Top Menu

Builder's Grade Vanity Revamp


Tired of  the same builder's grade vanity your bathroom has been sporting for years? Well, I got you a quick vanity makeover that's going to give your entire bathroom a brand new look!

I'm on a roll trying to update my entire house on a budget, one single project at a time.  My project today is in my kids bathroom. A small bathroom that was beginning to look dated. 

The main goal for this bathroom is to update it without replacing its major components and/or fixtures.
As I usually say, this is going to be a paint makeover with a few DIY's in the way. ;)

The first project here: Updating the vanity!

This is what the builder gave us as a vanity - A cabinet with two doors and not even a shelf inside. :/
Boring. 

*This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

The ugly Hollywood lights and gigantic unframed mirror didn't help a single bit. 😝

Time to change it!

The materials & tools for this vanity makeover:

1. CLEAN AND PRIME

The first step after removing the doors is to clean all the surfaces that need to be painted. Sand them lightly with a 120-grid sandpaper in order to remove the glossy finish, which is ideal for the primer to get a good grab. Use a tack cloth to remove all the dust particles.

Since the inside of this cabinet is a laminated surface, I had to use the appropriate primer: Zinsser Bin Primer  - Which is formulated for laminate surfaces - otherwise the paint and even other types of primers can peel off those surfaces.
vanity makeover
ZINSSER BIN PRIMER |

2. PAINT

The next step is to paint the cabinet. But wait, before painting the cabinet, I sprayed painted the pipes in silver. I wasn't a fan of the white-silver-gold combination going on there.

The cabinet was given two coats of paint, letting the paint dry in between coats.
I used Benjamin Moore Tudor Brown, the same color I used in my kitchen island.


3. INSTALL A SHELF

This cabinet was always in disarray, I needed to create order in there!

Installing a center shelf was my way to bring organization here.

I repurposed two of these wooden shelves I had removed from the garage.

The dimensions for the cabinet were 42" long x 20" deep.  Each of the two shelves I was going to use were 10" wide - It was a perfect solution width wise. 

However, I had to deal with the plumbing. And that's why I traced and cut out the trajectory of those pipes on the back shelf. 

I measured around the pipes, at the exact height I wanted the shelf to be situated.  With the measurements at hand I got the Jig Saw to cut around my marks, as you can see in the above picture. 
It took me about three or four tries to make it fit snugly.

For the shelf that was going to be situated at the front of the cabinet, these three simple cuts were done:


These two pieces of wood or shelves were going to become only one shelf inside the base cabinet. 
In order keep them in place, little holes were drilled at the height I wanted my shelf to be located, making sure they were all level.  

One shelf bracket peg was placed on each of these holes. They're the ones holding the shelves.

Here again, you can see the little pegs all installed.


This is the way the vanity looked at the end of the day. Not bad, but I thought it was missing something.


4.  ADD AN APRON

Yes, a simple piece of plywood (4.5") placed across the top front of the vanity completely changed its look.

Before installing the apron, two towel holders (long pulls) were installed on it. ;)


5. ADD FEET

Little feet gave it the look of furniture. They brought it to the next level! how to add feet to a vanity

I bought two furniture legs at THD but they were too short. I cut pieces of 2x4 and glued them together to make them the correct size. Love them!

| Baskets | Container Set | Towels |


Well my friends, five simple steps to give a dated boring vanity a new chance in life! Love this view of the bathroom. 
builders grade vanity gets a makeover
Towels | Container Set | Pulls | Rug | Baskets |








The vanity is done! :) Check the next project in this little bath:  Updating the bathtub!



Check the full bath makeover HERE.




*This post contains affiliate links.



37 comments :

  1. Cristina- It looks so much better. Great idea and great job. It really updated it nicely. xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  2. you did an amazing job! i luv how to completely transformed it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Totally AWESOME!!!

    --Katie
    @ Creatively Living

    * I featured your LR at tonight's party :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is an amazing makeover! LOVE it! Good luck with the rest of it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You blow me away! I am SO impressed at your skills, creativity and vision. I am truly inspired and just may copying this to the best of my ability. I will be pinning this!

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very Impressive.
    I think it looks wonderful. You did a great job and the FEET made the whole thing look top notch!

    -Pat

    ReplyDelete
  7. This has got to be the best makeover I have seen! Your idea was so creative, but then to be able to do all that stuff yourself just amazes me. It looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great job done, Cristina.

    Absolutely transformed and 200% better than the b4 one.

    I have a DIY too, soon will finish and will show the b4 and after shots.

    Happy mid-week.

    Greetings from Stockholm,
    /C

    ReplyDelete
  9. that is soooooo fantastic!!! beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are fearless! Absolutely fantastic Thank you for sharing. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is fantastic!! Love the open feel - never would have guessed it was the same builder cabinet.

    I am pinning this!

    By the way, I just drove thru DC on my way to Williamsburg last week!
    Kelly

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful redo! You did such an amazing job! I found you through Addicted 2 Decorating and am now following. I look forward to enjoying more of your creative projects!
    Sharla

    ReplyDelete
  13. your kids bathroom is the same layout as mine! I will definitely be copying you in the future:) great ideas!:)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Unbelievable! What a great update! It has such a modern feel now.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great makeover! Replacing those clear bulbs with white ones will lessen the glare of the Hollywood lights (and spray painting the metal wall plate of the fixture with a hammered finish or other metallic paint) is a quick, cheap way to update that light fixture. Well Done!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a great update! Really pretty and super functional too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wonderful! Love the little feet in the toe kick! Great idea. Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home!
    Sherry

    ReplyDelete
  18. I would never have thought of this transformation. I am completely floored. It is a amazing what paint and open shelves with the right accessories can do. Oh and those towel bars? How convenient and lovely! Great job!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. That is an amazing transformation! It brings that vanity up to date - and at such little cost! I love it! I pinned it! :-) I will be eying my guest bathroom vanity now to see if it could be similarly transformed. Great idea! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Fabulous transformation. I love this idea and painting the underside of the sink just made it totally disappear. This is such a great makeover. Thanks so much for joining TTT. Love it all. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. VERY clever! Looks fantastic! LOVE your use of baskets :) Thanks for sharing...


    xo Lynda

    ReplyDelete
  23. Fantastic job! It looks great! I'm now following along...

    ReplyDelete
  24. That is amazing I am sooo doing this to my ugly vanity!!!!! xo

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a wonderful makeover!!! Love how you added the MDF and towel bars across the top.

    Rene' @ Bargain Hoot

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is Fabulous! I was so excited to see you featured on Southern Hospitality! Hope you don't mind copycats, because this is EXACTLY what I wanted to do in our 1/2 bath, but I couldn't figure out how to get a shelf in with that bar down the middle! Use 2 shelves! Ha! You're brilliant! Thanks for solving my dilemma!

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is just the information I am finding everywhere. Thanks for your blog, I just subscribe your blog. This is a nice blog..

    ReplyDelete
  28. That is quite the budget makeover! You really did a great job updating that vanity without spending much money. That's my kind of project ;). I'm a new follower...can't wait to see what else you have up your sleeve.

    ReplyDelete
  29. You did an awesome job working with what you had, My Mom has always liked to "make a silk purse out of a sows ear" and I am the same way, obviously you are too, welcome to the club :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow, I love this! I'm going to try this in my fixer-upper house I'm buying!

    Tania

    ReplyDelete
  31. You are a genius! WOW what an amazing transformation - I cannot even believe how great a job you did. You are so brave - and inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
Copyright © Remodelando la Casa. Designed by OddThemes