The hall bath vanity.

This has been such a fun project for me, but I've come to a place where I need your help! Let me give you the back story first, because I think it's just hilarious. Remember that auction I went to back in June? I went hoping for a trinket to remember a friend by and returned at the end of the day with truckloads of goodies? Well, this was one of the treasures I captured:

I was so enamored with the auction process that I really did get caught up in the fun of it all and just began bidding on stuff I never would need. Then when the auctioneer (who was goin' bout a mile a minute...taking bids and callin' them outloud....any John Michael Montgomery fans out there?) got to this piece NO ONE even made a starting bid. It was an old record player piece. The front doors slide open (super cool) and the top has two lids that lift up (super duper cool). I thought it was dog ugly but when the auctioneer was getting irritated that NO ONE would even bid, I started to feel really sorry for it. Like it was a puppy at the pound and it just needed a good home. I shouted out $5 hoping that I would spark some interest and somebody else would take it home for six bucks. They didn't. I got to keep it. My first thought was, "my husband is gonna kill me."

I had NO IDEA what I was gonna do with the ugly thing. I mean look at this hardware...and that caning background. ew.

 But then it hit me. It was the PERFECT size for the vanity I had been hunting for in the kids' bathroom! It was long, and low and might just be amazing with a little creativity. I began brainstorming and before I even left the auction, I had a plan! I would remove the caning and add radiator metal. I would rough it up and paint it and make it look a lot older than the 70s era it really was. Some new hardware and topmount sink would really spruce it up. And the sides that lifted to store old records in? I would replace them with built-in baskets so the kids could store their toothbrushes et al in there!

*totally scored that record for free!*

So, I had a plan. And that was back in June. And I've been busy and it's been on my to-do list ever since. I finally got Brad to help me move it OUT of the dairy barn (that is stuffed to the rafters with our stuff) and into the gray barn so I could have some space to work and I bought the supplies and started on it last week. 

Step 1:

I had to demo it. Ripping out the speakers and the caning was harder than I thought. I finally took a sledgehammer to the front and got them out. The sides where the records and player were hidden (under the lift up flaps) was the hardest part to demo.

Step 2:

I took a sander to it. It was HIGH varnish and I could feel the chemicals settling in my lungs. All for the sake of DIY. :)

Step 3:

I painted it a really quirky mauve/lavender color. My vision was to have a really old crackled paint job of antique white with some eggplant purple coming through the cracks. I found this pint of paint on the mistint shelf for $3 and fell in love with it. Over 2 days I managed to get 2 coats on. I'm telling you, life is just not NEARLY as productive with kids. I would have done this entire project in an afternoon back in the good ol' days!

Step 4:

I thought they made a crackle-finish spray paint, but I wasn't able to find it at Home Depot. Instead I found a crackle kit at Ace Hardware here in Seminole. It was $25 which was hard to swallow but I kept thinking how I was only in it 8 bucks. Last Saturday, the Pokes were off, so we had a productive day at the farm. Desi wanted to help me so I figured, what the heck. He applied the crackle finish...both on the vanity...and his hands.

Step 5:

Then I painted on just a single coal of "bone white" paint. I started with a regular paintbrush which wasn't working too well, so I used a sponge brush like the crackle instructions called for. I didn't think it worked very well either. It came out super streaky, and the crackle didn't seem to be working at all. I kept going and hoped that time to dry would make it better.

Step 6:
I needed to do a little reconstruction to the piece. It needed a new floor and some prep for where the baskets would sit.
Feeling a little frustrated with the streakiness of the white, I set off to find a piece of wood for the bottom of the vanity. There was a weird piece of screen in the center of the floor of it which I assume was for sound purposes? Anyway, it needed a new floor and I was determined to use some power tools and do it myself. I needed a piece 59.5" long and 16" wide and as I wandered through the garage and back porch I came across a really nice piece of plywood that looked about right. As I measured I literally could NOT believe my eyes. It was 59.5x16!!! I squealed outloud! I ran it over to the barn and it fit PERFECTLY. Whoa.

Step 7:
The last step on the crackle paint instructions was to apply an antiquing agent which would basically just add a brownish hue to the paint. I was still unsure how I felt about the piece and thought, well, what the heck. I applied just a bit and focused mainly on the edges and the carved detail. I started to think, well, maybe I do like it...

I told my mama, it's like if I saw it in an antique store I would love it...but because I did it maybe I think it looks like a fake. I'm just not sure. The streaks are really obvious but it is supposed to look kinda junky.

I haven't put on the polyurethane topcoat yet because I need someone to just tell me what to do. Should I leave it? Or should I paint on more white and then sand some off? If I did that much less of the purple would show through...hmmmmm.

Once I decide I will install the baskets under the top lids and then glue on the radiator metal to the front 4 doors.

So, what's your vote?