Time to jump into the next room (did you see the Sunroom last week?) as we get closer and closer to being done with the first floor of our home. This powder bath is on the first floor, in the hallway to the mudroom and our primary bedroom, and gets a ton of use (like the kids brush their teeth in here in the morning and many a child races here right after school if you know what I mean). but a powder bath is where we can have more fun – and usually, without natural light, you kinda of want to do something in order to add some interest. I had the initial idea to offset the wall-hung sink and make it all symmetrical (And guess what? Once those decisions are made, they are MADE). Thank goodness I love how it turned out because when my cabinet dreams fell through we had to improvise.
Here’s where it is in case you want a visual:
The Initial Plan
From the beginning, I knew that I wanted the sink where it is with a custom wood cabinet underneath, with a simple panel curtain (take a shot, if you are playing the “where else can she put the boro fabric” drinking game – and bring a flask on reveal day). ARCIFORM rendered it up and we couldn’t quite get it there. But around that same time my “good design decision ability” was waning, along with the budget being super depleted. When we got this quoted initially it was $2,500 and we hadn’t even dialed in the special details. I was like, “Nope, let’s just wait and see if a better, more interesting solution arises, we aren’t in a rush”. We ended up waiting for about nine months – which isn’t that long, BTW, and the only reason we even tackled this now was because we found a solution worth trying.
The original blue paint color was not the right vibe for me (SW 9147 Favorite Jeans). It was just too bright and periwinkle from the second I saw it all up. It wasn’t until a few months later that I felt confident enough in my instinct to make the change to SW 9078 Cocoa Berry. And while it’s just paint, when it comes to painting wood paneling like this it has to be sprayed super evenly/perfectly so doing this still took two and half days (a couple of hours to tape off, prime + first coat, then second coat on day two). You see I had fallen in love HARD with our guest room color (SW 6030 Artistic Taupe) and realized that a deeper version of it could be so pretty. Plus near this room, we had multiple blues and greens so I wanted a contrast.
So I started playing with other wallpapers along with other tables/vanities. I found this desk that is so pretty but clearly not the right height or width OR depth. That’s a lot of retrofitting. Oh, and the paint color on the left is the most accurate, BTW.
The Blanket Box
At Aurora Mills, I thought I found my piece – it almost fit in every single way, but once I got it in there it wasn’t a “hell yes”. And it was going to take so much work to retrofit it into a vanity (we’d have to raise it somehow, cut it open – do all this permanent stuff). And I figured to do all this permanent stuff it needed to be a “hell yes” (it was also really expensive, around $1k which admittedly is a bit overpriced for this, so I’m VERY glad I found a place for it on the front porch).
The Winner – A Vintage Table turned Vanity
Then one day, our client from the Crate & Barrel kitchen remodel, Julie, gave me this extra table. She asked me if I liked it and I of course did – it was such a great classic farmhouse table. We awkwardly shoved it in there and immediately loved the vibe. The warmth of the wood complemented the paint color and just added so much soul.
Of course, we had to make it work, which required again a lot of permanent cuts. So Dave, our handyman, came over and troubleshooted it with us. The plan was to cut off the back legs to make the depth right, then cut a perfect hole for the sink.
Then we took the bottom of the back-turned legs and cut them off to add to the height of the front two legs. I came back from Arrowhead this summer and it was DONE!!!
Paint Color | Sconce | Sink | Faucet | Switchplates | Hook | Table (vintage)
It turned out so great! We ended up pretty much centering it on the wall, which worked well because the wood on the front of the sink was around the same size as the excess wood on the right (so it looked really intentional).
The table is really rustic and old, with a billion imperfections and patina so we haven’t worried yet about caulking it, but that sink really catches almost all the water so I’m not worried about it.
BTW we actually ordered this sink with a chrome P-trap (the pipe underneath the sink) and we still have it but have yet to do it (mostly because calling a plumber to do this is not on my priority list, especially now that it’s covered).
So there’s where we landed – a free vintage farmhouse table, with the most perfect undertones for our vanity. Come back tomorrow to see some wallpaper options (with the reveal next week). She is turning out pretty darn cute …. (And a huge thanks to Julie for this table!! and to Dave for making it happen at MUCH less than the $2500). Julie and Dave FTW!
*Pretty photos by Kaitlin Green
I’d leave the p trap. The black blends with the dark wood and underneath of sink and colour matches to the lamp. The chrome would be bright and shiny and attract attention to something you don’t want receiving attention. Add a black soap dispenser and I think it will all mesh.
Wait, aren’t you doing a skirted fabric? No need to worry about the p trap if you have a lovely skirt on that lady.
Beautiful wood table! Like the poster above I think this is a great opportunity to do a fabric skirt and it could layer really beautifully with wallpaper. I do think leaving the table bare as it currently is now feels a little incomplete. Also hoping that black and brown arched mirror from the blue walls picture comes back! It’s coming together 🙂
Another vote for a fabric skirt to help this look a little more finished—and I’m not at all fond of fabric skirting on furniture! 🙂 Fingers crossed it’s what we see in the reveal!
I would love it if you made a post on color theory because to my untrained eye, this table’s undertone doesn’t complement the paint. But I’d love to be educated on the nuances that I’m missing!
I’m loving the table vanity!! Can’t wait to see everything finished!
I can’t believe ya’ll thought to put the spare leg pieces under the originals–genius! I’m not normally a fan of wood panel walls, but you are persuading me otherwise. Can’t wait to see the after.
What is the little room between the powder bath and your bedroom? Is it just a pass through with a door for extra privacy?
If it doesn’t end up with a skirt it doesn’t quite make sense to me. I loved the look of the just the sink with no vanity since it’s a special looking sink. But now it looks like a half attempt to cover up the sink and not intentional to me. With a skirt it would at least look complete I think. Just my own preference.
+1!
I agree that the table needs a curtain!
I love this post. The table as a vanity feels so warm. It is so good.
I don’t at all understand covering up the industrial sink…the whole point of a sink like that is to let it shine on its own, right? Why build the vanity around it? I think if a vanity to surround was planning all along, an inset sink and wall-mounted faucet hardware was the better bet.
That wood has so much soul.
I vote for no curtain. I’ve seen some I’ve liked, but mostly they look too self-consciously “homey” or country.
Not a huge fan of the wall color, but I don’t hate it.
With all due respect I am not sure about this choice. The sink clearly is not level with the table and that huge gap is an eye sore. Also the original patina of the table was a choice as I think refinishing and then covering it in poly would have been ideal to mitigate water. Otherwise cool rustic choice.
It is turning out to be pretty darn cute. I did kind of like the look of the sink exposed before the table apron covered it, but what a suitable and handsome table and adding great function! Always delighting in these full reveals and eagerly awaiting.
Don’t hate me but I love the very first pic; the blue paint with the exposed sink as is. But each to their own! Now that the table is there to stay I agree with the skirting!