Right now we are in the process of fixing up our house to get it ready to sell. Dylan would like to have the house on the market in August and I plan on moving to Duluth in September.
Our goal is to make things look as awesome as possible, but without spending a lot- I'm sure most people have that goal when renovating, right?
I have MANY projects to get done before August (mostly by myself with no help from Dylan, mind you) and this is the first solo project that I tackled. And let me tell you, I am SO proud of how this vanity project turned out! Let me describe to you how simple it is to completely update the look of your bathroom vanity for less than $20!
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| Would you believe that these are the SAME vanity? |
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| Minwax Polyshades in Espresso Satin - this size container cost about $10. I could have gotten away with the smaller size but didn't want to take the chance! I still have enough for many more staining projects! |
Minwax Polyshades in Espresso Satin (this color was not available at my local Menards, found it at Home Depot)
5-10 cheap foam brushes (I threw mine away after each coat)
Painters tape
New knobs and pulls if desired (could spray paint your old ones if you liked the shape of them)
Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint (used to spray paint the hinges rather than buy new)
1. You will want to start by cleaning the vanity. This is a step that I could have put a little more effort into. I scrubbed lightly with soap and water with a sponge. I think a scrub with a little more 'elbow grease' would have definitely helped with the application.
2. The beauty of Minwax Polyshades is that you don't have to sand!!! That's right. The product is designed to lay over the current varnish/stain that is on the wood. Again, I think it would helped my stain application to have at least lightly sanded, but I am still happy with the way things turned out.
3. To make it easier to stain all the nooks, crannies, and edges, I removed the doors and drawers and laid them out on an old sheet for staining.
4. Tape off your sink, floor, walls, etc. and lay a sheet to cover the floor if needed.
5. Get to staining! The key to this project is VERY light coats. Start at one end and slowly drag the foam brush to the other. YES, it will take longer to do 4-5 very light coats as opposed to 2-3 heavy coats, but the results will be worth the extra time! My very first stroke was thick, and the stain started to bubble up on the surface and wouldn't even soak in.
I worked on this project over the course of a weekend, allowing between 12-24 hours between coats (just because I had other things going on over the weekend as well). I did 4 very thin coats of stain.
6. After giving at least another 24 hours for all coats to set, I added the new knobs and pulls, which really made the look.
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| New pulls, around $4 each from Menards |
7. I spray painted the old hinges (because there was nothing wrong with them) with a dark oil rubbed bronze color, because I wanted them to blend in with the color of the stain. Another option would be to get new hinges or spray paint your hinges to match with your new knobs and pulls!
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| Door on the left after 1 coat. As you can see the difference is very minimal- THIN coats. |
TIPS:
-Scrub that baby clean beforehand! Do not half-ass this step. It will make a difference. I found leftover soap residue, dust, etc to cause quite the problem for me.
-Drag the brush from one and to the other, without stopping, as much as possible. If you lay the brush down in the middle, you will see a brush stroke.
-Again- VERY THIN coats. This is the key to this product. Without sanding, essentially this product is just laying on top of the current varnish. Thin coats will stick better
-Be careful not to let any stain drip - and if it does, blend it in quickly. It doesn't take long for it to become tacky and hard to manipulate.
-Remember the edges of the doors, drawers, etc.
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| Finished Product |
I couldn't be happier with how things turned out for the price! Like any DIY project, it's not perfect, but it makes a huge difference in the look and feel of my bathroom. Only a few more small steps and my bathroom remodel will be complete! More to come soon!
Mallory
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