Revitalize Your Vanity

When my husband and I moved into our home, we noticed the previous owner splurged on a couple things to add resale value right before selling. The bathroom vanities were not one of those items. We will, eventually, replace the vanities. For now I decided to give one vanity a little sprucing.

I took off the vanity doors to survey what I was working with:

Not quite off white, not really cream. A yellowish shade with a bronze situation happening. At the very least, a coat of paint was required.

When painting anything I always start with the cleanest surface possible.  

The TSP Solution was probably overkill  but since I had some leftover from painting the cabinets I decided to wipe down the vanity.

I knew I wanted to start with a white base just to get rid of that horrid yellow color. I used a small foam roller and started on the inside of the vanity door.

You can already see the difference a fresh coat of paint can make:

Once the "inside" of the vanity doors were painted and dried, I flipped them over and began painting the fronts. I started by painting the design indent with a 1 inch brush knowing I would be painting the rest with a foam roller.

With both the front and inside vanity doors painted white, I then focused on the stenciling.

I chose my stencil, measured the center of each vanity door, and taped it where I wanted. I have used stencils from Michaels for most of my stenciling projects but I believe I found this one at 

A.C. Moore.


I have only used Martha Stewart craft paint, which can be used on most surfaces, also found at Michaels. Although you can use any of them on their own, I wanted an "antique" look so I mixed the main color I was using with Martha Stewart Crafts Tintable Antique Effect.

Something else to consider is which type of applicator you want to use. I used stencil brushes but you can also use "pouncers" which are basically little foam applicators that you pounce on the stencil (hence the nickname).

When using a "finish effect," whether antique or
otherwise, I first add my color paint then add the effect paint. I mix and add until I have the shade I want. The main rule of stenciling is to keep the paint application light. Too much paint around the edges can cause the design to appear messy.

While not drastic, the change from before to after is enough for me to actually like my vanity now.

The paint was leftover from our cabinet painting project. Most craft stores have weekly coupons and I used mine for the stencils and brushes. This project was pretty low budget.

If you are unhappy with your bathroom vanity but don't want to shell out the money for a new one, a fresh coat of paint and stenciling is a quick and inexpensive solution until you are ready to replace it.

~ B