the entire thing shorter and added a new back to the drawer with a piece of dimensional lumber cut to size.
The drawer that lived behind that pull down door underneath also needed some attention. This one was even easier to adjust, just needing an area of the drawer back cut away, which allowed for it to slide right around the plumbing.
Finally, it was just a matter of installing the sinks with a bit of this caulk around the bottom to hold them in place, connecting all of the plumbing and then sitting these gorgeous faucets from Delta Canada on top of it all. The install of everything was actually pretty straight forward, we simply followed the directions that came in the box with each sink and faucet.
And that’s it friends. I realize I’m making this sound like a ton of work, but in all honesty, it really wasn’t. I couldn’t believe how simple it was to turn a regular old piece of furniture (and an ugly one at that) into this beautiful double vanity!
I couldn’t possibly be happier with how this turned out! I think it brings so much charm and character to our new farmhouse bathroom space!
I hope this leaves you feeling inspired to take on your own DIY bathroom vanity too!
HUGE thanks to Sherwin-Williams, American Standard Canada, D Lawless Hardware and Delta Canada for providing us with the gorgeous products you see here and sponsoring this post.
Pop on over here to see it in the finished space:
And you won’t want to miss all of these other fab {farmhouse style bathroom} projects:
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day!
PS. This post contains affiliate links. For more information please see my disclosure and privacy policies.
PPS. Shared here.
It’s gorgeous Kristi and I love the sinks you chose to pair with it. The entire room is just stunning. I’ve been wanting to convert a dresser in our bathroom for two years but have yet to find the perfect dresser because of the small footprint of the room. Seeing your post today motivated me to get on that quest again.
Awwwww, well thank you Marie! It makes me so happy to hear that you’re feeling inspired! I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!!
Hi again Kristi, just wanted to let you know that your gorgeous bathroom vanity will be my feature this weekend at the DIY Sunday Showcase Party!
Awwwww, yay! Thank you so, so much Marie!!! xo
That vanity is SO gorgeous! I cannot believe the before pictures, Kristi! Especially love the double sinks! You guys did an amazing job! xo
Thank you so, so much Kendra! We’re so happy with how it turned out!
Love it! I want to use a dresser or cabinet of some nature in our little powder room that needs some big time love.
This bathroom is so beautiful. Your eye for detail is amazing!
Awww, well thank you Tammy! I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
This is so gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much Anita!!!
Your bathroom is beautiful. I would love to have one just like it. You thought of every detail.
Thank you so, so much Debra! It was a lot of work, but I’m so happy with how it turned out!
It is a great buffet to be used for a vanity Kristi, I just love the colour you chose! Your bathroom is truly stunning, I wouldn’t leave it ever! 🙂
Thank you so, so much Katrin! It’s so fun to picture something like this in your head and then actually see it come to life! I love how it turned out!
Always so pretty, my fav, thank for sharing this at my party We are also doing a $40 giveaway for Thrive Market, has great organic products, its an easy giveaway and enter you may win, we don’t have many entries yet, ends in a few days.
http://www.simplenaturedecorblog.com/dream-create-inspire-link-50-giveaway/
Thanks
Maria
Thanks so much for sharing Maria!!!
This DIY is beautiful! I hope you’re having a great weekend <3
Blessings,
Edye
Thanks so much Edye!
I need a new bathroom vanity & never thought of refurbishing a piece of vintage furniture. Many thanks for linking up at Merry Monday!
Thank you! SO happy to hear that you’re feeling inspired!
OMG, this is gorgeous! One of the prettiest I have seen. Love it and pinning!
Awwww, well thank you Jessica! I’m so, so happy with how it turned out!!!
This is absolutely stunning! You are so talented my friend! Every time I see your new bathroom I get jealous! Thank you so much for linkinup with Dream. Create. Inspire. Link! Pinning!
Cat
You are so super sweet Cat! Thanks so much friend!
Love, love, love your farmhouse bathroom!!
Awwww, well thank you Cheryl!
That vanity is beautiful! Such a pretty bath! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Awwwww, well thank you Sherry!
Girl! This bathroom vanity makeover is FABulous. Thanks so much for all the tips for transforming such a beautiful piece!
We loved this project so much that we have featured it at The DIY Collective this week!
{Big hugs} and thanks for sharing!
~ Ashley
Eeeeeek! Thank you so, so, sooooooo much Ashley! Y’all are the best! xo
Gorgeous! Love the buffet, and I absolutely adore your entire bathroom! You did an wonderful job! Sharing on my Blog FB page, and pinned! …coming from June Pretty Project Party. ~Rhonda
Thank you so, so, sooooo much Rhonda! We couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out!
Let me just say… I am seriously jealous of your bathroom. 🙂 I love how you used such a vintage and unique piece to transform the space in such a gorgeous way. I love how you have the basins on top instead of inset, both in visual appeal and in the functionality of the drawers.
Awesome work! Thank you so much for sharing at the Monday Mish Mash!!
*Hugs*
Thank you so, so much Amy! I had this vision in my head the whole time and I’m so happy it turned out as perfectly as I’d hoped!
That is an awesome transformation. You make it sound so simple, but I’m sure it took work to make your bathroom look so beautiful.
Awwwww, thanks Erlene! We were actually surprised at how easy it was to do, though you’re right, it definitely took a lot of work! 😉 Thanks again!
I had missed this post and I saw the feature at Wendi’s blog (Sunday showcase party).
I have this to say:
OH ME GOSH!!!
What a bathroom!
And this tutorial is juuuust the thing I was looking for, too. 🙂
You are just the sweetest! Thank you so, so much! We’re so proud of how it all came together and are definitely enjoying the new space! Thanks again!
Absolutely stunning! You’ve combined vintage with modern touches beautifully! (Pinned and featuring!)
You are so, so sweet Kim! Thank you!!!
Absolutely fabulous! You and your husband did a wonderful job, you can clearly see that you put your hearts into this bathroom revamp! The vintage vanity is just gorgeous. Love everything about your bathroom!
You are so, so sweet! It was A LOT of work, but totally worth it in the end! Thanks so much!
Love the whole room. I have wanted to do this but never had the insight to do so. You made it so simple and it is beautiful !
Thank you so, so much Tamara! I’m so happy you’re feeling inspired!
What we’re the dimensions of your buffet. I’m trying to find a sink small enough to fit a hutch I got to covert. Maybe I need to go wiht a buffet since it’s deeper than a hutch.
Our buffet measures 22″ deep, hope this helps Donna!