First Priority – Open And Airy
I have always wanted a beauty vanity in my bedroom but with it being so small of a room I never really acted on getting one. But now with this makeover I made sure to include one in my plans. Of course with my limited space I had to be cautious on how much room it would take up. And not only did I not want it to take up tons of square footage, but I also didn’t want it to bog down my bedroom astatically. With my bedroom being so tiny and all the items I wanted to include in the plan, I still wanted my bedroom to look open and airy.
So I decided to opt out of a regular vanity desk and instead go with this Reclaimed Cedar Makeup Vanity Shelf, which not only takes up very little space but also keeps that open and airy feeling I desire.
Supplies:
- Varathane Spar Urethane
- Lint Free Rag
- Sand Paper
Tools:
- Miter Saw, Circular Saw or Hand Saw
- Tape Measure
- Electric Hand Sander
- Paint Brush
- Drill
My Awesome Reclaimed Cedar Boards
My Uncle had gifted a few reclaimed cedar boards to me and as soon as I saw them, I fell in love with the many features they had. I loved their natural wear and tear, the depth of the color in the wood, the roughness of the surface and the raw edging on one of the pieces. I could have easily sanded the wood down and had a nice clean slate, but there was no way I was going to do that. I just couldn’t bear to erase its natural characteristics. No, I wanted to do just the opposite of that. I wanted to embrace them.
So for my makeup vanity, I decided to go with pieces that included many of those characteristics. As you will see in the pictures, I made sure the most outest edge of my vanity was the one with the most natural raw edging. And I made a point to include pieces with holes and indents.
Making The Makeup Vanity
After I had chosen exactly which pieces I wanted to use for my project I used my circular saw to cut them down to my preferred length, 34 1/2 inches.
And while I loved the natural rawness of the wood, I did not want the small wood splinters to damage any items I might put on my vanity, and I certainly did not want them to get into my skin. Also I wanted to protect the wood from any spills that might occur. So to prevent these from happening, I decided to put a few coats of Varathane’s Spar Urethane on the boards, 3 to be exact. Note: After allowing each coat to fully dry I gave the boards a quick sanding, using a 120 grit sand paper, wiped them with a lint free rag and then applied another coat of the Spar Urethane.
The Brackets
Once all coats where applied and the boards completely dried, it was time to decide how to hang my vanity up on the wall. I contemplated on utilizing floating shelf hardware, but because this was a makeup vanity shelf, I knew there would be times my elbows and body could be leaning onto it. With this in mind I felt as if the floating hardware would not hold up to the daily use.
So after much contemplation I decided to go with these metal L brackets. Not only could they hold up to the daily use they would receive, but they were inexpensive and took up just about no space at all. After a quick spray paint with Rust-Oleum in Metallic they were ready to go.
Attaching The Makeup Vanity Shelf
And now it was time to hang my Reclaimed Cedar Makeup Vanity Shelf. When hanging the makeup vanity we ensured the brackets screwed into the actual 2×4 studs in the wall. This is very important, due to the usage of the shelf. Lucky for me they lined up perfectly to where I wanted my vanity to be hung at! We also used 3 inch wood screws to attach the brackets to the wall and 1 inch wood screws to attach the brackets to the cedar wood. Always making a pilot hole before actually screwing the screws in.
Let Me Know!
What do you think? Do you love the natural qualities of the wood like I do? Would you of stained or painted it? Let me know in the comments below. I love to hear your thoughts!
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With Love,
Melissa
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