Easy DIY Bathroom Vanity Makeover With Paint and Vinyl

We are so close to the end of our 1970s Vintage Style Guest Bathroom Renovation.

With just a week left before the reveal posts for the One Room Challenge®, we will start wrapping up the last of our to-do list items.

But for week 7 of the challenge, my biggest goal was to complete a makeover of the bath vanity cabinet with new paint for the existing cabinet and a vinyl wrap for the solid black laminated countertop from the 1970s.

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Up to this point in the challenge, most of our energy and budget have been spent on the new vintage-style tile floor, refinishing the ceiling, painting the walls, trim, and closet doors, and updating the lighting and mirror over the bathroom cabinet.

Now that I have once cleaned up the dust and equipment in the room, I can tackle what is going to be the most used item in the room and that is the vanity cabinet.

All bathroom cabinets topped with a sink are considered vanities.

I never like to tear out well-built cabinets.

Three of the four bathrooms in our home have custom cabinetry similar to the kitchen.  Each one is very well made and sturdy even after 45 years. The only consistent damage to our home’s custom cabinetry is the cabinet doors, as expected after so many years.

However, in the Fall of 2015, a tree fell on the back portion of our home and damaged the walls and flooring in the master bathroom.  The busted plumbing and following water damage to the back of the master bath vanity allowed us to have a new custom-made vanity to replace it.

As many times as the construction crew offered to kindly “remove” the old vanity from the house for us, we refused to give up such a well-built piece.  Instead, I repurposed it into a console table for our front room renovation.

Why am I sharing this story?

It explains why we decided to give this original bathroom vanity an easy DIY makeover with paint and vinyl instead of tearing it out and replacing it with something new.

The best way to give old bathroom cabinets a whole new look is to start with a fresh coat of paint.

The first thing I did before starting the surface prep of the cabinet, was to empty all of the drawers and cabinets with the many random items my daughter left behind.  I found three pairs of sunglasses, lots of half-used bottles of nail polish and makeup, a drawer full of knitted hats, and lots and lots of hair products.  She moved out nearly five years ago and I knew cleaning out this bath cabinet was going to be like a treasure chest of discoveries so yes, I avoided it for as long as I could.

With the cabinet interior finally cleaned out, I removed the cabinet doors, drawers, and hardware to start sanding down the doors and drawer fronts to accept new paint.

Easy DIY Bathroom Vanity Makeover

As often found when refinishing old cabinets, a lot of prep work is needed to prepare the surface for a new coat of paint.

The stain on these cabinets had been there for a long time so removing all of the stain was not a goal.  Using 100-grit sandpaper and my power sanding tool, I distressed the surface enough so a primer coat of paint could be applied in the next step.   Between these two steps, wipe down all the surfaces with a damp cloth to remove the dust residue.

Before applying a coat of primer and paint to the cabinet, use painter’s tape along any wall edges to protect the newly painted walls.

Since we did not plan to repaint the inside of the cabinet with new paint, I only had to worry about the prep work needed for the doors and the drawer fronts.

Our Choice for the perfect paint type for this bathroom vanity makeover was pure black in high gloss in Enamel.

I wanted this bathroom cabinet makeover to have a more modern look once the new paint color was applied.

So we purchased a can of Behr Premium Plus Interior/Exterior Hi-Glass Enamel in Pure Black.  The newly painted cabinet needed that glass-like durable finish and mildew resistance for a bathroom.

This was the best paint choice I have made in some time.  It went on smoothly and delivered the exact finish I was looking for.

It only took two coats of paint on the cabinet, doors, and drawer fronts to give new life to the style and look of the original dated stained vanity.  The doors and drawers are accented by new drawer pulls.  Unfortunately, I could not find new cabinet hardware to match the existing holes in the old hinges.

But that problem was easily solved with a can of Dupli-Color Perfect Match Universal Chrome, for automotive repairs.

I just spray-painted on the chrome paint and reused the old hinges. 

Budget Friendly Countertop Makeover

The last thing I had to tackle for my easy DIY bathroom cabinet makeover was an update for the vanity top.

If I had an unlimited budget, I would have loved to install a real marble countertop.  But this is now a guest room and will not be used daily, so I decided to try the “instant granite” approach and wrap the countertop in printed vinyl.

Purchased from Amazon at only a fraction of the cost of a new countertop, this White Marble Wallpaper Glossy, Peel and Stick Waterproof Countertop Removable Self Adhesive Vinyl is a great solution to updating a countertop on a budget.

I will warn you, it is not as easy to install as suggested by several YouTube videos I watched.  This vinyl is thick and very sticky. It requires a slow process and a steady hand to prevent creases and folds when installing it.

After a frustrating start with the first piece, I worked slower when peeling off the backing and attaching the vinyl to the countertop in small increments along the cut piece.  Taking my time and with some perseverance, I got the job finished. 

I became so focused on installing the vinyl that I forgot to take photos of the process.  There was no way I was going to start over. 

Take your time installing the vinyl.

So I will offer these tips instead.  Start by cleaning the countertop surface several times. A dust-free surface is ideal before installing the vinyl.  A pair of scissors and a sharp utility blade will come in handy.  As well as a vinyl scraper tool similar to what you would need for Cricut® Cutting projects.  I found this worked better than the suggested credit card. 

Even if just a temporary improvement, this DIY project is a great way to get a fresh look without spending a lot of money. 

Taking some advice from the YouTube videos, the seams of the vinyl were sealed with caulk to prevent water from seeping underneath the seams over time.

I highly recommend removing the sink if possible to make it easier to fit the sticky vinyl to the contours of the countertop and the shape of the sink.

Finally, the sink was replaced and a new faucet was installed to complete our budget-friendly bathroom vanity makeover. 

Our 1970s Vintage Black and White budget-friendly bathroom makeover is almost complete.  In our final week, the closet will get the fun updates for the final touches like the art and the new bench. 

Looking forward to the final reveal.

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Hugs,

Ecclesiastes 11:6 In the morning sow your seed, and at evening do not let your hand rest, because you don’t know which will succeed, whether one or the other, or if both of them will be equally good.

Other posts in this One Room Challenge Series:

Adding Vintage Charm to our 1970s Black and White Bathroom

Best Choice For Vintage Style Bathroom Tile

Struggling with Bathroom Ceiling Ideas After Removing the Popcorn Texture

Checklist Update for our 1970s Vintage Bath Remodel

New Lighting and Mirror in our Vintage Bath Remodel

1970s Bathroom Makeover – The Reveal