Sunday, September 11, 2016

Bathroom Rehab: Hemnes Vanity

Included in my bathroom rehab were a new vanity cabinet, sink and faucet: a Hemnes two-drawer cabinet and Rattviken sink from IKEA and a Giagni Andante faucet from Lowe's. A plain white vanity is not the look I'd hoped for... but in general, I love all three pieces. The cabinet's two drawers provide lots of storage. The sink, countertop, and backsplash are all integrated, which makes cleaning easy. There's plenty of space on the countertop to set a soap pump, toothbrush holder, etc.

I later added some decals to the vanity.

The faucet... well, the faucet just looks awesome. I love the way the water flows. :)

The Hemnes cabinet requires some unusual plumbing. Behind the drawers, there is a space of less than 6 inches for all the plumbing to fit into. IKEA has cleverly designed a system that will fit, and the Hemnes cabinet comes with all the required pieces (known as the Rinnen water trap assembly). Though the assembly is quite different than the standard P-trap setup, it looked DIY-friendly, and I thought I could handle it myself.

But when I checked my existing plumbing, I saw that the shut-off valves stuck out 8 inches from the wall. They would need to be replaced... which would require cutting and soldering copper pipe... which would require tools that I don't have. So I opted to hire a handyman to replace the shut-off valves.

He bravely agreed to tackle the unusual water trap assembly as well (and graciously tolerated me helping/watching the entire process). It turned out to be pretty easy. :) The only problem he encountered was that the existing waste pipe was 1.25 inches while the Rinnen pipe was 1.5 inches. An adapter (purchased for a couple dollars at Lowe's) solved that problem.

In researching installation of the Rinnen water trap (which is used with Hemnes and Godmorgon cabinets), I found that many people couldn't make it work and had resorted to cutting the back of the drawer. So I'm posting some photos of my setup in case they are helpful to others.




Not as exciting as the new vanity, but equally necessary, was the new toilet. It's just a basic off-the-shelf toilet, but it works better than the old one... and it's all white. No more two-tone toilet!

I also replaced the worn-out storage cabinet. Like the new vanity, the new cabinet is plain and white... not at all the dark gothic glamour style I'd hoped and planned for. But stuff happened, and I had to go with what was available.

When I bought the house, the bathroom did not have wood baseboards. It had cove base, which is a vinyl product generally used in public restrooms. The cove base was attached with a VERY strong adhesive, and removing it shredded the bottom 5 inches of the walls.

I had to buy the largest baseboards available in the store and add shoe molding to cover all the damage. The resulting trim is a bit grander than I might normally have used in such a tiny room, but I think it looks very nice.

All that remains are the accessories, and the rehab will be complete!

13 comments:

  1. Have you thought about getting some peel and stick wall decals to put on the cabinet and vanity? Since it's Halloween shopping season, you can probably find some bat themed ones.

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  2. Are you able to paint any of the new items?

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    1. I previously tried twice to paint a cabinet and made a failed attempt to paint a vanity. :( I'm not willing to risk it.

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    2. There are ways. Contact paper, wallpaper, or just bats! Don't worry, goth will not be chased out of your bathroom! We believe in you! :D

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    3. Go for as many black and purple or grey accessories as you can, it will look more elegant. Sorry for the double post.

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    4. Thank you for the vote of confidence. :) I have a number of black accessories, plus purple rugs and shower curtain. The room won't scream "goth" but hopefully the end result won't seem out of place with the rest of the house.

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  3. WOW, I love the new bathroom it looks stunning, I like grand skirting boards. I've just purchased my first house with my partner. I've had to renovate the bathroom due to my lack of DIY knowledge I got the professionals in. I wish had your skills. I think I'm going to be definitely be taking some of your ideas. Hope you don't mind. lol.

    Also, I've encountered a similar issue with my bathroom on how to create an gothic aesthetic still unsure how I'll do it. I think it's going to be through accessories.

    It's so great to have you blogging again, I look forward to reading your next post.

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    1. Thanks! You are welcome to any ideas. That's why I blog. :)

      I had the perfect elegant gothic bathroom in mind... but it would have been very expensive. Alas, my budget was small and a deadline was looming, so I had to be practical. Thus I'll have to rely on accessories as well.

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  4. I think that you will definitely be able to find a way to incorporate the white items into your Gothic aesthetic that will look very pleasing. Sometimes I think white is underrated in such things.

    I look forward to seeing what you do with them, should you post about it.

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    1. I love black and white together, particularly stripes and damask. Plus white is a good background to feature black on... so I'll try to work with that.

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  5. Wow, you sure did a lot of work, it looks excellent!

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    1. Thank you! Hmmm... now that I think about it... you are right, I have done a lot of work. :) Almost everything in the room has been replaced.

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