How to Convert a Sewing Machine to a Bathroom Vanity

From This.

To This. 

While I'd love to pretend that I did all the hard work in this renovation, I can't deny that it was practically all my husband's doing. Thus, I'm interviewing him for this post. Before I do, here's what we started with. I had been using this old Singer sewing machine as an end table in our family room for a while. We bought it for $40 at a thrift store, one of our first thrifty purchases as a married couple. The grey, granite sink vessel we bought at an auction two years ago for $25. I had it for sale at my shop for the longest time, and when I finally decided I no longer wanted to sell it, everyone wanted to buy it. No joke. I kept it though, knowing I wanted to use it in our house if we ever got around to redoing our upstairs bathroom. I bought this special vessel sink faucet and this drain on ebay. A regular faucet won't do, since you can't reach behind the tall sink to turn on the water (you need the lever on top or wall mounted).

Total we probably spent a couple hundred on this vanity, but in my head it was more like $100 since we already had two of the main pieces, including plaster and tools from previous jobs. The slate back splash came later as a result of a bad plaster job behind the old ripped out vanity.
Here goes:

What were your first thoughts when I told you I wanted to use your beloved, vintage sewing machine table in the bathroom?   Thank goodness my wife has finally decided to use a sewing machine.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how easy did you anticipate this reno being? 1 being super easy, 10 being ridiculous.  1  Piece of cake.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how easy was the actual process? 1 being super easy again.  8 Piece of blank.

What was the initial process for prepping the console for its conversion?  First I had to detach all hardware from the original, intact sewing machine.  Lots of flat head screws that probably haven't been touched in 80 years. Jordan polyurethaned the whole thing so it'd be more water resistant. After taking out the machine, we screwed the original flip out top back on into place so it would be secure. Then I placed the sink and faucet on top to get an idea of where to drill the holes.

What tools did you use to cut the holes for the faucet and the sink drain?  Hole saw with mandrel.

What were some unexpected dilemmas that you came across?  In order to line up the sink drain trap with the pipe in the wall, I had to go through or around the Singer emblem that  bridged the two legs of the console.  After trying to go above and below the sign, I realized I would have to cut the cast iron Singer emblem.  There were four other dilemmas that I plan to never speak of again.

Our Singer without the "e" so the pipe would fit through

Any other steps or tips that you'd like to inform us about?  Never over-analyze a custom job.  You will talk yourself out of doing the work, and chances are, you won't even think of the real problems that will arise.   Just go for it and commit to finishing the job.

Do you think the result is worth it (aka would you do it all over again)?  Yes!  For many reasons.  First, I survived.  Second, our marriage survived.  Third, I learned a lot.  Fourth, if we ever decide to sell, this vanity is going to matter to our buyer.  Fifth, vanities are too expensive.  We were very fortunate to spend $200 on a custom vanity.

Our new favorite hand soap, Pecksniff's England, from TJMaxx (thanks, Dorothea).
Sandalwood & Vanilla, mmm...plus, it's so pretty. 

One large basket on top stores our cleaning supplies that used to go under the sink. 

And one basket underneath stores toilet paper in a pretty fashion. 

The cubby holes are perfect for little girl bows.

Now for the last and final step: glass doors are being installed on Tuesday... yay!

Oh, and we should probably grout the backsplash. 

Updated picture with the glass doors- such a big difference.

Real Estate Monday: Swissvale

Each week I look at hundreds of homes. Seriously. It's a sick obsession. But I feel like Pittsburgh has the PERFECT market for someone like me. There's so much for so little out there, and that's why I love it. I know you know this already, so back to the hunt of the week. It's going to be a brand new, old home in a few short months. The Mon Valley Initiative has been redoing homes throughout the Mon Valley region (Swissvale, Rankin, Braddock, and Homestead) for quite some time now. They've taken old, run down homes and gutted them to the studs, sometimes even taking those down. Then they reconfigure layouts till they achieve an awesome, modern floor plan retrofitted into a beautiful, old house. The goal is to encourage families to move back into areas that are threatened by mass foreclosures, and, in essence, have a trickle-up effect on the community. I like that idea. My husband and I toured some homes in Rankin on 3rd street that were already redone, and even tried to put an offer in on one that wasn't even completed. Turns out it already had an offer on it from the day before. Congratulations to whoever bought 151 3rd Ave. it's going to be an amazing home! Tear.
Anyways, their next project is in Swissvale, which in my opinion isn't a bad area at all. It's at 7720 Westmoreland Ave. Listed at $105,000, it's going to actually cost them over $200,000 to restore. It has its original stained glass windows still intact, will have a 3rd floor master suite, and 4 beds/2 baths in all. The MVI does something unique in each home they redo. Whether it's a vaulted living room ceiling, or a Juliette balcony off a bedroom, I'm sure they have something absolutely spectacular in store for this one. The only catch to this house is you have to qualify income-wise, and to do so you can't make more than 80% of the average median income, which I guess in this case for a family of 3 is $46,700. So if you qualify, and you've always wanted the joys of a new build with the charm of an old house, here's your chance. Can't wait to see the finished result.

Notice the caption, this is not the actual bathroom, but a picture of another house they redid. From the three houses I saw, the bathrooms were all similar to this- simple and classic with subway tile showers. 

For more info, or to see previous homes already redone by MVI you can click on Christa Ross' website. She's their realtor and has been pretty helpful so far. Thanks for the heads up on the house, Christa.

(three) 5x8 rugs for $65 each

Short & Sweet Post:
I've have had these three rugs since the Sq. Hill shop and it's time to unload. I bought them new at an auction and they've only been used in the store. They're 100% wool and I have the shedding to prove it! So here they are, each 5'x8', and each only $65 (cheaper than what I paid)! I'll take this post down when they're gone.

Brown/Green/Beige Striped
SOLD

Grey/Green Striped

Black/Orange/Fuschia/White Striped

Real Estate Monday: West Homestead

Hey guys and gals, welcome back to Real Estate Monday. Only in Pittsburgh can you find a $450,000 mansion next to a $176,000 house that can equally be called a mansion to some. Both are on the market, and we're going to look at both of them side by side. I made my husband drive past them Saturday night on the way home from the movies at the Waterfront. If you're not familiar with the Waterfront, or Homestead, the borough it sits in, you can click here for a quick historical synopsis. Basically, it was home to one of the largest steel mill plants in the world. Now it's home to Sandcastle, lots of major retail stores, and a Lowes movie theater. Plus, you can bike the Great Allegheny Passage trail and it only take about 45 minutes to get to the Point downtown. We did this for our 5th wedding anniversary and stayed at a hotel in the South Side Works...such a blast!
With all that fun at your finger tips, West Homestead, though rough in some parts, has a ton of potential.
Here's house #1 the Bryce-Mesta Mansion. The original owners were the founders of Mesta Machine Co.- an old steel company located below the hill on the banks of the Monongahela.
Among this 10 bedroom 5 and a half bath house is a home theater, a ballroom, and of course, a panic room. It looks like it needs quite a bit of renovations, but I think this would make an incredible bed n' breakfast. Here are a couple pictures I took from the listing page. The rest of the pictures show the inside ripped down to the studs and completely rewired. I'm guessing the new owner needs to finish the drywall?

And house #2 is directly next door to the left. It sits on 2.5 acres and looks every bit as regal as the first, but in different ways. Just look at the gorgeous barn-like door at the bottom of the main steps.

While the decorating is a little too frou-frou for my taste, it looks like it's been meticulously well-kept. For a 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom house on this much land, I can't imagine getting more bang for your buck anywhere else. As for the location, it's up a gigantic hill, then thankfully a level street that has about four or five other grand houses on it as well. It's pretty industrial around there, but I certainly like how close it is to all the fun.
Happy Monday, thanks for stopping by! 

Clever (& easy) Re-Purposed Bedroom Furniture Ideas

I've been seeing a lot of cute ideas lately for re-purposing some everyday, ordinary bedroom items. We have some great (and inexpensive) pieces in the shop just begging to be redone and enjoyed again. So here we go:
Buy a regular headboard & footboard (we have two full sized ones, and one twin) and re-imagine it into something like this:

source & directions

or a welcome sign like this: 

source

 Buy a desk like this:

And turn it into a one-of-a-kind vanity like this:

source & directions

 Buy a vanity like this:

And turn it into a fun bench like this:

source & directions

Did that get your imagination going? Hope so... there's plenty more where this came from. Next post is how we turned an old sewing table into a bathroom vanity, part of our small bathroom renovation. 

Real Estate Monday: Greentree

Today (or rather this evening) we'll be looking at a house located a short distance from the city, nestled towards the end of a cul-de-sac in Greentree. It's a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom house currently listed at $249.9k. I've got to give this house an A for both curb appeal and for staging. It's clean, de-cluttered, and I feel like the decor highlights the character of the house. I love both galley style kitchens, and big ones with islands in the middle- this kitchen has somehow meshed both styles and it's beautiful. Take a look below, or click here for the listing on Zillow with more photos.

Gorgeous landscaping!  

Can you see that huge farm sink? I love it. 

My Black Bath

I've finally started redoing our upstairs bathroom. And what color did I chose? You guessed it- black! Most people's jaws drop when I tell them this, and I have to admit the reaction never gets old. But seriously, it's pretty dramatic. And that's exactly what my little space needed. Here's my inspiration pic from Martha Stewart's website.

Thankfully my bathroom already had the bottom half painted bright white (unfortunately, it used to be pretty subway tile that the previous owners plastered over). I love this deep pewter grey color they used, and while I went more black, the end result was very similar and I'm pretty pleased. The paint I chose is Francesca by Martha Stewart, and I got it in an eggshell finish so it'd be a little matted. It's funny, T and I have been nicknaming her toy frog "Francesca", so when I saw this paint color, I was like, "oh how perfect".

Here are some embarrassing before photos. I'm almost too ashamed to show you so don't judge. It's so small that I can barely capture it, but you get the idea.

And here is the result so far.

I didn't want this bathroom to have a cookie-cutter feel. Part of achieving this meant having different metals for my fixtures. Gone are the days when everything needs to match. 

 My husband thought I was crazy for spray painting the chrome, over-the-toilet rack gold. I had these gold-framed  pictures from my shop in mind to tie it all together.

 I bought some hot pink towels like the inspiration photo, but toned it down with some soft blue-green ones. 

 I simply replaced the old shades on the sconces with these sleek, white ones from Home Depot. Cheap and easy fix. No wiring is always better. Plus, I really like the brass against the black. 

Even the radiator got a paint job. Dove Tail white is a fresh white with grey undertones so you don't get that yellowed white look. 

I even painted the ceiling. I wanted to give the appearance of a larger room and by painting the ceiling the same color as the wall the eye just keeps going up. 

So far the only costs of this renovation is paint. The real cost is going to come in the form of new glass doors. A move I believe will be well worth the $900 (thank you awkward bathroom for needing custom shower doors). I've lived with a shower curtain that doesn't quite slide on an old shower door track for 2 and a 1/2 years too long, and I can hardly wait. 

 Also, we're contemplating using this old Singer sewing machine as a vanity with this granite vessel bowl. I like the idea of such a unique vanity, and throwing some wood in there might add a little touch of coziness. I'm not totally digging the grey bowl on top though... maybe too bulky? What do you think?