Want a new double vanity in your bathroom? Don’t want to spend $2,000 on it? Me either. This post will tell you all about how I created our double vanity for next to nothing—and how you can do it too!
Check this thing out!
Can you believe it was once a $20 dresser from Facebook Marketplace?!
It’s true.
You guys, twenty dollars!
A dresser is the perfect base for a vanity. If you think about it, that’s what a vanity is, after all. You certainly could build your own vanity base, but that’s so much work.
There’s several options for finding an inexpensive dresser.
Facebook marketplace is one of my favorite ways to find treasures for pretty cheap. Maybe you already have the piece in your home, in storage, maybe a friend is getting rid of an old dresser, or you can even find a great piece on the side of the road!
Don’t scoff at those curbside treasures.
What to look for
Find a dresser that does not have vertical support beams directly under where the sink will go. A dresser that has pull out drawers or cabinet doors underneath the sinks is ideal so you can still use them for storage.
This dresser would be perfect for a double vanity, but you could not turn this into a single vanity with the sink in the middle.
If you don’t need the storage, this is less of an issue and you can just put a false door on in it’s place.
For example, with our dresser, it would not have worked as a single vanity because the supports are in
the middle, but worked perfectly for a double vanity with sinks over the drawers
And this may be obvious but find a dresser with a style you like. Unless you’ve refinished furniture in the past, I don’t recommend finding something you have to make major changes to. This DIY is enough work as it is, and dressers are relatively easy to come by. Find one you like.
Once you find your dresser, it’s time to get to work.
1. Finish Dresser
Note that you can alter the dresser first (skip to the next step) if that’s your preference. You’ll see in my pictures that I did some alterations before painting, but I organized this post into easy-to-follow directions, quite different from my scattered work practices.
There’s a ton of really great furniture refinishing tutorials out there, so I won’t go into too much detail as I’m no expert in this subject. To cover the basic steps:
Clean.
Always clean first! If there is any grease or grime on your dresser, it will be sanded in or painted over, which is not a good look and the paint could come up in those areas.
Good old soap and water is a great way to clean off furniture and what I usually opt for, then I dry it with
an old rag. TSP works great too.
While cleaning, you really get a good look at all the imperfections and areas that need fixing.
Our dresser had a lot of damage from years of love. Rings from drinks resting, knicks and scratches
galore, but overall it was in good shape.
I decided to paint instead of stain ours for a few reasons:
- It’s particle board, which means that I would not be able to sand it a significant amount or I would sand right through the veneer
- It’s particle board, so no guilt from painting over real wood
- It would be easier to cover all the imperfections
- I wanted it to match the wallpaper in the water closet
Fix imperfections.
Now that you know where all the imperfections are, go along with wood putty and fill them. If you plan on staining your dresser, make sure the putty is stainable and matches the color of the wood as closely as possible.
Follow the product’s directions for dry time.
Sand.
If staining, start with a coarse sand paper and make your way to a fine paper. If painting, all you really need is a quick scuff to roughen up the surface for the paint to stick.
You can use a sander or simply paper and a sanding block.
Clean again.
Always clean again after sanding to remove the dust and fine particles or they will stick to your paint or stain.
Paint or Stain.
If painting, I recommend using primer first for an even coat that will stick long term. I also find that after I prime, I often have to fill more holes because the white exposes them even more. Do so if necessary.
Then do a coat of paint, let it dry, give it a light sand, clean it and paint again. This will give the best finish.
If staining, use a brush or rag to apply the product and then wipe off the excess with a rag.
Poly.
It is imperative that you finish the dresser with several coats of poly as it will be exposed to water on a regular basis.
If you’re painting a dark color like I did, it can be helpful to add a tiny bit of your paint into the poly, just enough to tint it slightly.
Use a foam brush to apply the poly, let it dry according to directions and then sand with a fine sandpaper.
Then clean with a damp rag or a tack rag (I love tack rags) and reapply the poly.
I used Minwax Polycrylic in a matte finish and did about 7 coats. Really. It was a lot of work but 100% worth it. It’s been over a year and it still looks amazing, no water spots at all.
Another option is to add a stone top, which looks stunning but they can be expensive. Depending on the size of your vanity, you may be able to get scraps from your local stone place for a lower cost.
Our vanity is a temporary solution that I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on, so I opted to just paint the top and add several coats of poly to protect it.
Even if you do get a stone top, it’s still a good idea to poly the entire dresser. This will keep it protected from any potential water damage, and make it easier to clean.
2. Alter the Dresser
This is the most important and perhaps most difficult part of changing your dresser into a vanity: making room in the dresser for your pipes. This will look different depending on your dresser and the location and height of your pipes.
Here’s how mine went:
The first and easiest change was to remove the MDF stapled to the back of the dresser to expose the supports. This gave us an idea of what we were working with.
There was also a dust catcher (a sheet of MDF) between the top and middle drawer sections which was also easily removed.
My dresser had support beams running horizontally from one side to another, as well as vertically on either side of the drawers in the front and back. The drawer slides were under the drawers.
The two sinks would be added above the larger drawers, so we didn’t have to change anything with the smaller center drawers, so that support stayed intact.
I did had to remove the vertical supports in the back on the top two drawers so the dresser could slide over the pipes, as well as a section of the horizontal support, which weakened its structural integrity.
So I added vertical supports under the horizontal supports, holding them up on either side of where the pipes will be to secure it. These were simple 1×2’s which were cut to size and screwed in after ensuring that everything was level.
A small level, about 6″ long, was very helpful for this task.
I also added 1×2 supports vertically on the inside length of the drawers for added support.
3. Install sinks
I purchased vessel sinks so that I didn’t have to cut a major hole in the dresser. This is by far the easiest way to turn a dresser into a vanity.
You can use a regular sink but you’ll have to cut a much bigger hole in the dresser and the pipes will be deeper into the dresser causing you to lose storage space.
One thing to be aware of is that vessel sinks can splash, especially depending on the type you purchase.
I got mine from Wayfair, they measure about 21″x13″, are nice and large, and I absolutely love them.
And because they’re so large they really don’t splash much. It’s been over a year and I’m very happy with them.
But it’s a personal choice so do what you like. That’s the beauty of DIY!
Tip: before purchasing sinks and faucets, make a template out of cardboard the size of the sink and faucet you’re considering purchasing.
This will ensure they fit properly but you’ll also be able to visualize what they will feel like. If it’s too big or too small you can adjust, without having to deal with heavy sinks or returns.
With the sinks on hand and your dresser in the bathroom, measure to get your sinks perfectly centered and where you want them on both the left and right side. Remember that you’ll need room for the faucet in the back! Measure more than twice and cut once 😉.
Then mark your drain hole and drill that puppy out.
5. Install faucet
If you purchase a vessel sink you must also have tall faucets so they are able to reach over the lip of the sink.
Ours are 8 inches tall at the spout (about 12″ total) to get up and over the 4” ledge of the sinks. To install these, we also just had to drill a hole in the top of the vanity, after measuring to ensure they’re in the center of the sink.
6. Hook up plumbing
I certainly don’t trust myself to hook up plumbing correctly. Maybe one day, but not today.
We have a fantastic plumber who hooked up the vanity for us. He really went above and beyond to help with the entire process and is worth every penny.
But there was still work to be done after the install.
7. Alter Drawers
To function properly, the drawers have to be altered to fit around the pipes. Our bottom drawers didn’t need to change as there were no pipes in the way, so we left those as is.
The middle row was relatively easy, as all we needed to do was cut out the back lip of the drawer to allow
space for the very bottom of the pipes.
To do this, we marked where the back of the drawer needed to be cut out, as close to the pipes as possible, and used a jigsaw to cut out the area, which allowed the drawers to easily slide into place.
The top drawers, on the other hand, were a bit of a challenge as there was a large section of pipe in this area.
There’s a few options:
The first option is to just cut off the drawers and glue the face of the drawer to the dresser. Two main reasons kept me from this route:
- Storage – I really wanted to utilize the dresser to it’s full capacity. In our small home, we need
all the storage we can get. - Access to pipes – if anything went wrong in the future it would be impossible for our plumber to
get in there without damaging the dresser
The second option was to cut the drawers in half lengthwise and add a backing so a few small items could be placed inside. However, it wouldn’t function well as it would be short and risk falling out of the dresser every time you open it. And again, I wanted to maximize storage space.
The third and most challenging option is to only cut out a section of the drawer to fit the pipes, creating a U-shape in the drawer.
This is the option we went with and I’m so glad we did.
Here’s how we did it:
Move drawer slides
This is only necessary if your slides are under the drawer (like ours were). If they’re on the sides of the drawer, this shouldn’t be an issue.
The new supports we installed in a previous step provided the space that for our drawer slides to sit on. This meant that the slides would be off-center, but we haven’t had any issues with it.
Then we simply unscrewed the drawer slides from the drawers and reinstalled them with a short drill on top of the new supports and in alignment on the drawer.
This short drill was incredibly handy for this project as it actually fit in the small area. If it’s not in the budget, you can also just use a short screw driver.
Notch out the back of the drawer
We had to make a notch to the back of the drawers so the slides could line up. We simply marked where the drawer sits on the drawer slide and cut it out with a jigsaw.
Cut drawer to allow for pipes
Now being able to slide the draw into the dresser (though not all the way), we have to align the drawer with the pipes and mark the area that needs to be cut out.
I am always conservative with my cuts. I would much rather cut several times than cutting too much off. Remember, you can’t add it back once it’s gone.
Once marked, cut out the area with a jig saw.
And the drawer slides perfectly into place!
Make a Barrier
This is to ensure that your items in the drawer won’t fall down to the lower drawers.
You can get real fancy here, but remember that your barrier will be on the inside of the drawer and will not be seen.
So I didn’t go crazy with it.
Measure each side of the hole you created in the drawer and simply cut out three pieces of scrap plywood, MDF or any other thin but solid board about an inch longer than your measurements.
I made the back pieces taller than the front and cut down the corners so I don’t get poked, but this is optional.
Sand your wood down so no one gets any splinters.
Using wood glue (or the appropriate glue if you’re using some other material), glue the edges of the pieces together and clamp them overnight to dry and secure. You can put a few nails in as well for added measure, but it’s the glue that does the heavy lifting.
In the morning, they’ll be ready to attach to your drawer with nails and wood glue.
8. Install hardware
If you’re using a pull with a single screw hole that makes it all the easier, just mark center and drill.
This is one of the most exciting parts for me as it elevates the look of any piece. And it means you’re almost at the finish line!
But if you’re using hardware with a two screws, it becomes a little more challenging.
A jig can be incredibly helpful for this process. I got mine on Amazon. It allows me to put the hardware in the right pace every time and makes the whole process SO EASY. I recommend investing in one.
- Figure out where the center of the drawer is and mark it
- Measure the spacing between the holes on your hardware
- If you have a jig, align the center hole with your center mark, ensure it is level and drill in the hole that is the same as your hardware spacing (it will be marked). If you don’t have a jig, mark center and then measure away from center half of the distance of the spacing in both directions. Then make sure your marks are level and drill
- Size up your drill bit as needed so the screw fits in the hole
- Insert your screws through the back of the drawer and into the hardware on the front side and drill them in
Clean drawers
While we did clean the dresser (now vanity!) multiple times, I found my drawers still needed a cleaning after all the alterations.
Clean them one more time using whatever cleaner you like.
9. Line the drawers
This step is optional, but having something down as a barrier between bath items and wood drawers is a good idea to prevent any damage.
I found a simple and inexpensive drawer liner on Amazon. It’s bright white, looks clean and works really nicely.
The install is super easy. All you have to do is measure the drawers and cut the liner to fit.
For the irregular-shaped top drawers, cut out paper to fit the whole drawer, then make a Y-shaped cut in the paper so it folds up around the barrier, and glue or tape the other side.
Another really practical addition to our drawers were plastic organizers. I found ours on Amazon.
They obviously help with keeping everything neat but if there’s any water on a product it won’t leak to the wood dresser. They’re also incredibly easy to clean.
And that’s it!
To wrap it up…
Creating your own double vanity is an amazing DIY that will not only save you a ton of money but will give you a custom, one of a kind look that you can alter to fit your needs.
This is by far one of my favorite DIYs that I’ve completed in our worst house on the block. It’s held up incredibly well and still looks fantastic. I get so many compliments on the bathroom and when I say I made the vanity from a Facebook Marketplace dresser, people are always so shocked.
In a good way 😂
I hope this post helps you create your own DIY double vanity. While it is a bit of work, the steps are simple:
- Refinish the dresser
- Alter the dresser to allow room for pipes
- Install sink and faucets
- Alter the drawers
- Add your hardware
It’s one more money-saving step on the way to the home of your dreams.
Questions? We’re here!
Leave a comment below with any questions
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How to Survive Living in a DIY Renovation
