Upcycling an antique vanity into night stands has been on our furniture bucket list for a long time now. We got a great deal on this sweet little vanity and, because it was missing it’s mirror, it was the perfect candidate for converting it into two night stands. Below we share with you all the steps on how to turn a vanity into night stands.
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Before
This is the vanity as it looked when we bought it. As you can see, the top is one solid piece, so we knew we’d need to modify it for night stand tops.
The process – how to turn a vanity into night tables
Step 1 – remove top
We removed the drawers and turned the vanity upside down. Using a drill, we removed the screws and took the top piece off.
Step 2 – disassemble the middle
We used a rubber mallet to break off the center piece that joined each of the drawer sections of the vanity together. As expected, this created some holes and damage where the piece was attached on each side drawer section. But don’t panic – it’s an easy fix!
Step 3 – repair the side
We used Bondo to fill in the holes and damage where the center piece had been on each set of drawers.. For complete instructions on using Bondo, click here. Bondo dries very quickly so you’ll be able to sand it and move on to the next step in about 20 minutes!
Step 4 – cut new tops and attach
If the top of the vanity was one piece, you might be able to use this same piece and cut it in two. This wasn’t possible with this vanity because there was a gap at the back of the vanity top (most likely where a mirror would have sat) and the piece wasn’t long enough to cover the top of each side table. We chose a basic pine board. After measuring and adding an inch to the length of each side, we cut the plank to size.
We chose to have an overhang of about three quarters of an inch all around. To get a finished look, use a router to cut along the edges of the wood.
Pro tip: if using a new router bit, test it out on some scrap wood see see if you like the profile of the edge it creates. You can find decorative router bits here.
To attach the new wood tops, turn each piece upside down and screw in from the bottom.
Step 5 – paint and seal
Because of the Bondo repair, you will need to paint, rather then stain, the sides of the night stand. We chose Cottage Paint’s Fairy Tale pink to complement the soft, romantic lines of these pieces. We white washed the tops using Cottage Paint’s Color & Seal in white.
The after
We were pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to transform this antique vanity into night stands! They are just so sweet and charming – we can’t wait to do it again!
What do you think of this upcycle? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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