One day, while dropping off items at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, my eyes spied this interesting chest/cabinet. It’s made of oak, has a gently-bowed front, and was in the process of either being stripped or painted shabby-chic. Almost karma-like: the messy paint job was butter yellow with gold detailing, closely paralleling the colours of my wooden Chinese tiles. AND, it was exactly 36″ wide – the same as the loft powder room! I couldn’t leave it there, could I?
I lightly sanded it down, including the yellow/gold shabby-chic bits. Re-painted those bits my “Wheat” colour, with some Behr gold highlights. Then sanded it to make my own shabby-chic interpretation. Paste wax over top of the paint.
The bare wood was coated with three coats of Varathane.
Holes drilled in the back to accommodate the water and drain.
Dragged upstairs to check the fit. It fits!!
Pulled it out again to install baseboards.
Amazingly, I found a 3-way mirror/medicine cabinet 36″ wide by the road, so I re-finished it, shabby-chic style.
When we tried it out above the vanity, it didn’t work, style-wise or proportionately. The “safari” lights I bought many months ago needed space to shine down onto the bathroom occupant, but the medicine cabinet stuck out too far. We installed it above the toilet, where it offers much-needed storage in this tiny space.
My sister and I “auditioned” a few mirrors that she has on hand:
Then I found this one at my local thrift store for $10: 
I refinished it in my colours, and here it hangs:
The backsplash here is made of 3 of the tiles, with the blue border trimmed off. It has been varathaned to help with water-repellency.
We installed the toilet ourselves. Got tired of chasing the plumber, who I will review in due course.
And, arduously, the vessel sink
:
Finally, the drawers had to be rebuilt to accommodate the plumbing inside the cabinet. Here’s the professional drawing for the drawer renos!
I used the table saw to get nice straight cuts
Used glue, finishing nails and staples, with clamps, to rebuild the drawers
A bit of sanding
And a bit of painting
It’s an unusual powder room, but I like it! I hope I will still like it in 20 years.
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Now that last photo was a tough one to take. Great tool/clamp use – I’m impressed. Just in time for celebrations. Looking forward to ‘seeing’ all your exterior/interior work over the last 12 months.
-Joy
übergnar.
I know the intestines of that sink intimately. Anyone that could fashion and fit a drawer(s) to that is a genius.
It looks amazing! I love the colours