We are currently having our rental property renovated to sell, and while we hired contractors to do the bulk of the work, I did head over there recently to work on this DIY bathroom vanity and countertop makeover. I’m excited to share the before and after with you and walk you through what I did! (For more info on the townhouse, check out this post, this post, and this post.)
This vanity was dated, and since we had the floors replaced it really clashed. We gutted the other two bathrooms in the home but in order to save money I decided I would just make this vanity over instead of replacing it. Here it is before:
Products I used:
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- Rust-Oleum Appliance Epoxy in White
- Painter’s Tape
- Plastic Drop Cloths
- Sandpaper (I used 150 grit)
- Angled Paintbrush
- Primer
- Paint (I used Behr Marquee in the color “Elephant Skin” in a Satin finish.)
I started with the countertop. The first thing I did was give it a good cleaning, and then I went over it with 150 grit sandpaper just to rough it up enough for the epoxy to have something to grab onto. After sanding, I wiped away all of the dust with a damp cloth and allowed it to dry.
Next, I taped and covered everything I didn’t want to be sprayed. I taped plastic over the sink and then laid plastic drop cloths on the floor and toilet. I ended up needing one outside the door in the hallway too just because the overspray was pretty severe.
I used Rust-Oleum Appliance Epoxy for this, and while it wasn’t really intended for use on countertops, I’ve seen people use it and have success so I decided to go for it.
This is a temporary solution anyway, as the new homeowners will likely want to replace this dated vanity at some point in the future. I shook the can for a full minute per the directions, and then sprayed the entire counter as evenly as possible. I allowed it to dry for an hour and then sprayed a second coat.
Next it was time to paint the vanity. First, I used fine sandpaper just to lightly rough up the surface, and then I wiped it clean with a damp cloth. I taped around the edges.
I used a small angle brush for this entire project, but you could use a small foam roller on the larger parts of the vanity if you want to.
I started by applying a coat of Zinsser primer. I applied a very thin coat. (You can find my furniture painting tutorial here, and that’s the technique I used for this.) You don’t have to worry about getting a perfectly even opaque coat of primer on it. It’s going to look pretty ugly at this point.
After the primer dried, I lightly sanded it with fine sandpaper and wiped it clean. Then, I painted a thin coat of Behr Marquee “Elephant Skin” in a Satin finish. I followed the same technique, sanding lightly and then applying a second coat.
I opted not to paint the entire inside of the vanity, although I have done it that way before. I also opted not to use a topcoat and to just allow this to cure. You could use a Polycrylic or water-based polyurethane if you want added protection.
Here it is now! Such an improvement. And please note this is next to impossible to photograph since it’s in a very narrow hallway with no natural light. So please excuse the poor quality!
Check out the YouTube video here: