We’re building a vacation rental on a budget and I plan to DIY a bunch of furniture for the space! The bathroom vanity was on the list to DIY and after finding this beautiful floating vanity from Loughlin Furniture, I knew I wanted to try and replicate it. For a 36” vanity it would cost over $3,000 but I am DIYing it for less than $400!
LUMBER LIST
| (#) | DIMENSION |
| (1) | 3/4″ x 4′ x 8′ Red Oak Plywood |
| (1) | 1/2″ x 4′ x 4′ Red Oak Plywood |
| (2) | 1″ x 8″ x 6′ Red Oak Board |
| (1) | 1″ x 2″ x 8′ Red Oak Board |
CUT LIST
| (#) | WOOD | LENGTH |
| (1) | 3/4″ Plywood | 36 x 23 1/4″ (Outside box – top) |
| (2) | 3/4″ Plywood | 33″ x 23 1/4″ (Inside box – top & bottom) |
| (2) | 3/4″ Plywood | 21 1/2″ x 23 1/4″ (Outside box – left & right) |
| (2) | 3/4″ Plywood | 20 1/4″ x 23 1/4″ (Inside box – left & right) |
| (1) | 1/2″ Plywood | 34 1/2″ x 23 1/4″ (Outside box – bottom) |
| (1) | 1″ x 8″ | 33″ x 8″ (Back brace) |
| (1) | 1″ x 2″ | 33″ x 1/2″ (Drawer stop) |
| (1) | 1″ x 8″ | 30 1/2″ x 6″ (Drawer – back) |
| (2) | 1″ x 8″ | 10″ x 6″ (Drawer – left & right) |
| (1) | 1″ x 8″ | 32 7/8″ x 7″ (Drawer – front) |
| (1) | 1/2″ Plywood | 31″ x 9 3/4″ ( Drawer – bottom) |
| (2) | 1″ x 2″ | 36″ x 1 1/2″ (Face trim – top & bottom) |
| (2) | 1″ x 2″ | 21 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ (Face trim – left & right) |
MISC ITEMS
| Vessel Sink |
| 10″ Drawer slides (1/2″ thick) |
| White wash stain |
| Polyurethane finish |
Cost= Under $400 (Lumber + sink + stain + drawer slides)
**Overall vanity dimensions: 36″ Wide x 21 1/2″ Tall x 24″ Deep**
Cut & Prep Lumber
Cut all your plywood down to size and lightly sand with 220 grit sandpaper so that it’s nice and smooth and ready to assemble.
Build Interior Box
Assemble your interior box using wood glue and brad nails to stabilize the panels. Reinforce with 1 1/4” screws making sure to countersink them under the surface. Make sure that the good side of all the boards are facing in. This will be the inside frame of the vanity. You don’t have to worry about any of the screws showing around the outside of the box because they will be hidden by the outer plywood box.
Install Drawer Stop & Backer Board
Next, cut a piece of 1×2 red oak board to fit inside the box, this will be your drawer stop. Secure this to the inside of the box using wood glue and brad nails.
Attach a backer board to the vanity. This is what you’re going to use to secure the vanity to the wall. I used scrap 1×4 but I recommend using some scrap 1 x 8 or 1 x 6 board if you have any left over from your project. Secure this to the inside of the box using wood glue and countersink 1 1/4” screws.
Build Exterior Box
Now that the inside of the vanity is assembled you can work on the outside box. For the bottom of this, I used 1/2” plywood, for the sides and the top I used 3/4”. I would have used 3/4” plywood for the bottom as well but then I would’ve had to buy an extra sheet of 3/4” plywood. I wanted to double up the plywood to give the vanity some added strength and to make it look a bit bulkier.
The bottom 1/2” plywood piece is straight cut on each side to match the bottom interior box. For the side 3/4” pieces I used my table saw to miter a 45 degree angle at the top of the board while keeping the bottom of the board straight cut since you won’t see those joints.
After the side panels were cut I clamped them in place so I could get an accurate measurement for the top 3/4” plywood piece.
For the top piece, miter each end at a 45 degree angle to make the corners meet up nice.
Once everything was dry-fit, secure the top panel first with wood glue and clamps. Then countersink 1” screws from underneath – you won’t see these screws.
For the side panels, secure them with wood glue and clamps. Then on the inside at the top secure a few screws since these will be hidden by the drawer. Add some additional brad nails from the inside bottom as well to secure the panel. You will have to just fill the small holes with wood glue.
Secure the bottom panel with wood glue and 1” screws.
Install 1×2 Face Trim
Use 1×2 red oak board to trim out the vanity. Miter the corners at a 45 degree angle then secure it to the vanity with wood glue and a few brand nails.
Fill Nail Holes & Sand
Fill all the nail holes with wood filler and sand once dried.
Build Vanity Drawer
The vanity drawer is very shallow since we need to make room for the plumbing underneath the sink. This drawer is about 10” deep.
For the drawer face use 1 x 8 board and rip it down at an angle to about 7 inches. The angled part of the drawer face is what you will pull on to open the drawer instead of using drawer hardware.
Use 1×8 board for the side and the back of the drawer but rip that down to 6”. For the bottom of the drawer use 1/2” red oak plywood.
To secure the drawer pieces together cut a 1/2” dado using a table saw (1/2″ up from the bottom of the panel). Make 4-5 1/8” passes on your table saw, moving the fence over an 1/8″ each time until the groove is 1/2” to fit the 1/2” bottom panel piece.
Use a 1/2” chisel to scrape out any leftover wood chunks.
To secure the drawer face to the drawer drill pocket holes on the outside of each side drawer pieces. Wait to install the drawer face last so you can get it nice and centered.
Assemble your drawer pieces together using wood glue and brad nails.
Sand & Stain
To finish up the vanity sand everything down once more with 220 grit sandpaper making sure to round each of the edges of the vanity and the drawer a bit.
I originally went in with this weathered oak stain but I didn’t love it. Instead, I sanded it down lightly and added a white wash and I like it 100 times better!! The white wash on red oak makes it look more like white oak. Make sure to cover the entire vanity with a waterproofing polyurethane to finish it off!
Install Drawer
These are 12” soft closing drawer slides, they’re the shortest slides I could find but if you can, use 10” drawer slides to fit the 10″ drawer. Install the drawer slide to the vanity and to the sides of your drawer.
Place the drawer in the slide, center your drawer face and then clamp the drawer face in place. Secure the drawer face using 1 1/4″ pocket screws.
Install Sink & Faucet
I still have to drill a hole in the top of the floating vanity so that the sink sits flat, and to make room for the plumbing fixtures. Our plumbing will be going through the wall underneath the vanity so it will be completely hidden by the drawer. We’re also planning on adding some additional backing to tie the vanity into during the framing of the bathroom so this vanity will be nice and secure.
Install Floating Vanity
Install the floating vanity into studs in your wall (through the backer board) at a comfortable height.
