Bathroom refresh with upcycled timber vanity

[sallie24]

An old TV cabinet fitted with two new basins became the centrepiece of this farmhouse-style bathroom renovation.

• The project
• Before and after
• More bathroom renovation ideas
• How to plan a bathroom renovation

The project

Our little home has great bones but needed a little updating. As it is a rural property my Hubby and I wanted to keep with a traditional, Hamptons and farmhouse theme and created this bathroom on a very low budget.

We saved money by upcycling a solid-timber TV cabinet I purchased on Facebook Marketplace for $80.

We used Taubmans 3 in 1 Prep primer and stain blocker, then painted it with Taubmans water-based semi-gloss enamel in Inner Circle – with no help from Cleetus the goat.

We added feet to give it appropriate vanity height and some lovely charm.

We replaced the old ceiling light fitting with a Brilliant Foundry batten cover from Bunnings, lined the walls with cement VJ sheeting and painted the feature wall in Taubmans Grey Gamut.

The shower area was in great condition so we resiliconed and used white grout paint to freshen up the grout, which made the whole shower look brand new again. We also spray painted the exhaust fan as it had turned yellow with age.

The sinks are Estilo round counter top basins.

We removed the tiles once we had taken the old vanity out and laid Gerflor Senso Natural Lord vinyl planks after prepping the floor with Bondall BondCrete.

The whole project was complete in two weeks and cost us a whisker under $1000. The big savers were that we didn’t move any plumbing; it just had to be hooked up to the second sink and everything else was done by Hubby and I.

Most of the bathroom did not need to be repainted, and where we did paint we used leftover colours from previous projects. The shower area was also in great condition so was left untouched.

We are so happy with the final result, and thankful to the wonderful staff at our local Bunnings in Plainland, Queensland. 

Before and after

More bathroom renovation ideas

Workshop member Rachel split a vintage sideboard to make a two-piece bathroom vanity with a stone benchtop.

Workshop member DIYMum also took the upcycling route, adding a new basin and Merbau benchtop to her old vanity in her ensuite makeover.

How to plan a bathroom renovation

No matter what type of bathroom you have, it all starts with planning and research to discover how you can make best use of what is often the smallest room in the house. Check out How to plan a bathroom renovation by experienced Bunnings Workshop member Adam Woodhams for advice on how to redesign your space.

For more inspiration check out our Top 10 most popular bathroom projects.

Let us know if you need a hand with your own project. Start a discussion and tell us what you need.

[mich1972]

Love all of these bathroom renovations, all are beautiful !!!!!!

[projectmumdanni]

Love what you have done @sallie24 the new vanity flows with the look in your bathroom. Did you put waterproof laminate flooring down over your tiles or pull them up?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @projectmumdanni,

Do you have your own bathroom refresh in the works? We'd love to hear all about it, so feel free to start a discussion. Here's a useful guide on How to plan a bathroom renovation and our Top 10 most popular bathroom projects for inspiration.

I see @sallie24 mentioned that "We removed the tiles once we had taken the old vanity out and laid Gerflor Senso Natural Lord vinyl planks after prepping the floor with Bondall BondCrete." So, it does sound like the tiles were pulled up. However, the Hybrid vinyl planks can be laid over tiles. Here's a helpful step-by-step guide on How to lay vinyl plank flooring. Here's a good discussion on Hybrid floor over tile or remove tile and re-tile. Also, check out @MGusto's project on their Budget laundry and bathroom renovation where they used Hybrid flooring over tiles.

Just remember that the additional height with mean a little work when it comes to the floor drain and door threshold transition.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[sallie24]

@projectmumdanni 
yes we removed the tiles, grinded the floor and applied bond Crete before laying the vinyl planks ☺️ 

[projectmumdanni]

Ahhh okay..you must be on concrete slab? We are on stumps we were wanting to put the laminate we have run through the house in our bathroom aswell. Can't put over our tile as different heights. Thanks for getting back to me

[sallie24]

@projectmumdanni  That’s ok! Yes we are on a slab, best of luck with your reno ☺️

[diy_vvv]

Hi Sallie - wow what a difference!

I'm curious to know how your timber vanity is going and how you water proofed it?

Thanks

[EricL]

Hello @diy_vvv 

Let me tag @sallie24 to make them aware of your question. That is an excellent question, and it would be great to know how the vanity is holding up.

Eric