Bathroom Vanities

As I sit here and try to figure out a project to share with you from the past years reno (a.k.a stall while I work on new projects in the background to share), I decided to highlight our bathroom vanities.  They were by far MY biggest project, and a big cost savings too.  Going into all of this I had no idea how much new bathroom vanities cost.  I quickly discovered that they are insanely expensive when you need two of them, one of which is for a master bathroom (i.e. bigger space).  And there I went into a tailspin.....wrecking my brain with how I could get the look I wanted without breaking the bank.  I discovered the following post from HGTV (probably on Pinterest or something) which sent me to Craig's List multiple times a day in search of the perfect dresser.  So if you find yourself in my shoes, here are a few things to consider:

STEP ONE:  Find your inspiration and what you like.  For me it was these awesome (and oh so pricey) vanities from Pottery Barn

STEP TWO:  Peruse Craig's List, Goodwill Stores, Garage Sales, and Flea Markets for a dresser that looks similar to your inspiration.  This can take time, so be sure to check out all possible options.  Here's what I found for our master bath (kinda similar to the dresser style look from Pottery Barn):

And here's what I found at a garage sale for our upstairs bathroom:

STEP THREE:  Prime your dresser.  Lightly sand first (using a hand sander) and then apply a gripper primer before painting.  On both of these I used Glidden Grey Gripper Primer from Home Depot.  Apply with a roller, and use a brush to get into grooves/crevices.

STEP FOUR:  Remove the top of your dresser. Each of these were pretty easy, one had screws and one had nails....so a screwdriver and hammer were all that we needed.

STEP FIVE:  Start painting. For both of these I used Valspar Ultra Interior Soft Gloss Kitchen and Bath Tintable Base Paint and Primer in One and applied with a small foam roller.  Each of these took 2 coats.

STEP SIX:   Choose your knobs and pulls.  For the upstairs vanity I used some of the same hardware but then found these cute little bird knobs from World Market.  For the master bath, I discovered a cute shop on Etsy which sells vintage inspired cabinet knobs and pulls.

STEP SEVEN:  Set your vanities in place and determine where you will need to make cuts for the plumbing.  Make your cuts.  Choose your granite supplier and have them come and measure.  This part was a wee bit scary as ours was measured and there was some concern regarding whether it would be too narrow to hold the sink, but the pros at Midwest Tile and Granite worked their magic for us!  The only thing we did not have room for was the granite backsplash portion...that's a project for another day as we will be choosing a short tile backsplash in the near future. 

STEP EIGHT: Stand back and admire your hardwork!