Without a doubt, a vanity is a must-have furniture inside the bath. Aside from holding some of the toiletries in place and keeping the floor free of clutter, it also lends a sophisticated touch to the space. However, as with any other furniture, a bathroom vanity can wear out due to age and frequent exposure to water, making it less than beautiful.
If your bathroom vanity aesthetically appears like it has seen its better days, do not throw it just yet. Rather than buying a new one, you can actually save a wad of cash by giving it a fresh new look with a little creativity and elbow grease on your part. Below are some foolproof ways to spice up that old vanity of yours.
Clean it up
Clutter is what usually makes anything look dull and old, and your bathroom vanity is not an exemption. Hence, one of the easiest ways to refresh the look of your vanity is to clean it up and organize the items that you store in it.
Simply remove all the items you store in your vanity cabinets. Using a cloth dampened with a cleaning agent and gently wipe down your vanity and let it dry. As for the toiletries that you have removed, consider arranging them in containers or bins before returning them back inside the vanity cabinets.
Give it a fresh coat
If simple cleaning does not suffice to your desired vanity upgrade, then why not give your bathroom vanity a new coat? Begin by removing the cabinet doors, drawer pulls as well as their existing hardware using the appropriate screwdriver. Doing this will make it easier for you to paint them. Fill up the holes on the doors and drawer pulls with a wood filler using a putty knife and let them dry.
Next, gently sand the parts you have removed with a sanding block of medium-grit. To ensure that you won’t leave scratches on the surface, follow the direction of the wood grain when sanding. Clean the surface using a damp cloth and set aside to dry.
Prime the doors and drawers using a high adhesion primer and allow them to dry. After which, paint them with two coats of semi-gloss latex paint of your chosen hue. To protect the new paint job, you may give the doors and drawers with a layer of water-based polyurethane before reattaching the hardware.
Switch to new hardware
Another cheap and effective way to add spunk to your old vanity is to change its old hardware. Rather than using the traditional handles or knobs, you can use knockers. You might also want to try glass knobs to give your vanity a sophisticated flair.
Convert the cabinets into open shelving
If you would like to open up your vanity to make it look more spacious, consider removing the cabinet doors altogether and create an open shelving instead. You can paint the insides of the cabinets of your preferred color and then integrate two or three layers of wood insets. A vanity with an open shelving will give you instant access to your toiletries.
Frame the mirror with molding
Most standard bathroom vanities have a flat wall mirror and, chances are, yours is no different. The mirror of your vanity actually offers you a lot of opportunities to unleash your creativity. One of the simplest ways to enhance this part of your vanity is to add a decorative frame on it using molding. The frame will highlight your mirror and will certainly lend an elegant feel to your entire bathroom.
Researched and written by Ericka who writes regular content for www.steelbuildingsdesign.co.uk a UK based company who specialise in the manufacture and construction of steel buildings.