The Reclaimed Wood Vanity

This might be my FAVORITE piece of furniture in our whole house. And that's saying a lot, because when you build your own furniture, you love every piece. Every piece bears the memories of your stage in life when you made it, your clothes carry the color of the finish, and your hands remember each imperfection in the wood. But this one is special. This is the new vanity in our new bathroom, but it comes from old wood and its granite top looks old and weathered.

Remember the basement closet doors? The ones built out of wood from a neighbor's fence and made to look like barn doors? Well, this vanity came from the same fence. I used Ana White's Farmhouse Vanity plans as a guide and then added sides and doors to hide our ugly pipes. Unfortunately, because of where our new basement bathroom is situated, the drain pipe had to go into the floor (instead of the wall) and had to include a plumbing vent in them since there was no vent nearby to tie into. So, the pipes are ugly and despite my requests to the plumber, shiny chrome pipes were not possible in this application.

Scott finished out the bottom of the vanity for me using weathered cedar that we ripped into 1x2s years ago and used in our garden to trellis snap peas. We've since found another spot to grow snap peas and this wood has been lying behind the hot tub for years. It's so fun to see it put to good use.

The sink atop the vanity came from the Habitat ReStore and was a crazy bargain at just $15. It is meant to be a pedestal sink, but I wanted to use it like a vessel sink despite the fact that the bottom isn't perfectly flat. It might not be a great application in a bathroom with kids or a bathroom that gets a lot of use because it isn't sealed against the counter top, but for a low-use guest bathroom, I don't envision that being a problem. The faucet was a bargain from Overstock. It is super heavy and really high quality and I think its shiny bling-factor contrasts nicely against the rustic wood vanity.

I am absolutely in love with this weathered piece of granite. At $300, it is by far the most expensive component of the basement. It was my biggest splurge and it was totally worth it. The granite is called Antique Brown and the finish is "leathered" (as opposed to polished or honed). After I bought it, I tried to find something similar online but didn't find anything like it. This piece was a remnant at Planet Granite, a local granite shop. Because of the shape of the sink, the granite had to be cut into a C-shape and reinforced with rebar. I asked another granite shop if they could do it and the owner told me, "It would be impossible. The granite would never be strong enough." Well, apparently it is worth it to ask, ask, and ask again. I was extremely pleased with Planet Granite's work and their willingness to do something out of the ordinary. They also worked hard not to ruin the square piece from inside the sink cutout so that I could use it later. I'm looking forward to using it as the top of an end table!

I still need to add some vinegar-steel wool solution to the freshly cut ends of the cedar boards in order to weather them, but other than that this piece is finished and I couldn't be happier with it. It is a hefty, solid piece that looks old and shows years of weathering. I adore its rustic contrast against the white and shiny chrome elements in the bathroom. This vanity is why I love to do things myself. I couldn't explain this vision to anyone and expect them to build what I saw in my mind. And can you imagine the reaction I would get if I asked a contractor to build me something like that? I don't need anyone else telling me I'm crazy. I might be, but look what it got me! A vanity that I adore.