SUSAN’S PROJECTS

Victorian Table and Eastlake Mirror for Susan’s Master Bathroom

Susan was in the middle of building an addition onto her home when she began this project, and happily welcomed a little help from Adrienne. The master bathroom project was more complex in that it required not only painting and cutting the tabletop, but also some retrofitting of the drawers and purchasing of all the fixtures.

First, Susan found a mahogany table at Elmer's Antiques in Sperryville—this is a popular place to find unusual items, and it’s located in Rappahannock County (see details below). This old table had unique spiral legs, and it was the perfect height and depth to convert into a vanity. Susan hand painted this piece using an oil-based, high-gloss black paint from the Fine Paints of Europe (Real Paints of Holland collection) purchased from The Paint Shop in Warrenton. An important note: To convert any furniture piece into a vanity, the piece should ideally be 30 to 34 inches high and 20 to 22 inches deep.

Adrienne found an inexpensive marble top at Ekster Antiques in Leesburg. In order to make the sink functional, Susan had a fabricator cut the marble top so the sink would fit. He then added the marble back and side splashes from marble remnants he had on hand. The sink is from Kohler, and the fixtures are polished nickel from Newport Brass, both purchased through Ferguson in Culpeper.

Susan replaced the mahogany wooden knobs with crystal knobs purchased at Home Depot. Susan’s carpenter, Willie Shanks of Washington, Va., removed the drawers and retrofitted them so she could store her toiletries. The Eastlake-style mirror was one she already owned, that her in-laws had purchased years ago for her husband's D.C. bachelor apartment. She simply used the same high-gloss black paint to match the vanity.

The end result here (click on the "images" tab, above) is a contemporary look with a slightly vintage vibe, just what Susan was aiming for. The total master bath project costs, including plumbing, labor, fixtures and paint: $1,128.00