guest bathroom round one: the vanity

Greetings! I've been absent. During that absence, I switched my e-mail subscriptions over to Mailchimp, and I don't know if those apes will successfully deliver this post. To anyone. Ever. Let me know, will ya?

In the meantime, I'll endeavor to write a read-worthy post and pretend there is someone out there who will at least take a peek. Otherwise, what's the point?

We've been living in our new home nearly four years now, and our guest bathroom is still unfinished. While that might sound like a terrible inconvenience, no one really likes us enough to want to be our guest in the first place. Probably because we make you bring your own beer, wine, and food, and insist you bring us a supply as well. (I like any Sauvignon Blanc as well as Apothic Dark for future reference.)

Or, perhaps it's because Gracie refers to the guest bathroom as "The Room Where Dad Poops Every Morning." 

That's right. There's a toilet, but unless you want to wash your hands in the bathtub (or in the toilet you just defiled), you must find an alternative soap-and-water source.

So, why does Philly poop here instead of in our beautiful master bath? It's simple. There are two creatures indigenous to this particular bathroom that are terribly important to his "process." 

First? The Squatty Potty (or, as I call it, the poop stool--which is a bit redundant and makes me giggle). Second is Mr. Kindle, upon which Philly ruthlessly battles Spider Solitaire while taking care of business.

I know I don't have to explain to you how difficult it is to photograph a small space. With that in mind, please enjoy these professional photos of our bathroom without a sink.

Can you guess where the sink should be?

I didn't think so.

Here's another little snafu. Snafus tend to occur when you design your own home, live in the space, then eventually come to the conclusion you completely screwed something up.

The toilet is behind the door.

But no worries! This gives me the perfect excuse to rip the door off and destroy it while Phil is at work and leave him with no choice but to build and install a sliding barn door instead.

Genius, says I.

No effing way, says Phil.

Why have we waited so long to install a sink vanity? It's because of my undying love for my husband, that's why.

Over the years, he has begged and pleaded with me to purchase a ready-made vanity and plop it in there. I have held fast to my vision of (him) building an open-style vanity with a vessel sink that will fit perfectly into the alcove in the bathroom. You see, I know how much pleasure and pride it will bring him to gaze upon his hand-made creation every time he...ummm...sits.

My friends, that day has come. 

We roughly followed THIS PLAN from Ana White. I know that you know I mean Phil followed the plan. I don't power-tool. Unless it's the electric corkscrew to ready delicious wine for consumption. I'm all over that.

We went on a date to Menards and hand-picked out the various pieces of cedar to use to build the vanity. I chose not to stain the cedar because:
     1. I'm lazy
     2. Cedar is soft and might not take stain evenly
     3. I'm lazy and didn't want to deal with #2
     4. The bathroom is poorly lit, so I wanted to keep the vanity light in color
     5. I'm lazy

Phil was a veritable superhero building the base and putting together the top. I did my part by bossing him around and telling him which pieces go where. Oh, I also hit the whole thing with General Finishes High Performance Flat clearcoat. I love this stuff. It's the same topcoat I used on MY RED BUFFET, and Reese's BUFFET, and it's still my favorite.

The vanity is looking amazing and is being installed as we speak. Here are some preview shots.

Phil's sexy leg modeling his new masterpiece:

That Damn Cat flaunting the fact she's still alive:

Finally, the finished piece after enough coats of clear to choke a velociraptor, waiting for round two in the bathroom.

Or is that Number Two?

I love the bottom shelf.

The board across the top front is my favorite part of the whole piece, though.

From here, we'll move on to the remaining steps to complete the guest bathroom. We've already painted, so next steps are tile, mirror, sink/faucet installation, and faux board & batten.

In other news, Gracie von Schnauzer and Izzy the Damn Cat are doing just fine.

My baby girl Emma got married!

Not only was I the Mother of the Bride, but I was the Matron of Honor as well.

Some of the glass is hard to read, but it says:

"First My Mama,

Always my Best Friend...

Will you be my Matron of Honor?"

Double duty was amazing. ♥♥♥♥♥♥

Philly and I celebrated our eighteenth adversity day!

And, if you can believe it, my little Reesie-Pie will turn one year old in just a few weeks. Holy smokes.

It won't be long now and Grandi will be teaching her how to pour wine into her sippy cup.

Thanks for visiting!

Update! PART TWO can be found HERE!