In case you missed part 1, click here!
So, I'm sure you've been on the edge of your seats to see if I was going to find the tiny MCM credenza that I could turn into our vanity :)
Well, surprise, after a couple of months of looking, I did! And it was the perfect size for the space! And here it is:
This is the credenza I found on Craigslist! I bought it from a super nice lady that sells vintage furniture on Chairish, under the seller name, Pacific Vintage.
Perfect! Cabinet doors on one side make it so much easier to fit in the plumbing for the sink.
Also, a real key feature of this piece is that it isn't a dresser with drawers all the way across. This one had cabinet doors, which is nice because the pluming for the sink could easily fit there. If there had been drawers there, it would be a little harder (translation: a real pain in the butt) because then you have to cut space into each drawer, and then rebuild the drawer around the cut out space in order to fit the plumbing in.
So, the credenza was in pretty much perfect condition (yay!), but the finish and color was looking faded and old from age. So, I decided to refinish the top on that sucker! When I got to the staining stage, I was rubbing it down with a damp rag to raise the wood fibers (absorbs stain better), and it looked so pretty, even without stain, so I thought, hey, maybe I'll just poly it and skip the stain step, and I did. And it turned out g-g-g-g-g-gorgeous! OMG.
Check out this wood graining. Don’t you just want to rub your face all over it!? Oh. You don’t? Um….yeah…..me neither….cue the awkward whistling.
The top is so great, that now I had to refinish the doors and drawer fronts to match....
Okay, so notice that the doors and drawers are out? Well, next to the way lighter, brighter, standout top, they just looked sad :( So, I decided to refinish those as well. You'll have to wait until Part 3 to see how they turned out! (Another cliffhanger! How can you stand the suspense?!)
Well, we're ready for install (or so I thought, but now we needed a sink and faucet.
Sink first. Now, here's the drawback to using a dresser/credenza instead of an actual vanity. They're not nearly as deep, which means you need a not-so-deep sink. Also, most MCM credenzas/dresses are not as high as a real vanity either.
As far as installing, you can either do a vessel or a drop-in. Vessel is WAY easier. You just need a tiny hole for the drain parts, and you're good. No having to cut a perfectly measure huge hole to drop the sink into, plus the vessel sink adds some needed height.
Here's the sink we picked out:
From Signature Hardware
So, we had the sink picked out. Now we needed the faucet. And, I wanted BRASS! Beautiful brass! And, here's what I chose:
From Signature Hardware
So, now we have all the pieces. Now, comes the next part...putting it all together! That's where my awesome father-in-law comes in. And, that's part 3.