Weekend Project: Keep the Peace with a Talenti Standing Vanity
Okay folks, I am fairly certain that today’s project was my most brilliant idea ever. You are all going to be super jealous, especially if you’re a girl and especially if you wear makeup and especially if you like Talenti ice cream.
Shall we begin?
If you’ve ever shared a bathroom with a female, you know what it can be like. Especially in the mornings. Hair. Makeup. Eye brow tweezing. You name it, it’s happening in your bathroom.
And if you (God forbid!) need to also use said bathroom, you’re S.O.L.
Being the kind and forward thinking individual that I am, I decided to take a preemptive strike against future roommate strife by creating a standing vanity in my bedroom. (I had wanted to create a traditional seated vanity, like they have in Downton Abbey, and I did, and I’ll tell you all about it in another post, but my bedroom isn’t quite as big as those at Downton so there just isn’t the space for a more traditional makeup station.)
What is a standing vanity? I’m so glad you asked. It is, essentially, an amalgamation of recycled materials, Ikea rejects and pure genius that cost about $40 (but that includes ice cream) and took just a few hours to make.
Here’s what you need:
- Four empty Talenti ice cream jars (you can get rid of the printed label and nutritional information with nail polish remover)
- Two pieces of shelving (I got mine from the “As is” section at Ikea for a buck each)
- Four brackets (I got mine at Home Depot)
- Screws and a screw gun (and a friend or parent to operate said screw gun if you’re afraid of doing it yourself)
- A mirror (I got mine at the Habitat for Humanity Restore in North Philly for about $25 bucks)
Here’s what you do:
- Prep your mirror. I decided to repaint mine to match my bedroom with a teal base and a silver finish. Because I could actually unscrew the mirror from the frame without damaging it, I wedged strips of newspaper between the mirror and the frame to keep the paint from getting all over the glass surface. (Note: this works fine as long as you don’t LEAVE the paper there forever… if you wait until it dries, it can be a bit a pain.)
- Prep your shelves by screwing the lids of the Talenti jars to the bottom of the lower shelf. I chose to leave the upper shelf jar-free to accommodate my taller items but you could do two shelves of Talenti jars if you wanted.
- Figure out how high you’ll need to hang your mirror before screwing your shelves into the wall. Once you have the proper height, make a few quick measurements to make sure everything is centered. It can be helpful to use a stud finder to ensure that you’re screwing into actual studs, especially if your shelves are going to be bearing a lot of weight.
- Stock your shelves. I use to Talenti jars to hold smaller items that I don’t use on a regular basis. I keep items I use every day on the top so they’re easy to access.
- Give yourself a makeover and go out dancing with your roommate, who will be your best friend because you don’t spend all day arguing over who’s turn it is in the bathroom.
Of course, if you don’t have a roommate yet, and your boyfriend spend more nights at your place than he does at his own apartment, your fabulous standing vanity may actually cause a bit of a traffic jam because it’s on his side of the bed and he doesn’t take all that much time in the bathroom anyway. More on that next week.
Kat Echevarría Richter 
4 Responses to “Weekend Project: Keep the Peace with a Talenti Standing Vanity”
Major takeaway… if building in the bedroom, make sure to do it on one’s own side of the bed. 😉 Love the concept, good job you!
I trust the neighbors don’t think you’re a lesbian now.
That is so cool! I am always terrified things like that will fall…
[…] My dad helped me make a standing vanity out of recycled Talenti jars […]