A Gorgeous IKEA Vanity Hack Transforms This Dated 2000s Bathroom
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: House
PROJECT TYPE: Bathroom
STYLE: Parisian, Traditional
SKILL LEVEL: Professional
RENTAL FRIENDLY: No
DIYers have come up with impressive IKEA hacks for almost every room of the house — and that includes some completely gorgeous IKEA hacks for bathrooms. Take, for instance, this $24 hack that makes an IKEA vanity look much more expensive and this IKEA BILLY hack that acts as a space divider to this bathroom.
The latest gorgeous IKEA hack to add to the list? Savannah and Kaitlyn Stone’s (of @ainslee_design_studio) bathroom renovation project with a gorgeous vanity.
Savannah and Kaitlyn have previously shared their own home transformation with Apartment Therapy, but this project was completed for a client.
The bathroom was demoed down to the studs.
“This guest bath was last updated in the early 2000s, and it shows,” Savannah says, mentioning the large-format yellowish tiles, the vanity that looked “like an office cabinet,” the sheet mirror, and the blue-gray paint on the walls as features that specifically begged for an update.
“Our client wanted to update all of it!” Savannah says. “We wanted to make it brighter, softer, give it a more open and inviting feel.”
They demoed out the tile, shower, and vanity, then got to work creating a “spa-like, calming and serene” bathroom, as Savannah describes.
The shower feels taller thanks to the removal of the soffit.
Another major upgrade Savannah and Kaitlyn made was to knock down the old soffit above the shower. That helped give it more height and make the room feel less “dark, small, and heavy,” Savannah says.
The fresh white paint (Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace) also helps with that, as does the light-toned tile for the shower. Savannah says she and Kaitlyn (and their clients) opted for more inexpensive tiles for the shower so they could splurge on the floor tile and the countertop.
The vanity “started off as a typical white IKEA vanity box.”
The countertop and backsplash are completely custom calacatta marble. “We designed the countertop to move up to the backsplash, and instead of the traditional squared-off shape, we leaned into more Parisian curves and heights,” Savannah explains.
But underneath the countertop is actually a fairly basic big-box find that’s just dressed up a little bit. “Would you believe us if we told you this started off as a typical white IKEA vanity box? Well, it did,” Savannah says. “We used it as our base, and from there we used custom door fronts in a soft warm wood tone from Nieu cabinet doors.”
Savannah says the statement vanity made the biggest difference in the bathroom. “We love how it turned out, and we love the big pivoting mirror and modern sconces that seem to really finish that moment,” she says. Savannah, Kaitlyn, and the clients love the way the entire bathroom came together.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
I Just Discovered the Smartest Way to Store Paper Towels in Your Kitchen (It’s a Game-Changer!)
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
