Bathroom
and a midcentury desk into a vanity in another.
Kristi Marineau converted a midcentury Brohill credenza into a vanity in one of her bathrooms …
SaveEmail 5. Great Dane Stephen Brookes’ house is full of vintage Danish modern teak furniture, and he wanted to incorporate a vintage piece into the master bath when he did a total renovation earlier this year. He chose an old teak sideboard made by Poul Hundevad in the 1960s. “We weren’t using it, and while it was in beautiful shape, it wasn’t particularly rare or valuable — they run between $500 and $1,000 on eBay,” he says. “So we took a chance.” The first step was to waterproof it while keeping the original teak oil patina. He sealed the whole thing with TotalBoat penetrating epoxy, then gave it two coats of Epifanes Rubbed Effect varnish. “It worked out well and looks very natural, without that plastic ‘poly’ look,” he says. He then had a custom top and sink made by Porcelanosa, in the company’s Krion material in a matte snow-white finish with a molded single sink. “This worked out well — the sink is positioned exactly over the folding doors on the left side of the vanity, and the edges of the top extend a half inch over the cabinet on the front and sides,” he says. Contractor Traylor Design and Construction cut a hole in the top of the sideboard for the sink and the fa...
Barbara Bingham used an antique teak wedding table from India as her bathroom vanity. After buying the piece for about $650 plus shipping, she cleaned and sanded it, then added four coats of polyurethane to protect it from water, while trying to retain the character of the piece. “My husband had to drill through two layers of wood for the faucet and drain to be mounted,” she says. “He also bought two walnut boards from a vintage wood supplier and placed them at the bottom over the cross braces of the legs to make shelves for towels and baskets.” All in, she guesses she spent about $1,000.
He tiled the shower area in solid turquoise. As the tile emerges from the shower enclosure, the pattern breaks up to blend into the plaster.
Altar or hall table. This table from China was repurposed into a simple bathroom vanity. It has a square sink that sits atop the surface, which suits the rectangular and geometric woodwork details.
Buffet. This antique buffet in rich, dark wood with detailed hardware has lots of drawers and doors for hiding bathroom bits and pieces. A turquoise enamel sink is embedded in the top, and its off-center positioning allowed the plumbing to be placed behind one door, ensuring that the drawers are still functional.
Midcentury sideboard. The style of sideboard will strongly influence the final vanity look. This midcentury sideboard is somewhat narrow in width, with two sliding doors underneath, but it still has plenty of room for the countertop. The retro vanity complements the color palette of the bathroom for a soft and modern look.
To get the distressed look on her cobalt-blue doors, Heim-Shelton stained the doors and then painted them using milk paint in four shades of blue. Before the top coat of paint, she added tung oil to give the finish more sheen.
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