Phase 3: Master Closet & Vanity - Building the Vanity

After we finished the shoe shelves, I really wanted to get the vanity built so that I could move all of my products and toiletries in there and get them organized.  

My plan was to use this $30 scrap of Formica counter top, trim it down to about 4 feet wide, and mount it to the wall ... somehow ... (insert husband here).  I had also been collecting those inexpensive, 3-cube white shelves so that I could stack them next to the counter top somehow ... (I'll be honest, I wasn't really sure how, but I knew we'd figure something out!)

And we did!  My husband got the counter top mounted ... which made me realize that the shelves I had were not deep enough and looked weird next to it (see below).  The shelves were 12" deep ... the counter top was 26" deep ... the baseboard and quarter round would extend from the wall by about 1" ... so at some point I thought, Why not stack 2 columns of shelves next to each other to fit the width of the counter?  I would leave the front column facing forward, but turn the back column sideways so that it is facing the counter, and then I can use them for super secret storage!

To do that, I had to buy a few more shelves (sorry, Budget...), but they are pretty cheap and were also on sale (justifying much?).  Luckily, I had plenty of fabric left over from the Shoe Shelf project to line all of them.

I wanted to line the back of the shelves for the same reason I wanted to line the shoe shelves.  It would add some character to an otherwise boring closet.  This was also my vanity area, and I spend at least an hour in there each day, so why not make it interesting to look at and enjoy?

It took a bit more effort to line the inside of these shelves than it did to wrap the shoe shelves because I had to make the edges clean and folded under, but they turned out really well.

There's the start of my "built-in" vanity!  Notice the tiny mirror that just isn't going to cut it, and the magnolia pictures that I found at Michael's ON CLEARANCE for a buck a piece!  I found a ton of other cute things to up-cycle on a lucky Saturday at Goodwill, which is the topic of my next post.

I found this mirror ON CLEARANCE at Home Goods for $22, and it's perfect for the space.  It has a very textured, metallic frame that I love.  (The tiny mirror will still be hung in the closet, just not as part of MY vanity.  Stay tuned...)

I'm currently looking for curtains/fabric to make curtains, and here are some of my favorites because they have large magnolia-looking flowers and are complementary colors:

I can't decide!  I'll probably wait and do the curtains last.  I also need to wait for a good sale/coupon.

The vanity area is not finished, so stay tuned!

Next up: The Accessory Wall.  This is the most fun project of my closet & vanity renovation so far because I got to actually DO many of the things I've seen and pinned on Pinterest this past year!