Sunday

Master Bath re-do, continued...The Vanity

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/I've been working on my master bath for quite some time.  So far I've made new linen closet shelves and painted the inside. You can see this Here.   Then I put molding around the little window, added shelves to the window, painted the metal window frame from brown to white. You can see this Here.   My master bath is a good size and each area takes time.  Well, I finally got around to painting the vanity. 


This project turned out to be a j-o-b!   Took me days to get the entire vanity finished.
Sanding the wood and painting the hardware was more work than I first thought.
I used the same "Enamel " that was used on my kitchen cabinets.. I first primed with a water base primer. After much thought I chose not to distress these cabinets, as I'm not sure how long I might stay in this townhouse.   Although I promised myself, after about 35 moves in my lifetime, "I was going to die here".  It's been 6 years now and this will be the longest stay I've had.  I'm thinking forward,  "What if someone who might buy this townhouse does not like distressed?"
You never know? Besides, it's not easy for me to 'mess up' all my hard work, not yet anyway!


The hardware was really too nice to toss so I chose to spray paint the old brass to pewterTip: push the screws into styro, or as I did, a cardboard box. Makes spraying so much easier!

There is a center section of the 'pull' that is a really nice white ceramic. Had to save that with masking tape.. then the spray.  

Then on to sanding the wood of the vanity.. being sure to use a 'face mask' because the sanding took place in the bathroom, with no ventilation!  Much too hot outside to open the windows, the a/c was going full blast!  Fun, cleaning the bathroom that night!  I was very lucky, the a/c did not carry the dust around the house.





To me, the hardware, taking off and putting on, took up most of the time.  Imagine 25 years those little screws were on.  I loose my patience when something takes too long.. not good I know!
But look at the results....

Taking your time is so worth it!

The Bathroom is  looking 'larger and clean'.  I love it!

Next step, "Two" new sinks and plumbing to make the two.  Then the new 'Counter top'. Black is the color I'm leaning towards.
I've started some research on the plumbing.. yes, I'm going to attempt it!  From what I've read, it only takes a new small fixture to create the two pipes.. hmmm? We will see if that is true? I don't want to pay a plumber several hundred dollars for a half hour job!  Wish me luck!

33 comments:

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

Looks like your bathroom is coming along. It already looks so much brighter with the white paint. I can't wait to do my kitchen cabinets.

Donna Perugini said...

I did this for a whole kitchen once. The horrible part was stripping off wallpaper. I made my own 'special' tiles and then had a basic field of tiles around them. Then we had someone lay a tile floor. We ended up selling the home within a year due to job change.

It was long, involved, hard, tedious and I'm glad I did it.

Now I see that people are choosing to put in dark cabinets again. Whoever owns that house now is probably 'cursing' the person who painted those cabinets. :)

Lourie said...

I wonder if I ever will be so brave! You, my bloggy friend are now my idol for tackling this project. It is looking fab.

the cape on the corner said...

that looks amazing. love that you just sprayed the hinges and the handles, they look brand new! good luck with the rest of it, too.

thank you so much for stopping by the cape on the corner today. i love that you adopted your cat as well, but what a shame about not being able to hold her for the first 14 years! that would kill me. glad that she is becoming a bit more playful now.

Susan said...

Looks good! I need to finish mine. I took off all of the ugly brown cabinet doors, sanded, and painted. On the last coat of paint, the paint started running and dripping. So now, I have to sand it again and repaint. Argh! Definitely finishing this summer! :)

The Polka Dot Closet said...

It looks great, but ohhhhh so labor intensive!

Carol

sharon santoni at my french country home said...

Hi Sandy

What a great job you're making of that bathroom.

Thank you for visiting my blog, very pleased to discover your lovely world.

Sharon

Kristin (Book Sniffers Anonymous) said...

Wow, you really transformed it and made it looks a whole lot nicer. I am sure that it was a lot more money saved than if you had hired someone to come and do it.

FlyAwayHome said...

Wow. What a change. Looks great!

Debbie said...

You have nudged me! I so want to redo my vanities from dark stain to white and airy! Yours looks great! I also enjoyed clicking the links and seeing the linen closet and the window.

I'm going to follow you from now on. This is a great blog, and I am dying to see if you can become a plumber!

You commented about Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on my blog. So nice to meet another fan of that WONDERFUL movie. My daughters bought it for me so I could stop watching the old wobbly video that I copied from TV years ago.

Sue said...

Oh my, but you have your work cut out for you in this room! The cabinetry looks so fresh and cheery in white now. And saving your hardware by painting it was genius- new door handles are very pricey. Good luck on the plumbing- I don't solder, so I would be leaving that to the pros. LOL
Thanks so much for the visit today. I know what you mean about leaving beautiful doorknobs. I seem to have this little addiction for the glass and the porcelain ones. I hope whoever lives in your old house truly appreciates them. Have a great week. ~ Sue

Becca Bertotti said...

Wow, quite an ambitious project that is turning out beautifully !! I admire your patience for installing the new hardware ... your choice of painting the cabs white is perfect! Good luck with the rest of your project! Becca

FLOWERSHOPGURL said...

Your bathroom vanity looks really nice painted white. I redid my oak vanity in white as well. So much fresher and updated looking.
Hugz,
Kim

Julie said...

Woot! You go. It looks great and I admire for your "do it yourself" spirit! Keep it up. AND kudos for attempting the plumbing. THAT is truly an expensive part of a redo. I am so glad my man can do most plumbing stuff. Your bath is gonna look brand new with its metamorphosis! Thanks for sharing. also *** thanks for the tip about styrofoam or a cardboard box for hardware painting!!! :-)

Wendy said...

Well worth all the hard work. It looks awesome! I love the look of white cabinets! You have done a wonderful job :)

Its So Very Cheri said...

AHHHHMazing--it looks fab.

A little extra time but awesome.

Cheri

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

Quite a bathroom redo. This is the type of project that would link well to my Tips & Tricks Tuesday linky party.

I would like to invite you to visit the cottage, and join in on all three of my linky parties:

ASK THE YANKEE - MONDAYS
TIPS & TRICKS TUESDAY
TIME TRAVEL THURSDAY

You can get the details here:

http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/2010/06/brambleberry-cottage-linky-party.html

Hope to see ya there!
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

Southerner said...

It is amazing what a little white paint will do! Great job.

Anonymous said...

Sandy, what an amazing transformation. I totally love it and admire you for taking on the project. Your pictures are also great and help in trying to figure out how to do it on my own, which is a project I must soon tackle, as well. Keep us informed on the plumbing, and thank you for sharing this remarkable "bragable" with the boardwalk bragfest!

WhisperWood Cottage said...

Such a big difference! I can't wait to see the rest of your makeover!

Stephanie@cre8tive said...

Wonderful, beautiful job you did. I love the transformation. And the pewter on the knobs. That would of cost you a lot more to replace them. I can not believe that huge long vanity only has one sink! What were they thinking? Take pictures of the underside of the cabinet and go to your local Home Depot and ask what to do, I am sure they would be very helpful. Good luck. (saw your link on Blue Cricket Designs)

TheVirginiaHouse said...

Looks so much better! I need to paint my kitchen cabinets, but....shew! It is a very big job. I'm going to try using Caromal Colors since it doesn't require sanding and has great reviews. We'll see. Thanks so much for linking up to We Can Do It Cheaper @ The Virginia House. I love it!

Decorchick! said...

Wow, your cabinets look awesome!!! I bet it was hard work, but well worth it! Visiting from House of Heps. :)

Pam said...

Success! It looks terrific; much improved! Yeah! Pam @ Sallygoodin

Natasha in Oz said...

Wow, you are so clever! I wish I was handy like that. What a great bathroom.

Best wishes,
Natasha.

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

What a big difference! I think a glaze over the white paint which would give you a distressed look would look great and is a very popular choice for cabinets. You are doing a great job & you are very brave! Good luck with the plumbing! I'm sure with a good book you can do it!

Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! said...

Amazing transformation already! Love the "new" handles! Thanks for sharing your wonderful home with us on Modern Craftswoman Monday and can't wait to see what's next. Rory

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

What a difference paint makes! I'm Spotlighting your vanity makeover at the POPP Spotlight on Saturday. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Anonymous said...

WOnderful redo, so much better now; thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Great job....I'm hoping to do the same thing. I've sanded, primed and painted too....did you put a clear coat of anything on your cabinets to protect them? That's where I have stopped...not sure what to do.
Thanks!

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

What a fabulous transformation! Love the white and the hardware is gorgeous! Amazing job! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase! I greatly appreciate it! Hope you have a wonderful week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

Nancy said...

gosh...lots of work but well worth it. I MUST do my bathroom. This is an inspiration.
Hey! I found a link to your blog (and mine too!) on a RUSSIAN website. I’m sending the site and I also translated it with Babelfish translator. Thought you might get a kick out of this. Too funny!
http://pegaskosmos.blogspot.com/

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpegaskosmos.blogspot.com%2F&lp=ru_en&btnTrUrl=Translate

Holly Lefevre said...

I keep debating whether or not I should try this on our master bath vanity. Your work was well worth it...it looks great! Thanks for linking up.
Holly