From the beginning of this project, I knew we would be making a vanity for the hall bath. While the space we had available for the vanity wasn’t necessarily odd, it wasn’t a typical standard size. And I’m all about maximizing storage in small spaces, so every inch counts. Once I convinced Andrew there weren’t any good options in a reasonable price range online or from the home improvement stores, he agreed to make one.
We are into week 7 of the One Room Challenge, which means, theoretically I’ll be posting the reveal photos of our hall bath next week. But please pray for me because we have a lot left to do and time is running out! In case you are just tuning in or missed a post, you can catch up here:
- Hall Bath Inspiration and Befores: Week 1
- Demo + Prep: Week 2
- Hall Bath Tile Picks: Week 3
- Tile Installation: Week 4
- How to Take the Red Out of Red Oak: Week 5
- Fixture Choices and Mixing Metals: Week 6
But back to the vanity of my dreams. After a simple sketch on some paper and some rough dimensions, Andrew started building the vanity frame.
We used solid red oak for the cabinet frame and finished veneered plywood, from a specialty lumber store, for the panels and interior shelf. The top board on the face frame shown above was installed incorrectly at first. It was an easy enough fix for Andrew to rotate the board 90 degrees so the thicker side of the board faced the front.
Then the real fun started. I didn’t want this cabinet to look like anything you could buy off the shelf somewhere. I wanted it to look custom and interesting and have a wow factor. I’ve seen fluting becoming a trend on Pinterest and other sites and knew I wanted to give it a try. After searching for fluted material online was unsuccessful, Andrew realized we could probably make our own. We found this triple bead router bit at our local Woodcraft store and immediately ran home to try it out.
I had already decided I wanted to leave the vanity as finished wood (and not painted) so it made the most sense to make our own fluted detail so the wood species would match. There are options online to purchase fluting like this, but I didn’t find any that came in red oak. If you are looking for fluting and plan on painting it, check out this urethane option.
This was in no way a quick process, but sometimes you have to go the extra mile, you know? Andrew ripped some true 2″ boards to about 3/8″ thickness, then routed them with our new bit. It was about an afternoon’s worth of work, but worth every minute. We didn’t bother to add the fluting detail to the right side of the vanity since it sits against the wall, so we only had to mill enough for the front and left side.
We attached the fluting with wood glue and finish nails and also added a cutout for a recessed toilet paper holder.
Next, Andrew made the doors and drawer, using the same methods to apply the fluting detail.
Finding the right inset hinges for this project was a feat in itself. Then we engineered this fancy method of using shims to get everything spaced right.
Then I bleached the entire cabinet to take the red out of the red oak, you can read all about that in week 5’s post. After that process, I applied 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic in a matte finish to seal everything up.
After the Polycrylic cured, it was time for install. We had one slight hiccup when Andrew realized he drilled the hole in the wrong location for the drain pipe, but that was easily fixed.
Then, the tile was finished, the countertop and faucet were installed, and we added hardware. Ya’ll, this vanity turned out better than I imagined.
Remember, you can follow along in real time on instagram @elleandjaydesign. And you can always check on the progress of other DIYers that are participating in the Spring 2022 One Room Challenge here!
