Well, I got the cabinet portion of the vanity completed and sanded to 150 grit and set aside for the next few days as my wife is off tomorrow so we plan on getting out and doing some stuff together. I still have to make the top and back splash, but I have to wait until I get the vessel bowl in from Amazon (Fed Ex shows it in Modesto, CA so may be here tomorrow) so I know the exact dimensions. I also am waiting for the door handles (which may be here tomorrow as well). With the July 4th Independance Day holiday, I may be put back until midway into next week so I hope I get the parts in so I can get started on the top on Saturday

 

This has been a very educational project as I am working from a photo and "winging it" making each piece like a puzzle. This is the 1st time I have made mortise & tenon doors as well as using through pins (walnut), so I did have quite a bit of trial and error into scrap wood, but I am happy with the results and will improve the next time around. I had planned on using surface mounted hinges but was unable to find what I wanted anywhere in the bronze finish that I needed and I am not about to paint hinges as I have been down that road before with poor results. I actually did find hinges that I really liked in the right finish, but they were $30 each x 4 which is $120 which is too much for my blood. So I changed over to the smaller 26mm Blum hinges which was a first for me as well. I am really liking these hinges and will definetly use them again. But since I was planning on using surface mount hinges, the frames of my doors were on the thinner side and just barely wide enough for the 26mm Blum's so I got a bit wider gap on the hinge side than I would have liked as they are adjusted in to their max. Nothing that most people would notice, but you know how hard of critics us woodworkers are of our own work.

 

I did one asthetic change and that was to the door details. The original design had a single decorative slat in the middle but it just didn't look right to me, so I made the doors with 2 of the slats which seemed to balance it out better. The most important thing is that my wife loves it and my motto for our 27 years of marraige has been "Happy wife, happy life." So overall I am very please with this project so far and am looking forward to moving into the next phase of it.

 

Here is a photo of the model vanity that my wife liked from a number of vanities I pulled of the web.

 

 

Here is the completed vanity (except for the top & back splash) ready for final 220 grit sanding and finish.

 

 

 

Very nice Allen. I like the walnut pegs on the doors. That is a very nice touch and really add to the door in my opinion.

 

I like the change to the door and like you said, if she likes it, life is good. That change also gives it your special touch.

 

Thanks for the great write up and explaining the decisions you have and are going through. It helps others see the decisions that have to be made on a project and how it might affect the outcome.

 

Enjoying following along, please keep us posted.

 

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

I got the vessel sink and the door hardware delivered today, but I had to do some yard work this morning and then Tami and I went out and had lunch and then did some shopping and now I am watching the NASCAR race from Daytona. So no work in the garage today but tomorrow after church and lunch I will get cracking on the top.

 

Here are photos of the vessel sink, faucet, door hardware and the accent tiles set on top of the vanity which will give you a better idea of the overall look that we are working at. I was thinking about putting a wood seperator between the tiles, but having them all lined up together my wife is liking that better and so do I. My wife is very happy with how it is coming together. She picked up a soap dispenser today that matches the faucet in color.  The metal pieces are all a bit different in color, but they work well together.

 

 

 

Coming together very nicely. I am liking it also.

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John Moody
John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

It is looking real nice Allen, good choice of materials and colors.

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Bob Kloes
www.bobkloes.com