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DIY Bathroom Vanity and Countertop Makeover

July 9, 2020 By Erin Spain Leave a Comment

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.)

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity and countertop makeover on a budget!

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:

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

Products I used:

(Affiliate links included. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  • 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.

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

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.

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

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.

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

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.

Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!
Check out this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

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 this DIY bathroom vanity makeover!

Check out the YouTube video here:

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