The steps below follow the order of the work for this bathrooms project.
Reclaimed wood is so versatile, and it’s the well fitted way to add instant style and rustic charm to any space. And the bonus is that you can often come by old wood for *free* — which is very very hard to beat! Lindsey needed a small vanity with lots of style, so she and her husband made a few quick cuts and put together this great reclaimed wood floating vanity, based around a modest-cost-friendly IKEA sink:
You’ll remember Lindsey from her lovely barn door pantry — and she’s back to share the details of her new vanity from her half bath makeover with you today!
Half Bath with Reclaimed Wood Floating Vanity
by Lindsey from Girl Meets Carpenter
When we remodeled our small half bath, we knew we wanted something narrow and direct for a vanity. But locally, there is literally nothing that is narrow enough and ABSOLUTELY nothing that is remotely attractive! Nothing! So that is why months beforehand we had purchased our most go-to IKEA sink that we had to have in the worst way! Believe me guys, Ikea has the absolute best price on sinks! And they’re attractive! We also have the Ikea farmhouse sink which is a third of the cost of a farmhouse sink from, in our case, anywhere else!
So after you’ve bought your memorable Ikea sink (I should be getting paid for this much Ikea endorsement, don’t you think? Or at least a gift card! Focus, Lindsey….) go get yourself some old barnwood or even a piece of framing lumbar (beat up and let it sit outside for awhile) or really whichever wood is your go-to/something that you have on hand. You can always weather something on your own- damage/distress it to get your desired look. For the base size we needed, we used about 5 ft of wood.
We lightly sanded the wood to get the extreme roughness and slivers gone. Then we wiped it down with a linseed oil which protects it and waterproofs it, and we like it because it’s natural. Occasionally, 2-3 times a year, I wipe the sink base with the oil to give it more luster.
We did butt joints, as opposed to miter joints, because we wanted to see the end grain of the boards. We used a power saw but a even a hand saw can accomplish the same look and authenticity. Just be sure to sand it.
We screwed lag bolts on the front of the base. If you do something similar, you’re going to want 2 inches of penetration into the other piece. So consider the thickness of the board and add 2 inches more. If the wood is really old and dry, you may want to go with even longer bolts. Before using the bolts, we primed them twice with a self etching primer and then spray painted them black with two coats. Touch up with a black sharpie, if needed, after you use your ratchet to screw them in.
Now to anchor it to the wall. You can use a 1×4 or 2×4, whatever you can fit with the plumbing, fixed onto the wall. Then screw your sink base box into the sides of that 1×4, making sure that you’re going into the wall studs. Check again and again that it’s LEVEL! If it is, run a bead of silicone along the side to attach to the wall. But don’t silicone anything until you are sure that it’s exactly where it needs to be. Also siliconed: the sink to the base. That sink won’t be going anywhere with the silicone attaching it.
And the sink even comes with this towel holder which is very handy!
(Sidenote: The sink we used from IKEA is still available but is now attached to this sink base. My advice, buy the unit anyway and just only use the sink. Even if you find no other use for the base of the sink, it is still worth buying it! Or I would suggest something similar to the cute sinks that are in our other bathroom!)
Not only do I adore how it turned out, it was also frugality at it’s finest! It doesn’t take much time and it’s straightforward enough that you can do it yourself! What do you think? Do you have an ugly sink? If you’re like us, you’ve probably had an ugly sink and an ugly vanity for years!! But if you’ve got a little time, a saw, a tape measure, and a drill, this could be your next accomplishment!
—————————
Thank you for coming back to share with us, Lindsey! I love the direct style this gave your bathroom!
Bekob, pop over to Girl Meets Carpenter to look at more from Lindsey (like her wonderful deck and pergola) and you can also like her new page on Facebook for updates, too!
Subscribe to follow Bekob by RSS or email so you don’t miss a single one of our memorable holiday guests!
You can also follow along on social media: Facebook Instagram Google+ Twitter Pinterest
