Introduction: The Recycled Rustic TV Bathroom Vanity

Our neighbor was cleaning up his home to put on the market and was purging furniture including his old TV. He asked us if we could take it off his hands. Unable to say no, we ended up with an old 1970s GE TV housed in a furniture cabinet like the one pictured above. What to do with this old piece of furniture? The cabinet was in awesome shape and showed great potential! We were in need of a new bathroom cabinet so we gutted the TV and electronics (keep for a future project), turned it bottom side up and began the cabinet makeover!

The cabinet had a panel of veneer pressed wood which we removed (bubbles were present). We kept the detailed end columns and trim pieces (and actual size) from the original cabinet. We then cut the plywood for top and bottom templates. Both top and bottom received two layers of glued plywood, set overnight. Then the top and bottom were screwed to the end columns and new plywood was added to both sides. To strengthen the integrity of the cabinet, 2 pieces of 2x4 were screwed together at a 90 degree angle to place on the inside corners. This was done on all four corners. These angle pieces were then covered with plywood on the front portion, against the columns (aesthetic). Then we also made a frame using 2x4s for the bottom portion/base to sit on.

Having completed the cabinet restructuring, we then painted the cabinet with an oil based moss green paint and when it was dry we drilled a 1 1/4" hole on the top to fit the drain and faucet. We used leftover waterproof flooring planks to cover the top of the cabinet, drilled two holes that aligned with the original holes and added the faucet and sink. Lastly, we connected the plumbing and water lines and, presto, we had a beautiful, rustic, working sink and cabinet in our bathroom!

Supplies

Old TV Cabinet (free)

5/8 Plywood (4x8 sheet = $27 from Lowe's)

Vessel Sink (Wayfair $40)

Vessel Sink Faucet ($59 from Amazon)

Various P Trap fittings (approx $25 from Lowes)

Waterline (faucet came with a set but we wanted longer ones = $14 from Lowes)

Oil based paint (Green Moss - $16 from Lowes)

8*1 5/8" wood screws ($9 from Lowes)

8x2" wood screws ($9 from Lowes)

2 2x4x10 lumber ($12 from Lowes)

Leftover waterproof flooring (Smartcore - 4 planks cut to size)