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Friday, September 26, 2014

Vanity and Bench Makeover




How lucky I was to get my hands on this gorgeous Leo Jiranek Designer vanity and bench seat! 





Unfortunately, it was brush painted; and the upholstered bench pad and mirror were missing. 











But missing parts weren't a problem. I made the set complete after all.  A thrift store mirror worked itself into the set. 






With a trial run for the look, I went with it. 






I started with the bench seat.  I sanded down the top to raw wood. Then painted the legs.  I also removed the drawers from the vanity.  Then cleaned the vanity and painted it. (I'm missing those vanity painting photos, being busy with 15 projects going on.)



Then using newspaper, I made a pattern to cut a piece of plywood for an upholstered seat pad. 



The pattern was large enough to cut the curves with the band saw. 






I wanted to maintain the original design of the seat for the upholstered piece, yet allow about 1.5" of the designer's wood top to show. 



Then I stained the wood. Then coated with polyurethane. 



It was doing what I planned.  I loved it. 



I used memory foam for the padded seat. Cutting it to fit over the plywood piece. 



I used this fine wale corduroy fabric to match the vanity color. 


I put the padded piece aside while working on the mirror. 


I cleaned the mirror, then taped it off for painting. 




I painted the mirror frame and the swivel attachment. When dried, I measured to center it onto the vanity. 


I drilled pilot holes through the swivel frame into the vanity top. Then secured it with wood screws. 

Then put the mirror back in its place. 


It took a few days and many hours to  remove the thick white paint job from the drawers. 


But it was so worth it. The wood is beautiful. 

I stained the drawers to match the bench seat. 




I took out of storage,  these square wooden knobs given to me from my mother, who had them from one of her projects.  I cleaned them up and painted them to match the vanity. 



Measuring to center the knobs, I drilled holes through the drawers and added them. I purposely wanted the knobs to appear diamond shape rather than square for a design statement. 


With the vanity now complete, 

I attached the upholstered pad with screws through the bottom of the bench seat. 



I really adore the contrast while maintaining the original vintage style. 






So well constructed; this vanity should last a century or much longer with proper use. 






It's a very heavy and solid piece. No repairs were needed.  No major modifications.  Just a couple of additions and a makeover to bring it back to life. 




I appreciate that even though it's different now, it maintains its classic style. 






I was very pleased that it came together the way I planned. 




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http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2014/11/show-and-share-no-237.html




Wow Us Wednesdays 








60 comments:

  1. You did a great job pairing the mirror with the vanity--you'd never know those two didn't come together! I would love to have a little place like this to do makeup in the morning. You've got me inspired to find one I can makeover!

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  2. That is the power of paint! You can force things together by painting them. I couldn't keep this because I didn't have room. Luckily it sold right away. I hope you find one, Carrie :) Thank you so much for the visit!

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  3. What a cool makeover! I hope you will link it up at the Found & Foraged Linky Party tonight! Hope to see you there http://www.thebigrevealblog.com

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  4. Thanks for the invite, Grace! I look forward to it :)

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  5. Yay! So glad you linked this up. Hope you will come again next week:)

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  6. Wow! you are very skilled! Great job!
    Rebekah @ Charming Imperfections

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  7. Great job! Thanks for sharing at the #saygdayparty. Pinned!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha in Oz

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  8. Thank you, Rebekah! :) So glad you stopped by.

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  9. Thanks for the pin, Natasha :) Hope you have a great week!

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  10. That was quite a transformation! Great job.

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  11. Amy @ Marvelous MommyNovember 18, 2014 at 11:28 AM

    Wow such a difference! You did a great job!

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  12. I want to be just like you when I grow up. Wow!! Your work is fabulous. Can you come to Bainbridge and help me repair this day bed that I am getting ready to sell? I love this. And the stool is so inviting with that raised cushion.

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  13. What a beautiful piece you have made. Love that you restored some of the wood and paired it with the paint. Such a statement. Thank you for sharing at Share It One More Time. Cathy

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  14. LOL, you're too cute! I'd love to come by for a getaway. We'd have fun repairing the daybed and I bet with the teamwork, it would get done faster. Thanks so much, Trish!

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  15. The wood is beautiful. I was happy to show the contrast between the wood grain and the glossy paint.
    Thank you for stopping, Cathy!

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  16. What a difference, you are so good at this, it's like magic (but of course it's really lots of hard work)

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  17. Jessica @ Cape of DreamsNovember 19, 2014 at 9:29 AM

    This looks amazing! I never would have guessed that the mirror did not belong to the set.

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  18. What a beautiful transformation! I love the contrast between the black paint and wood! Thank you so much for sharing at The Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!!

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  19. What an amazing transformation, it looks like all the pieces were meant to be together. It's good to see some of the beautiful old wood. Thanks so much for sharing at Vintage Inspiration Party.

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  20. My jaw has dropped to the floor. This is one amazing transformation. Thank you for sharing the vanity at Make It Monday..

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  21. Looks fantastic. Looks like you bought it that way! Thanks for linking up to Show Me Saturday!

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  22. Thank you for stopping by and for having me! :)

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  23. What an amazing transformation. You did a fabulous job of bringing this piece back to life!
    Dorene
    seasonalchapters.blogspot.com

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  24. Wow! This turned out great. The two-toned look is really popular, so this piece looks much more modern now. Great job! Thanks for linking up with Hump Day Happenings.

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  25. Wonderful! You continue to amaze me! Thanks for sharing with #SmallVictoriesSunday #linkup. Pinned to our linky board and tweeted.

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  26. Your project turned out great, I dont know much about periods of furniture, would this be considered retro? I had a vanity that belonged to my aunt, would have been over 50 years old, I left it with my daughter to use for while, when they got ready to downsize and without knowing, her or I, she sold it, she thought I had picked it up at a thrift store, so sad:)


    Thanks for sharing at Oh My Heartsie Girl Friday Feature this week!!

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  27. From an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan! Gorgeous piece of furniture.

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  28. How beautiful! You made it look so simple, but I know it was a lot of work! Thanks so much for sharing on Turn It Up Tuesday! We love having you! :)

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  29. Yes, this is retro, in fact during "Jerry's" (as he was called) Metro Retro era. I found a chest of drawers to go with it that sold for $795 https://www.etsy.com/listing/191860499/mid-century-modern-leo-jiranek-heywood
    It is sad to lose a family piece like you did. I have my grandmother's hoosier cabinet. I refinished it 20 years ago and no matter how it gets or I don't have room for it, I'll never part with it
    I'm so glad you stopped, Karren. Thank you so much!

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  30. Thank goodness for paint! It can be so forgiving :)
    Thank you, Betsy!

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  31. I'm so glad you stopped in. Thank you so much for having me!

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  32. Thank you so much for visiting and the kind comment, Jenna! Hope you have a great weekend!

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  33. You are so sweet, Tanya. Thank you for pinning and sharing! Hope you have a great weekend!

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  34. What a lovely thing to say! Thank you, Marigene.

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  35. You nailed it. It's a lot of simple work :) It really is, just one step after another to get to the finished result. I admit, not all projects are this easy as I'm working on a few complicated ones right now.


    I'm glad you like this one. Thank you so much!

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  36. Amazing transformation! You really gave this piece new life. Thank you for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday!

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  37. Hello gorgeous! I absolutely love this! Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see on Monday at 7 pm. We love to party with you! Happy Saturday~Lou Lou Girls

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  38. Thank you, Karen. I'm so glad you stopped by!

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  39. I'm always so grateful for your pins, Kim! Thank you!

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  40. Stunning. I really love the colours you used, it really makes it "pop".

    Thanks for linking up to Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning.

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  41. Thanks so much for stopping and for the lovely party!

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  42. I LOVE this! I'm very jealous :-)

    Thanks for linking up at the Talented Tuesday Link Party!

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  43. You do such a nice job on these redos! Thanks for linking
    up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party! I’ve pinned your post to
    the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.

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  44. Thank you for the pin, the lovely party and your kind visit, Tammy!

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  45. Aw, thank you... wish you lived closer so I could do one for you too!

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  46. Very creative re-do! Nice job!

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  47. Such a beautiful transformation! I love the color/stain you chose - it works so well with the style of the furniture. Thank you so much for sharing at Talented Tuesday - I hope to see you again this week!

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  48. Thank you, Julie! Glad you like it :)

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  49. Thank you so much for visiting and kindly commenting! I look forward to your link ups.

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  50. Leia @ Eat It & Say YumDecember 3, 2014 at 10:42 AM

    What a great transformation! The before and after look totally different, nice job! Thanks for sharing at On Display Thursday, come again tonight! :)

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  51. What a great find and the outcome is so retro. thanks for sharing this on Fabulous Friday, hope to see this Friday

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  52. I look forward to it, thanks so much Maria :D

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