I had to make myself sit down and finalize some decisions about the vanity wall design this weekend. My design ideas for this wall have gone through quite a change since the very beginning of this bathroom project.
Originally, I had planned on full vanities with a false front on Matt’s that could be opened for him to wheel up to in his wheelchair. And then I had planned a window seat in between the vanities. That would have looked something like this…
But along the way, I decided that (1) I needed to make things easier for Matt with an open design, and (2) I didn’t like the awkward space between the window and the window seat. What would go there? The same tile that I use on backsplash? Just a plain white wall? Trim to match the wainscoting? It was just an awkward space.
But really, the main issue was that I needed to make things easier for Matt…and frankly, for me too, since he needs my help with pretty much everything.
That’s when I decided to go with open tables for the vanity design, and then instead of the window seat, I would build a dresser for our storage. I ordered the legs for the vanities, and then started gathering all kinds of ideas for the dresser design, and that’s pretty much where things stopped.
So this weekend, I made myself sit down and make some decisions.
- Do I want the vanities the same height as the dresser, with one long, continuous countertop all the way across the 12.5-foot-wide wall?
- Do I want drawers in the table-style vanities, or will the dresser be enough storage?
- Do I want to add gold accents on the drawers of the dresser, or just leave it solid walnut?
- If the dresser is taller than the vanity tables, so I want a walnut top, or a top to match the vanities?
- How many drawers do I want on the dresser? And will they be wide drawers the width of the dresser? Or will it be cut in half so that Matt can have his side, and I can have mine?
- What details do I want on the dresser, if any? Will it have trim, or will it be plain?
- What about the bottom of the dresser? Will it have feet? Or will it sit flat on the floor?
These are decisions I’ve been putting off for a long time now because making a commitment on those details makes me nervous. But I finally did it. And unless I change my mind, here’s what it will look like.
First, this vanity from Kara Nicole Clark on Instagram became my main inspiration. I had collected all kinds of inspiration pictures, but I kept going back to this one.
And here’s what our new vanity wall design will look like…
The real legs aren’t as bulky as they ones in my drawing. 😀
So here are my decisions on those questions:
- I do not want a long, continuous countertop. I want the dresser to be higher than the vanities.
- I do want drawers in the table-style vanities. There won’t be a middle drawer, for obvious reasons. But I do want a small drawer on either side for small things — toothbrush, toothpaste, contact lens case, saline solution.
- I don’t want gold accents. I love the look of the vanity in the picture above.
- As of right now, I think I want the top of the vanity to have a walnut top so that it actually looks like a piece of furniture. That’s something I can always switch out later if I change my mind.
- I decided that I want the dresser to have my side and Matt’s side. At least for now, that’s what I want. It may end up with wide drawers, but drawers that are 45 inches wide just seems too much.
- I do want the drawers to be trimmed out just like the ones on the vanity in the picture. It’s simple, but so very pretty.
- I don’t want to have to clean under the dresser, so I want it to sit flat on the floor with pretty trim around the bottom.
The decisions are made, and I feel good about it. Now I just need to order some trim, and I’ll be ready to start building soon!
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
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