Today we’re talking half bath! Our plan for this room was to remove the old builder grade vanity and replace it with a bright white cost friendly option to balance out the dark walls, switch out all of the hardware & light for oil rubbed bronze, paint the walls Van Deusen Blue and add a framed out accent wall. Today we’re going to conquer the vanity part!
To start, we had to remove the 1979 sink and cabinet. It was old and damaged and matched the kitchen cabinets. Plus, the top was an odd size, so replacing that would have been a few hundred dollars, so out it came. (If you’re not comfortable with this part- please call a plumber/contractor! We are not licensed professionals.)
Matt turned off the hot & cold water, then disconnected the lines, as well as the drain pipe.
He loves when I snap these pictures.
After that, he scored the caulk around the sink with a razor blade and popped the sink off.
Then came the dreaded cabinet. This one caused us some troubles… Just like the upstairs vanity, this one was ferociously nailed in by a nail happy installer, and we had to take it out piece by piece, just to save the walls. This one was even more special however, because it was also grouted into the floor. Luckily the oscillating tool we have had a blade that worked, but it was a messy (and stinky) job.
Once it was completely removed, we found out that not only was it grouted in, it was also placed on the subfloor, leaving us with a 3″ deep rectangle we were not expecting. Our new vanity did not fit in the cutout, nor did we want it to be 3″ short (I’m not tall, but even I would have to lean over to wash my hands if we did). So, we found some old wood shelves in the garage and cut them to fit the spot. Since the grout was so jagged, a simple frame would have taken way too long. Also- always good to use what you’ve got : )
The wood platform was drilled into the subfloor to make sure our new vanity would have a level & sturdy platform to sit on.
Now we were able to slide in the new vanity! We chose this one from Lowes. We liked the beadboard details and it happened to be on sale for $119, so we scooped it up and brought him home. Once we had the vanity in place, we realized we had yet another issue.
The molding at the bottom was rounded, which would have been pretty elsewhere, but here you could see our less than pretty platform.
Our solution? Build it in! We picked up a piece of baseboard identical to the current one and got to cutting. We mitered the existing wall baseboards to 45 degrees so the new vanity baseboards would look seamless. All we had to do was dry cut two boards (mitered at 45 degrees) until we had the right fit. Here’s a few tips if you’re new to trim:
- Measure twice, and always cut on the err of caution. We cut ours about 1/8″ longer than our measurements, then slowly trim it down to fit perfectly. This takes longer, but ensures a great end product.
- Miter all edges at 45 degrees
- Dry cut every single piece before nailing anything in
- Paint trim before installing to save you time and energy
I painted the boards to match the current trim (untinted Valspar Duo) and once they were dry, M secured them with a nail gun, and caulked around the edges to hide any gaps.
And ta-da! We had a built in vanity that looks custom and solved our oh-crap moment.
The faucet was installed and water was turned back on and I’m happy to report that we have clean hands : )
And, because I’m in a super happy mood (not sure why- but not questioning it!) here’s a sneak peak of the walls, accessories & accent wall! Today we’re working on framing that bad boy out so hopefully tomorrow I can share the full reveal and all of the details. Make sure to come back to check it out!
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