Many people consider that renovating the decor is somehow just moving forward. It is true that we are now facing a new concept. Something totally different or a better version of the old decoration; however, a decoration can be made from recycled elements, like cabinets.
Vintage style, Retro style and Hipster style. None of them was born from something new, but from a new conception of the old.
Here we will show you great ideas and techniques for redesigning your bathroom decor using old cabinets. Get ready to be amazed because what you will see below includes the use of many great recycling and DIY techniques!
Turning the Old into Something New and Beautiful
First of all, you should know that recycling is a way of life that everyone should adopt and apply. The Vintage style was not born by itself, and our planet needs more people to think about the next generations.
The big surprises that you can take if you start to recycle will surely make everything worthwhile, so do not hesitate to start trying.
Secondly, I can assure you that the job of recycling and re-imagining a piece of furniture is not easy, Vintage or Retro? They differ clearly and many people do not know it.
The retro style is when we re-imagined the old decoration and try to take it to our time again as it was and as it used to be.
The Vintage style on the other hand, is when using the original materials and altering them to the smallest extent possible; We give back the life to an old piece of furniture that would otherwise have been left in the garbage.
However, there are beautiful furnishings that, no matter how hard we would like to give them back the soul they had when they were carved, sadly we cannot do it.
But those versions, which cannot be completely recovered, are the ones that in Decorating Visita Casas we re-imagine and make them something new.
Have you ever seen an old kitchen cabinet become a luxurious sink? Well it’s there, in that fusion between Vintage and Retro, where this article and our work is located.
We use the original material and the original vision that had the cabinetmaker of old, and we move it to something functional, practical and totally new. A new soul for an old piece of furniture that would otherwise have ended up in the trash.
Bathroom Cabinets, Vintage Style
Here you can admire the rustic and crude concept of a basin designed by June Price. The story behind that cabinet is incredible, so many maidens and so many gentlemen have used it that you can notice it over the scratches that can be appreciated.
However, not all people like the idea of combining in their decoration, such an ineffective element. That cabinet does not even have a drain.
That is why recycling and redecorating is much better on most occasions. But such work is not simple when you want to keep the most of the original work intact.
A good example of what I mean is this Biedermeier from the middle of the 19th century. The vast majority of the work done in the restoration, recycling and redesign of these cabinets includes adding a marble countertop.
Fortunately, some of them retain the original in very good condition and, using the new techniques that technology gives us, we can keep the most of the original concept intact.
Although it is not a simple job, it is something you can do yourself at home using an old kitchen cabinet that is hidden in the debris of your garage.
Restoring the Old Cabinet
The process requires two very important key factors: Patience and care.
Restoration is a very complicated profession (and one of the best paid in the world). However; restoring is not something we can all do, many specific elements are required.
However, renovating is a little less complicated, it is certain that the final result will not be the original furniture of yesteryear. But we will be facing a new 100% original piece that no one else could have imagined like us.
The best cabinets to be restored and converted into bathroom cabinets for our sink are the old kitchen cabinets.
Its wood is the most solid and, unlike the old bathroom cabinets; These have not been subjected for many years to water.
To begin the restoration / renovation, you will need the following elements:
• Sandpaper
• Old cloths 100% cotton
• Painting (the color depends on the furniture)
• Varnish
• Brushes (the most important)
• Hammer
• Woodworking saw
The first thing that you must do is to sand all the furniture with gentle and circular movements. With patience remove any particle on the wood or metal that can cause the paint not adhering properly.
Then apply a layer of base paint on the entire piece of furniture. Many times you will even notice that two layers of base will be needed, but always wait the first one to have dried completely, it may not be a one-day job.
Now that the furniture begins to show us how it will look once we have finished the work, it is time to move on to the most delicate aspect: remove the worktop.
This point may sometimes not be absolutely necessary, if the furniture has been well preserved you should just open the large hole where the sink will go. Otherwise using a hammer, saw, and perhaps a chisel if the countertop does not sag; removes the entire top.
You will surely notice that a new sandpaper treatment will be needed on these upper edges that will hold the marble countertop, granite, quartz or polished cement. But this work does not require as much delicacy as the previous sanding.
Then, with the worktop already placed, it is time to highlight the details, and for this we will use the brushes.
With a darker color than the base color, bring your attention to the remarkable details which are angles and moldings. Of course; use another color other than the same in a darker tone, come to this point, your criteria as a restorer should guide you.
A good way to help you at this point is by looking at photographs of the original design of the furniture piece. Remember that many times the original colors are lost and, what seems to us ivory, really was pure white.
You can also add your personal touch to the furniture. Using an image editing program you can design specific motifs and then use them as a template on the furniture.
In any case, work on the details should always be done with the little brushes; and not with a wall brush or air gun that you used to apply the first base paint layers.
Carrying Out the Final Work of Carpentry
Now that the sink has been presented and the details highlighted. It is time to consider which drawers will be closed according to the way our piping system is distributed.
Closing the drawers is a simple job but it is important that we focus on both functionality and aesthetics. Standing in front of the furniture; study what drawer is the one you and the members of the family want to open first.
Although after a while they adapt to open the drawers that are not closed; it is important that they do not feel that frustration from the beginning. Unless you need to eliminate them all if the cabinet is too small.
In any case, “closing” and “removing” does not always imply that the drawers will not open; The central ones must still be able to be opened to carry out the maintenance work on the pipes.
Do not forget to combine the moldings of the cabinet with those of the mirror. Depending on the shape of the cabinet, you can incorporate a small chair into the decoration. Especially if the recycled furniture was a hairstylist at first.
The silver or gold of the handlers of the drawers should always be the same that you implement in the faucet keys; although you can also use the same tone as in the candlesticks.
Finally, do not be afraid of the water that can fall on the furniture; apply waterproof protective layers and enjoy your recycled furniture, restored and your bathroom redesigned.
A new decoration! With a theme of the eighteenth or nineteenth century! All without having to pay an exaggerated sum of money to an antique shop.
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