Converting an Old Dresser into a Bathroom Vanity

Although the clawfoot tub was refinished last week (and looks good!), there’s still the matter of getting the sink ready to go. I’ll tackle that in today’s post - and probably next week’s as well, since this project is a bit more technical than I’m used to. In order to save some money while keeping within our design sense, we opted not to purchase a ready-to-install bathroom vanity, but instead bought a separate sink and dresser in order to create our own. The sink is a Kohler model (Bryant WhiteDrop-In Oval Bathroom Sink with Overflow, from Lowe's), and the vanity was just one that Liz found on Craigslist up in Wisconsin and so – as with the tub and tile - required a special extra-long trip to acquire it.

 The actual installation of the sink was fairly straightforward, fortunately. That simply involved cutting out the paper template (which came with the sink) and using blue painter’s tape to secure it to the top – after some very careful measuring to ensure it was centered. Next, I penciled a line around the template to show where I’d have to cut.

 
After removing the template, I drilled three adjacent holes just within the line, creating a single thin oval that was large enough for the blade of my jigsaw. If you look closely, you may be able to tell that, while cutting, I got a little overconfident and accidentally brought the blade outside of the pencil line. I soon realized my mistake and got it back on track, though – and I didn’t go so far outside the line that the sink doesn’t still cover the extra cut. In the end, installing the sink was quite easy.

The tricky part is – and will be – the drawers. I want to lose as little drawer space as possible, and just removing the insides and gluing on the faceplate doesn’t work for me. Instead, I wanted to cut out the drawers so they move around the sink and pipes. For the top drawers, I removed the bottom, back, and the side closest to the sink. After cutting and resizing the back and side, then cutting and resizing the bottom, and a great deal of frustrated nailing, I had two top drawers that would fit around the sink. 

I’d hoped not to have to put any nail holes in the faceplate, but my carpentry skills just aren’t professional enough that I could secure the sides without doing so. I used small nails, though, and sunk the holes below the surface, so an application of wood filler or putty should make those nearly invisible.

 Another problem was that both top drawers used the same center runner (which I severed when cutting out the sink hole),  so I’ll need to craft and install two new wooden runners (one for the inner side of each top drawer). 

Both drawers used one runner. Now I need two new ones.

The lower drawers only have runners on the sides, so I just have to make sure those are secure – at least one is not – rather than create new ones. As for their insides, I’m going to wait and tackle the lower drawers after the plumbing is installed, so I’ll know just how much to cut out. Unfortunately, their bottoms are so warped that they don’t slide out easily, so I’m pretty sure I’m also going to have to replace those as well – probably with half-inch plywood. Fingers crossed that the lower drawers won’t be nearly as much trouble as the two above!