Don't Pass On A Vintage Vanity At The Thrift Store. Here's Why

Shopping for vintage furniture is always the start to a great story, and this antique vanity upcycling idea is a fantastic example. If you fall in love with one of these pieces but struggle to integrate it into your home, you can turn it into two separate nightstands or narrow chests of drawers. These are perfect for small bedrooms or for simply adding a little vintage flair and storage to your interiors. 

The kind of vintage vanity that works for this project is composed of two drawer units, united by a tabletop in the center, similar to a dressing/makeup table, allowing enough legroom for a person to sit down while they go about their beauty routine. You can probably picture them in your head in a fancy Victorian home. This differs from the modern bathroom vanity, which is more commonly associated with a single cabinet structure.

The DIY consists of detaching each of the drawer units from the tabletop, usually followed by an extensive restoration process including stripping, filling, sanding, priming, and painting or staining. It's not exactly a woodworking project that beginners can do, so if you're into the idea but don't have the tools or experience to tackle it, consider hiring a professional. 

This creative DIY to repurpose an old vanity around the house will differ from piece to piece. Vintage vanities took on a myriad of different shapes, each more intricate than the last, so it's impossible to list the specific steps needed to flip every single one. A general approach requires tools to remove fasteners, such as a nail puller or a prybar, an orbital sander, a hand sander, and painting tools. For this last part, you can use a brush, a roller, or even a sprayer. Other common items that'll come in handy include a scraper and wiping cloths.  You'll also need a chemical stripper to remove existing finishes, a wood filler to patch up any gaps and holes, and glue for veneer or extra wood pieces. Finally, depending on your desired finish, you may need wood stain, primer, and paint. 

Start by disassembling the vanity. This process will be easier for vanities where the drawer units don't share a table top with the middle section. If they do, you'll likely have to purchase wood panels to create new tops for each of your nightstands. Once the middle portion is unfastened, remove old stain, varnish, or paint from the nightstands with the stripper and scraper. When your surface is clean, go in with the filler to patch up unsightly fastener holes, grooves, and veneer damage, then sand smooth. Finish by priming and painting or staining, and you'll be left with two stunning antique chests of drawers that are much more versatile in a home than a bulky vanity.