DIY Vanities

So around the new house I've had the ongoing issue of what to use for the bathroom vanities.  I've been to the big box stores and have been completely uninspired by what they have to offer.  Nothing is even real wood anymore...and it's so discouraging!!  Lets take a look back at the only two bathrooms that we had in the house...

Oh yeah...this was our main floor bathroom - love the blue tub, toilet and sink (NOT!)  I'm pretty sure that NONE of the items in this room actually matched...unless maybe you are color blind.

And here is the basement 3/4 bath.  YUCK!  Carpet in a basement bathroom...I think not!

So that's where we've come from....not a very good place if you ask me :)  So I began my mission to create some new and fabulous vanities!  I headed out to the local antique shops to see what I could find.  My first stop returned some pretty good results!

I thought this old dresser would be great for the main bathroom (you know, the one EVERYONE will use!)  That mirror was pretty cool too...surely we can make it work...and for only about $150!

Then I found this great old kitchen cabinet set (base & upper)  I've got an old cast iron sink that I was hoping and praying would fit on top of this.  These were $200 for the pair...and perfect for the new and improved basement bathroom! (The biggest bathroom we'll have, lol)

I also found this great old peg leg sink for $45! (I forgot the peg leg at the antique shop though...oops!) I figured we could make some kind of cool base for it out of an old table or something...it can't be too hard right?? lol!

That baby actually cleaned up quite well!  It took a little elbow grease to get the old faucet off...but well worth it for the price I think!

This is the vanity for the master bathroom - the ONLY sink that will be used as-is.

What is wrong with me??  You'd think we LOVE doing tons of work to everything!

Now let me show you how these "found" items will be used.  The bathrooms aren't totally finished yet...but you'll get a pretty good idea of how each of these will work in our new house.

 

Here's that old wooden kitchen cabinet paired with the cast iron sink that was given to us.  I LOVE the way this is going to turn out!  Since this photo I have since stripped off the old white paint...and about 4 other colors beneath it!  I'm waiting until it's ready to go into place before I actually give it its final finish.  I also need to cut down the left drawer so it can be permanently fixed into place.  That door on the bottom right is actually a potato bin...thinking that may be super awesome for the trash can!  We're just about ready to start working on this bathroom now (just need the drywall primed & painted) So this vanity should be getting finished soon!  YEAH!

Can you believe that old sink just fit PERFECTLY on top??

(I still can't and its been almost a year, lol!)

Here's what we decided to do with the old peg leg sink...

 

I have had the base to my Grandmothers old sewing table for YEARS.  It previously had a small enameled top on it just making it a little side table.  Well...it fit almost like it was made to go with the old porcelain sink.  What a cool look.  Pretty sure if we move I'm going to have to take this baby with me!  It has entirely too much meaning to me now.

We used this sink in our half bath off of the kitchen/mudroom.

I LOVE the vintage styled faucet that I found at Overstock.com

That site is addicting for sure!

We even paired the sink with some old fashioned water shut offs in oil rubbed bronze.

I did leave the sewing base its natural rust color though.

This is the most recent picture that I have of that bathroom...not sure why I don't have one of it done.  (I'll get right on that!)  Notice the mirror hanging above the sink....that's from that fabulous dresser that I bought.  It was too short to leave attached to the dresser...and I felt in a main bathroom it was too small of a mirror overall...but I think it works perfectly here!  Those schoolhouse style lights "hug" it in just the right place!

Now last but not least is the dresser vanity.  Here's its transformation...

Of course we had to "dry fit" it in the bathroom before we even had drywall up :)

Next I bought a regular drop in bathroom sink at Lowes and cut a hole for it right in the original top.

I know, I know...that hole is not cut perfectly...but this time I will allow it :)  Nobody will see it once we "drop" the sink in!

Next I stripped off the old finish and gave it a good sanding.  Now that I'm looking at it I kind of like this look!  It would never work in a wet bathroom though so I'm glad I finished it off.

I used 3 coats of spar urethane by Minwax.  I love that stuff...I use it on all of my wood countertops too.  When I make the new top for the dining room table I'll be using it again!

Here's what it's going to look like when we finally get it into place!

I had a good friend of mine make new drawer boxes for the two small drawers on top and the next big drawer.  The bottom drawer was usable...just needed a small amount of repair.  Then this little bugger took some serious thought.  Took us awhile to figure out how to put the undermount drawer glides in...but I'm so glad that we were patient and figured it out.  Those top small drawers pull out at an angle...so it wasn't as easy as just lining up the drawer and mounting the bracket!

Finally we got to put it into place.  Still have to fit it for the plumbing, etc.

Remember that when you decide to go with something that's NOT off of the shelf you're probably going to create a TON of unexpected work for yourself!!

Kade actually had to do all of the plumbing AFTER we installed the dresser...

otherwise we would have had to cut a giant hole in the back.

Finally...all caulked in and ready to go.  I LOVE IT!!

I can honestly say that I DO NOT have a favorite sink in our new house :)

Maybe after we really start using them all??

But I doubt it!

I'll try and update this post as each room gets its final touches.

I can't wait to see what each of these rooms look like when they're all finished!

Linked to Funky Junk Interiors Link Party

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Back at It

It has been such a beautiful week (again!!) This summer has been just amazing.  Honestly, this is the best weather that I can ever remember!  I took this pic mid week, just thought the sky was so pretty!

Now back to the real work...

Kade started drilling another hole in the foundation this morning.  Hoping we can finally finish up the water lines in the basement. (We still need to hook up the cold water to the clawfoot tub, didn't get that done today!)

Look at him go...who uses a level beside their drill?

So this is where we're at in the basement.  Before he got the hole all the way through he decided that we needed to finish framing the basement first.  SO...now THAT is what we're working on!

There really aren't many walls left to frame...just some awkward things...

like that duct work up there!

 

Hopefully in a month this space will look completely different!

We also got all of the doors installed upstairs.

(and by installed I mean put back on the hinges, lol)

I tried to tape off trim today too so I can give it its final coat of paint soon!

I can't believe these rooms are just about done!

The middle bedroom just needs the trim touched up and it's DONE!

Oh my....just look at all of that trim that I still need to touch up!

Oh...and one of the most exciting doors...THE HALF BATH!!!

The only bathroom we've been using for MONTHS, and it finally has a door!

Since this weather is still so amazing I decided to fill some holes we've got on the porch.

The house has had termite damage in the past (remember...we fixed that a LONG time ago)

I used some Great Stuff - foam to fill the empty spaces where they drilled to treat for the termites....leaving enough room in the top of each hole so that I can use cement & mortar for a better final appearance.  Why didn't the people that did the treating actually fix the holes that they made?

Here's a funny pic.  I had to "shake" the great stuff for a minute or something to get it all mixed together.  I was just too tired today, lol, so we put the can into our paint shaker and switched her one :)  Worked like a charm!  I need to remember that for mixing spray paint, etc. ha ha!

Wash + Dry + Run + Fun

Yeah!  Finally we've accomplished something that is photo worthy again!!  The washer and dryer are now installed!  They look so great!  I bought them around Thanksgiving last year, lol, we got a great deal.  I swear I'm not going to know what to do with a new washer and dryer!

Just need to touch up the trim in here and we are DONE with this room!!

 

So...it's kind of hard to see from this picture but when we got the saw out this morning we realized that we had some new friends living out on the trailer with the subfloor!  HORNETS!!

Ok...we thought they were honey bees, lol, how were we suppose to know?

So Kade goes around to the other side of the trailer and pulls on this piece of wood (the hornets are building between the wood and the tarp covering the flooring)  Just as soon as he pulls that wood they fly straight out and RIGHT AT ME!!!

I go running like a mad fool, flailing my arms and flipping my hair...it was like a swarm was going to carry me away!  I finally thought that I had gone far enough and acted crazy enough that they were going to leave me alone...not one minute later I got stung!  GERRR!!!  Good thing I'm not crazy allergic to them (just normal allergic, lol)  It burned like a small fire and then started itching a few hours later.

 Tonight we had the cutest little fisherman ever come out to visit us!  Look as his catch of the day.  He actually caught several and did a very impressive job reeling them in!  Hope Mason comes to see us again soon!

The Bucket Truck

Yep, that's right, a bucket truck.  That was the plan to get that pesky tree down that is hovering over the bedroom side of the house.  This morning Dad, F and Kade did what they could to finally get that problem off of our mind.  I know Kade was just dying to get into that bucket!

Alas...they were unable to get the tree down :(  It's just too tall and too questionable in where it's going to fall (and what it's going to take out on its way down!) Guess we need to call someone and get them out here. (add that to my list of things to do)

Kade and I worked on getting the washer & dryer installed this morning.  We have to get everything hooked up, probably should test the washer before we stack the dryer, and we still need to install the venting for the dryer.  (There's a hole that I don't want to cut!)  Hopefully we'll have that finished tomorrow!

MARS

Still no pictures of the house but we did do an install on a new sign that I designed tonight!  Looks pretty darn good don't you think?  I must add...it's really nice having a tall and handy husband :)  I don't know what I'd do without him!

Beautiful Barn

Another week of working but not much to show!  The clawfoot tub is installed...just need to connect the cold water from the basement. (need to install the water spigot for outside under the sunroom before we can do that though).  Maybe next week we'll have some more pics of the house, but in the mean time I'll show you this shot.  I had to take my truck in for a little work today and drove past one of my all time favorite barns.  Isn't it just beautiful?

 

Stay tuned for more DIY'ing!

Oh, July!

July has been quite the month for us.  No major visible progress on the house, just small things like caulking for hours and painting trim, etc.  All of the finishing touches that we need to make upstairs.  Not much picture worthy anyway.  So...in lieu of house pics....here's a little video from today!

 

We had this little bugger on the back porch.  Raccoons are so rotten!

We live in the country so we see them all the time, but I've never had one act quite like this one!

Party Time!

Yesterday we celebrated an upcoming wedding!  Jeff & Sidney's wedding will be here soon!  We had the bridal shower in the afternoon and then the bachelor/bachelorette party was after that - celebrated just like a big party.  It was quite nice I must say :)  Couldn't have asked for better weather that's for sure!  We didn't even get home until after 2:30 in the morning!!!

Congratulations you two!  Wishing you a long and happy life together!

What a pretty setting!

Now it isn't a party until you bring out the big guns....and I mean BIG GUNS!!

Here are Kade and I shooting a 50 caliber sniper rifle!

(yes, that's me in my dress!)

I'm so glad Kade got in on the action...he wasn't really feeling it at first!

A great time was had by all.

The guys stayed up and shot skeet by spotlight until 1:30 IN THE MORNING!!
(sorry neighbors!)  They had so much fun though!

Celebrate!

Today was an exciting day!  We got to install 2 (yes, that's right, TWO) of our appliances!!  WOO-HOO!  It's looking more and more like a home every day!

We started out with the micro-hood....looks pretty nice there I'd say!

We got this for one heck of a deal!  $99 at Best Buy...regular price was $399!
It was an open box they were selling...and the guy gave us the mounting bracket from a different one so we actually had all of the parts except the screws!  SWEET!

Then we FINALLY got to bring in the stove that I bought LAST July!

Yes, you read that right, July 2012!

The kitchen is just about complete now!

I've just gotta get that mess cleaned up!

We even got the kitchen faucet installed...LOVE IT!

We got the laundry faucet installed too!

A VERY productive day!  So much so that we decided we'd take the night off and go to the 4th of July Celebration and watch our friends, The Harmans do a little bluegrass show!

What a gorgeous night it was!  The guys did awesome...and to top it off, we got to spend some time with some old friends of ours that we NEVER get to see anymore!

Love them both so much and miss them to bits!

Their three adorable kiddos were there as well.

I sure wish we got to see them all more often!

Laura & Sidney were both freezing (actually...we were ALL freezing)
This has been some AMAZING summer weather!  Couldn't ask for better!

I even managed to snap a couple of cute pics of Jeff & Sidney when they weren't looking.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!