Customizing an IKEA Vanity for a Bungalow Bathroom

IKEA items used:

• SILVERÅN vanity

Other materials used:

• Primer and paint
• Tapered legs from Osborne Wood Products
• Liquid Nails construction glue
• Screws
• Threaded furniture glide feet
• Tolson cabinet knobs from Rejuvenation

Here’s how I customized an IKEA vanity, the SILVERÅN, for our newly-remodeled half-bathroom. Because this powder room is in a visible spot on our bungalow’s first floor, I wanted a vanity that looked like a piece of furniture we’d have elsewhere in the house.

I was unable to find an off-the-shelf vanity that fit both my taste and the small space. I got quotes from a variety of places for a simple custom vanity, all of which came in around $1k (for the cabinet only – sink not included). I didn’t want to spend that kind of money on such a small piece and decided to take my chances on an IKEA hack. It’s pretty simple: paint, legs, and hardware.

There are two IKEA SILVERÅN cabinet finishes: white and light brown. The white one is made up of particleboard and plastic. It’s $20 less expensive, but it feels and looks even cheaper. The light brown one is solid pine. I chose this one because it felt sturdier and would be easier to customize. I bought it when IKEA had a 20% off sale on bathroom products, which made it $88. Cheap! And, I reused the existing sink. Free!

Here are the steps to hack an IKEA Vanity:

1. To start, I cut the vanity’s depth down to size to fit our 14″ sink. The 9″ SILVERÅN was too shallow, so I bought the 15″ version and sawed a couple of inches off the side panels. I won’t go into detail on this because it seems unlikely anyone will need to do the same, but just know: it’s possible!

2. Painting the vanity was straightforward: I sanded the wood to rough up the lacquer, then primed and painted. I used Benjamin Moore’s Mopboard Black.

3. I wanted legs that tapered on two sides, and Google led me to Osborne Wood Products. I ordered the 5″ tapered feet. I chose the red oak option because it’s a hard wood and I figured it would stand up better to dings than some of the cheaper options would. The feet were a little chunkier than my mental ideal, so I shaved an inch off both flat sides with my miter saw.

4. I drilled pilot holes into the bottom of the vanity, safely on either side of the cam bolt (but not so wide that there was a risk of the screws coming through the taped side of the leg). Anyone who has assembled IKEA furniture knows this bolt + metal dowel combo is what makes the furniture sturdy, so I didn’t want to mess with that.

5. On the other side of the vanity base, I used a countersink bit in the pilot hole so the screws would be flush with the wood.

6. I used Liquid Nails construction glue and clamps to hold the legs in place. After the glue dried, I drilled in my screws and then painted the legs.

7. I installed adjustable feet in the legs using these threaded furniture glides. The vanity is fully wall-mounted, so the legs are mostly just for show, but they do offer secondary support. I can easily twist the adjustable feet to raise/lower them, which lets me slide the rug under.

8. I added Tolson cabinet knobs from Rejuvenation.

And that’s it! A pretty easy hack for a very pretty vanity.

There are more details of the IKEA vanity on my blog, including photos of the entire bathroom remodel process: projectpalermo.com.

~ by Marti Palermo

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