When we moved into the house, this bathroom had been shared by a group of college students for a few years and was...not real nice. In fact, I gutted it down to the studs before we ever showered in it. I generally try and demo as little as possible to reduce landfill contributions, but there were some pretty serious neglect problems. The good news is we had an opportunity to create some unique furniture. Sure, a bathroom vanity isn't always on the average list of definitions for furniture. In my house it sure is, though.
I knew right away that I wanted it to take cues from a mid century modern credenza or dresser. I looked at all of the hyper modern manufacturers to see if I could save a little time and buy something. Nope. There is some good stuff out there, for sure. Just not what we were looking for.
I took out a ridiculous faux oak, country styled vanity and created this custom vanity in its place. The exterior shell is all American Black Walnut ply. I used solid Black Walnut dowel legs to tie into the furniture in the other rooms in the house - they are typical for the period. Solid surface counter in white with a very minimal edge overhang.
And this right here: this is where the real magic happens. This is the difference between a custom piece of hand made furniture and something you can buy off of the shelf. Whats the big deal? Context sensitive design, thats what. That sink up top drains through the P-trap in the wall below. That P-trap is a space killer in almost all vanities you can by at the big box retail stores. That is why you will see doors on so many vanities. They allow for room the plumbing. Unfortunately it is a huge waste of space. I solved this by making 2 half drawers in the center. This is much more efficient than a dark shelf that you have to bend over to find.
All drawers use soft close Knape Vogt Slides.
I grain matched the drawers for a clean, modern and consistent look.
About those drawer pulls. If this wasn't for our house they would be the typical chrome or stainless steel. But, because we live close to the ocean we give a few subtle nods to the beach life, like these hand painted urchin knobs.
The tiles are 12x24 Marazzi Italian, high recycled content, linen texture. Unfortunately, they stopped making them. I liked them so much that I had planned to use them in the kitchen, which will soon be remodeled too.
Octopus towel hanger guy is happy. Thanks for checking in!