Classic 80’s Vanity Makeover

By: LJ Ober

​​If you had a girl growing up in the 1990’s you may have had or seen one of these classic girls makeup vanity sets. They came in either oak or cherry wood and were sold ready to assemble. It came with a bench with a . . . not so pretty fabric. They actually still make these makeup vanity sets today but for 3X the price as they did back then.

With two girls in our house, we went through two of these cute sets. I still have one left over in our lake cottage small master bedroom. The chevale mirror and matching bench have long since been gone but the vanity itself is in great shape except it is in need of an update. When I re-painted the bedroom the vanity got a needed paint job as well!

I do use chalk paint here and there but not for this project because I wasn’t going to give it the farmhouse look with chippy or sanded edges. I simply used a satin finished household paint that I had on hand in a pure white color and I’m pleased with how it turned out.

​The outdated gold handle definitely wasn’t going to go back on this piece so I needed to fill in the original holes. I simply applied several coats of caulking and for a seamless finish, letting it dry between applications. I rubbed the edge of a wooden paint stirrer across it to gather all of the excess. After it dried completely I sanded it a final time. I couldn’t resist hitting it one more time after it was painted because I saw some slight indentation.

​Luckily I had a left over gorgeous glass handle from an old dresser, and hubby drilled in a new hole in the drawer for me.

Speaking of the drawer, I decided to give it some character with a paisley print. I Hodge Podged a drawer liner inside and painted the exterior sides so it looks pretty when I open it. Shm. . . aside from all of the junk that will be filled in it!

The mirror hanging above was purchased from Dollar General a few years back and originally came in a dull pewter color but the soft blue livened it up.

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​While I had the paint and Hodge Podge out I painted the tray sitting on the top and lined it with the same print. Then I did a quick up-cycle on the cubby shelf shown below. Still yet to do is a change the fabric on the stool. This little project was done in a day but only because of letting the paint dry.
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​That’s it! . . . One quick makeover done.

It's a wrap on this one. Let it inspire you, I hope you love it!

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​I love Upcycling old home decor! If you have some items at home that you are edging to “get rid of “ (Pittsburgh verbiage, lol) consider giving it an overall instead. Stop back here for more ideas or give me a holler.

You never know what you can do until you try! Leave me a comment on what amazing projects that you have tackled. I’d love to hear and please share. ttyl

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