Hey friend! Man its been a minute since we chatted about the bathroom makeover. Its like every time I go to take pictures of it, I am either in my underwear (mirror), Mr. Brem starts needing something, or its not clean. Or what is most likely is a combo of all 3.
Now you know whets in store for you if you show up at my house unexpectedly…consider yourself warned!
We last left off with the v-plank wall treatment (you can find all of the posts in this series linked below!) We are doing this thing on a hardcore budget and the vanity was no good. So we grabbed a simple Hemnes vanity/sink combo from IKEA and spruced it up on our own. I feel like living so far from an IKEA takes it out of my mind mentally and I forget that they have freakin’ awesome stuff and the prices are killer. Luckily they just opened one in Vegas so…#ikeae’ryday.
I was pretty concerned about snow blindness in the room because white tile, white plumbing fixtures, white walls, all the things are white. Luckily there was a super easy fix to bring some life into the space, swapping out the white drawer fronts for wood.
This is a SUPER simple DIY if you have a table saw, if you don’t then you might want to check out SemiHandmade they sell replacement fronts for IKEA furniture.
To make these drawers, we used the originals as a template for the size and hole placement.
My one major tip if you are doing this is to clamp everything together before you start drilling because 1 little shift can throw the entire thing into the crapper.
From the word go I knew I wanted a round mirror approximately the size of my reflector.
The best one that I found just so happened to be from (you guessed it) IKEA. It was $99 and the perfect size!
I need to still find hardware for the drawers, but I’m having a hard time finding something that I love that doesn’t stick out too far. I’m thinking of making something with leather (of course) but I don’t know if that’s gross, cause you cant really clean leather…what are your thoughts?
What about a finger pull? I would envision it offset to one side or the other. Could even do the right side on the top and left side on the bottom drawer, or vice-versa.
https://www.pullsdirect.com/cabinet-pulls/c16?f3234=blacks&f3299=Finger%20Pulls
What about using a router and doing a recessed oblong hole as a drawer pull? Or even making a simple squared off rectangular handle out of the same wood you made the drawer fronts out of? I think having anything else would detract from the pretty wood grain and look “busy”.
I think the leather will look beautiful. There are products for shoes to make them waterproof, may be it can be used for the leather pulls as well, and that way the gross factor is taken care of for your lovely bathroom.
I agree with your thought, pass on the leather. What about a gray agate or slate? Would look great against that wood.
How about a round ring pull to mimic the mirror and the penny tile? https://www.plumbtile.com/plumbing-tile-product/A-A580.html?_vsrefdom=Alno&gclid=CjwKEAjw8Jy8BRCE0pOC9qzRhkMSJABC1pvJoCEznSviVDAovDrSOv1bc3gQ7K7Dl2dsNd3mQxldJhoCpgTw_wcB
Yeah I’d stay away from the leather in the bathroom even though it would look so great. I have total faith in you though, your creativity is limitless! The bathroom looks so good!
I like nancy50’s idea of a round ring to mimic the round shapes of the mirror and penny tile, but I’d opt for a shiny nickel finish to match the faucet. It’s like jewelry for your bathroom!
I’m so impressed – I would never have thought to replace the front…
I’d pass on the leather. Even if you were careful, handles are just one of those things you want to be able to wash.
I like the ring pull idea – I feel like I’ve seen a million plywood cabinets with cut out handles, nice as they are.
Do you have hobby lobby by you for knobs?
What about using bolts in the length you want and epoxy something to them really cool like little white cacti you can make on your 3D printer?
we just finished our second IKEA kitchen. our entire bedroom furniture set is IKEA (hemnes!). our girls’ dresser and bookshelf are IKEA. ours is about 45 minutes away and we make that drive probably more than we should. all day, e’ry day! love the switch out for wood drawer fronts, looks awesome with that mirror.
I lived in vegas for nearly three years and right after I move away, up pops an Ikea! Oh well, still waiting for one in Montana.
I wouldn’t do leather because it would get grimy and swell with moisture. On the other hand, you can always just change them again if you don’t like them!
OMG mandi! this is genius. I love the look completely. I wasnt a fan of the ikea just because it can look cheap, but the wood totally transform it! i might just have to do it! been dying to update my bathroom! this might be a solution!
Love it! YOu don’t mention what you used for the drawer fronts. Can you explain please? Thanks!
Looks like maple plywood to me
Oooh ooh! Here is a hardware idea to class it up. https://m.cb2.com/marble-white-disk-drawer-pull/s601227
I think it would look amazing!
I’ve been following with interest as we just had a contractor finish one bathroom and the other needs some serious love on a lower budget. (We- seriously- have glitter glow in the dark grout.) Thanks for sharing as you go.
those wooden drawer fronts look SO GOOD! i love them without hardware; i can see how you’re having a difficult finding something that doesn’t clutter up the clean lines. have you considered push-to-open drawers? ikea sells kits to help you convert your drawers to that type (here: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40287825/) then you wouldn’t need hardware at all!
You could just drill a hole on the drawer front. Drill it the diameter of the largest finger in your house. Wouldn’t cost a thing!
Thanks so much!
I love how you changed the drawer fronts! I’ve been looking for a solution for my (super ugly) bathroom vanity without spending $$$ on a new one. I really need to figure out how to make new drawer fronts and cabinet doors.
Do you want the hardware to match the finish of the faucet? I usually like all the hardware to match on a cabinet or in a small room like a bathroom. But chrome/nickel isn’t my favorite so I can see why you would want to mix it up. Not an easy choice. The room looks amazing as always, all your choices are so fresh and modern and original.
Hi, Mandi! I love this makeover! What did you do to the mirror? I’m thinking of a round mirror, too, but I like your finish way better than Ikea’s plain black.
Nice! You’ve inspired me. My old bathroom needs makeover, too. I think I’ll try once. Thank you so much for inspiring!
I love the idea of your bathroom. It looks gorgeous. My bathroom is old and super ugly. Thank you so much for inspiring! I’m gonna try your way.
That’s a good idea! Your bathroom looks so stunning. I love your makeover. I will try to make it for my bathroom
Great idea for adding some wood to your bathroom. White makes it look simple but now it’s really elegant. You’re so clever. Now I also have some idea for my bathroom makeover. Thank you.
I gave up using leather since my son spilled juice on the leather coach and I can’t clean it out. It’s really inconvenient! By the way, I love your gorgeous bathroom and I’m a big fan of IKEA.