How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity
If you want to learn how to paint a bathroom vanity, you’re in the right place! A little bit of paint can really go such a long way in giving an old space a new look. I went from hating this bathroom to loving it, all because of fresh paint and new hardware!
Step 1: Remove Doors & Hardware
Using my drill, I removed the bathroom cabinet doors and the hardware.
Step 2: Cut out the center of the doors
Okay so this is totally optional, but I wanted to give my vanity a more modern look. I cut the centers out of the doors using an oscillating saw.
As a little back story, I was in the middle of painting my bookshelves when I decided I loved the color so much, I wanted to paint my vanity too. So while in my full painting suit, I ran inside, removed the doors, cut out the center & sprayed them.
Because of this excitement, I took zero pictures. BUT I think these will show what I did… trust me, it’s worth doing to give your bathroom vanity cabinets an upgraded look.
Step 3: Sand
First, you need to lightly sand the bathroom vanity & doors. I used 220-grit sandpaper to roughen the surface a bit. Then I wiped both the vanity base and the doors down with denatured alcohol.
Step 4: Prime
Next, I primed the surface. I used Grey Primer Spray Paint for the cabinet doors, faux drawer front and the hinges. For the vanity base, I used a paint brush and a mini roller to apply primer. I allowed the primer to dry for 2 hours.
Step 5: Paint
Now for the fun part, painting! As I mentioned before, I was in the middle of painting bookshelves when I started this project! Therefore, I used a paint sprayer to paint the bathroom cabinet doors. Paint sprayers give such a smooth finish, but they are really difficult to clean. If I didn’t already have mine full of paint, I would have painted these doors by hand.
I painted the door hinges with Gold Spray Paint.
I used a paint brush and mini roller to paint the vanity base. It took a couple of coats to fully cover and I allowed it to dry for 2 hours in between each coat. Depending on what kind of paint you are using, the dry time can differ so check the can to make sure you are allowing enough time between coats.
Step 6: Paint Kickboard
I painted the kickboard on the vanity black. You can paint it to match the cabinet, but I like mine black to hide any scuff marks.
Step 7: Nail Cabinet Doors
If you opted to cut the centers of your vanity doors out, it is now time to reassemble! Using my nail gun, I nailed the middle piece into place, ensuring the ‘back’ side was facing forward.
Step 8: Reattach Doors & Hardware
Using my drill, I reattached the faux drawer front. Then, I screwed the new hardware onto the cabinets doors and reattached them to the vanity base.
I absolutely love the way my painted vanity turned out! Painting bathroom cabinets can be intimidating but as long as you do the prep work, it’s a really great way to give your bathroom a facelift without spending a lot of money!
Looking for more DIY projects? Check out all of our DIYs here!
Bathroom Vanity Links
How to Paint a Bathroom Vanity
Equipment
- Drill
- Paint Brush
- Mini Roller
- Painter's Tape
- Oscillating Saw
- Brad Nailer
materials
- Denatured Alcohol
- 220 Grit Sandpaper
- Rust-oleum Flat Grey Primer Spray Paint
- Bullseye 123 Primer
- Rust-oleum Pure Gold Spray Paint (For Hinges)
- Paint (Magnolia Step Stool Green)
- Black Paint
- New Hardware (if not reusing old hardware)
Instructions
- Remove Doors & Hardware
- Cut out the center of the doors
- Sand
- Prime
- Paint
- Paint Kickboard
- Nail Cabinet Doors
- Reattach Doors & Hardware