Today, I’m excited to share a DIY project we completed last year. I know, I know, it’s been 9 months since ‘last year.’ But with contractor lead times being what they are now, it took much longer than expected for this modern industrial bathroom vanity to make it into its home. Andrew’s parents, my in-laws, recently completed a gut renovation of their primary bathroom. While in the design phase, they consulted us and asked if we could build a custom bathroom vanity to fit their narrow space. Sound familiar? We also built this vanity last year for Andrew’s brother who was in a similar situation.
And you know we can’t say no to the challenge of building custom furniture, so we jumped at the offer. Here’s how we made a modern industrial bathroom vanity with mostly materials we had on hand and a little creativity.
The Base
Andrew started building the vanity by constructing the metal base. As an amateur welder, Andrew always trys to find a way to use metal if he can. Luckily, the recipient of this vanity wanted the modern industrial vibe – which incorporates that mix of metal and wood. Andrew started with four main vertical posts, then added horizontal pieces between the top of each one to form the rectangular vanity. He used 1.5″ tube steel for the vertical posts and top horizontal pieces. Then he used angle iron for the horizontal shelf supports.
We wanted the vanity to have two shelves. First, we added horizontal cross pieces about 4 inches from the bottom of the legs (where the vanity meets the floor). From there, we spilt the difference from the top and bottom horizontal support pieces to find the height for the middle support. This way, the spacing between the top of the vanity and the 1st shelf was the same as the spacing between the 1st shelf and the 2nd shelf. Andrew welded all the pieces together, with the exception of the support for the back of the top shelf. More on that later.
After Andrew built the base frame, he and his dad constructed a butcher block countertop with wood we had lying around in our shop. I know that sounds cliche, “wood lying around in our shop,” but Andrew is a sort of pack rat when it comes to excess wood. This wood actually came from friends of ours. They were throwing away a toddler bed they made years ago and asked if Andrew could dispose of it in one of his dumpsters. When he went to load the wood in his truck, he realized the red oak had no place in the dumpster. He promptly returned home and started to unload it into the shop. So, I guess the moral of this story is, always offer to help people with their trash 🙂
We chose to use a 1″ overhang for the countertop on the front and right side. The left side and back sit flush to the wall, so there is no overlap on those sides.
The Shelves
Next, we started on the slats for the shelves, we played around with different thicknesses until we found one with the right scale. We also made sure to adjust the spacing so we started and ended with a full slat. We didn’t want to have a sliver of a slat on either end. Then we routed the ends and sides of each slat for a tailored look.
Then we came back to the metal base. We chose this round vessel sink and this black single handle faucet for our plumbing fixtures. Once the location of the sink and faucet were decided, it became obvious where the plumbing would sit under the sink. In order to leave room for the p-trap and water lines, we modified a few of the slats on the top shelf.
We also had to modify the angle iron that created the support for the top shelf. If we simply put one piece of angle iron across the back of the frame, it would have interfered with the plumbing connections at the wall. Always double check these locations! To make the back support structurally stable, we added two vertical pieces of angle iron which attached the shelf support to the top horizontal support. Again, welding as necessary. This metal frame could just as easily be constructed from wood if you don’t prefer the metal look or lack the tools necessary for working with metal.
When the frame and slats were done, we had to think about how to attach them together. We did not want see any screw heads so we decided to attach the slats from below, by putting a screw through the metal shelf support and into the bottom side of the wood. To accomplish this, we predrilled holes in the metal shelf support (the angle iron) with a metal-specific drill bit, metal countersink bit, and Bar and Chain Oil. The oil keeps the metal cool while you drill so the process doesn’t ruin your drill bits, otherwise the drill bits can overheat and dull.
Andrew drilled two holes for each slat (one in the front shelf support and one in the back shelf support), first with the metal-specific drill bit, then using the countersink bit. He continued to dip the drill bits in oil after each hole to keep the drill bit in working order. In the photos above and below, the frame is upside down, so he is drilling into the underside of the shelf support.
Next, Andrew drilled holes for the sink drain and faucet with a hole saw bit. The combination of a dull bit and hard oak wood created the perfect storm for burnt wood. As Andrew was drilling the sink hole, the bit actually sparked and those sparks burned the wood – you can see the dark spots below. This can happen when the bit is dull and the friction from drilling causes it to overheat. Moral of the story, make sure your bits are in good condition! Luckily, we were able to sand the butcher block some more and remove the burn spots.
Paint and Polyurethane
Now we were ready for paint and polyurethane! I feel like this is the point where things really start to come together. We used matte black spray paint for the metal frame, and polyurethane in a satin finish for the wooden slats and butcher block. We used a foam brush to brush on 3 coats of polyurethane on all the wood surfaces.
You can see in the top photo above, that we also added angle iron to the top horizontal supports so that we could easily attach the butcher block countertop. The top supports are all made from tube steel, so this allowed us to attach the countertop the same way we attached the slats, from below. If you look closely, you can also see the holes previously drilled for the slats.
When everything was cured, this vanity was ready for install. We built this vanity in our shop in Austin, then it traveled all the way to Saint Louis, MO to be installed at Andrew’s parent’s house. Since the plumbing below the sink is exposed, their plumber used all chrome plumbing fittings for a streamlined look. Overall, this vanity added the perfect touch to their newly renovated bathroom.
There is plenty of room on the shelves of this modern industrial bathroom vanity for towels and baskets to store all of the necessities. And the shiplap makes a great backdrop for the vanity to shine.
This is now the third custom vanity we have made – you can check out the modern farmhouse vanity here. I guess its starting to be a thing… so let me know if you are in the market 🙂
But really, we love to make people happy, see our designs come to life, and ultimately improve people’s homes. What’s the next project you’re working on at your place? I’d love to hear about it. Comment below or connect with me on instagram @elleandjaydesign. And you can find me here on Pinterest!
