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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Wow Us Wednesdays 

Secretary Desk Makeover

What a curbside treasure! 



As I stopped to pick up the top portion of this desk, a lady came out of her garage with the legs and said that her father was so happy that this former treasure was getting restored. He gave up on repairing it.  

There was a good reason why it kept falling apart. 





The corner supports were made of pressed fiberboard. Like paper, it will continue to rip and come apart with any amount of stress on it. The desk and legs are made of hardwood and the weight pulled on the corners.

All of the glue attempts obviously failed. 

So using one of the corner pieces as a pattern, I made a new set out of pine wood. 

Reconstructing the legs onto the table with the wood supports was easy. 

Quite sturdy now, the desk was ready for its makeover. 

I cleaned all of the surfaces. 

Removed the drawer. Then wrapped up and taped the areas I didn't want to paint.  The burlwood deserved to be shown off. So using plastic food wrap and painters' tape, I enclosed and taped it to keep as is. 

Then I spray painted all of the other surfaces, including the back of the desk. 

The interior sported its original finish for a desk top area. 

The long legs have pretty "cat paws".

I made sure to tape off the sliding desktop supports to keep them wood tone as well. 

Doing so, added a little more character and contrast to the front. 

My "Miss Rose" chair goes well with it. 




It's a stunning desk in person. 

Have you found a trash to treasure piece?  If so, what are your plans for it? I'd love to hear about it! 

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Bonnie @ Our Secondhand House

Wow Us Wednesdays #195