Project: Bathroom vanity

Think before you trash that wood from your latest home reno. Lots of experienced wood can be reused as part of your next project. By building with reclaimed materials you'll create unique conversation pieces with their own stories to tell and you'll also be easing the burden on forests.

This bathroom vanity started at Timeless Materials (800-609-9633; www.timelessmaterials.com), a 10-acre temporary resting place for great old stuff just outside Kitchener, Ontario. There's a lot of fun to be had using materials with a history, like the pine floor boards from an old factory and quartersawn California redwood from a wine vat that I used for this project.

Start At the Top
The first thing I needed was a moulded sink top, and I found the perfect one for $20 at the Home Again Recycling Depot in Toronto (416-467-4663). It measured 19" x 31" and was the starting point for the project.

Download the project illustration here!


My design includes what I call extended cabriole legs on the front, creating an elegant, old-fashioned look. I used sugar pine for these legs. It's a little harder than eastern white pine, but it's still easy to work with. The outline of the 1/4"-thick hardboard template I made for the leg profile is on the project illustration.

Creating cabriole legs is within the reach of most woodworkers. The plans include step-by-step directions. The technique is quite straightforward but you'll need access to a bandsaw and the patience to sand the inside and outside curves that form each leg. This is where pine makes life easier than hardwood.

Once you've got two front legs and the straight back legs done, it's time to tackle the side panels. Although most bathroom cabinets are 32" tall, I went with 36" to suit my height. This is reflected in the materials list. To shorten this cabinet to a standard height, reduce the side stiles, door stiles and upper portion of the legs by 4".

The plans show the stiles and rails joined into a frame with #20 biscuits. The panels fit into the inside face of this frame, within 1/4"-wide x 3/8"-deep table-routed rabbets you make after the frames are dry and sanded flat.

The next step is to install the side panels, but two things must happen first. The edge of the panels needs to be routed to fit the 3/8" rabbet you routed in the frame. The four rounded corners of the frame rabbet must be squared with a sharp chisel. Secure the panel with 1/2" finishing nails or wood trim on the inside face of the side frame. This is the same design and construction process I used to build the face frame, door and drawer frames. Build these parts now. Sand them flat, then rout a round-over profile on the outer edges of the drawer face and doors.