Two Wisconsin Craftsmen

Looking this picture just makes me love my new vanity even more. This one was very good, very functional and really quite nice.

But take a look at this beast...

We had it custom built by two Wisconsin craftsmen. Also known as my father- and brother-in-law! Adam and I shopped around for vanities a little and realized that we just couldn't afford anything in the size we needed. Dale has been accumulating really nice tools and thought that this would be a good reason to use them. They both did a really nice job.

As far as a countertop, I went a little unconventional for a bathroom. I'm not a fan of laminate and the solid surface stuff just looks off to me. Cultured marble just makes me think of the 80's and granite wasn't an option. So I started looking for other options and ended here...

Butcher block counter from Ikea, $129! I've seen it used in kitchens, but wasn't sure about the moisture in a bathroom. After a little research, we learned that we could seal it with some poly and we'd be good to go. It does invalidate the 25-year warranty, but oh well. Oh, you can stain it too!

The boys went along with my plan, but weren't completely convinced until we put it in. (They didn't tell me this until later.) We trimmed it up and cut a hole for the sink. That was a little scary, you can't really fix a mis-cut.

And here it is, mostly put together. We ended up using one of the scrap pieces as a backsplash and are really pleased.

A quick tour of the vanity:

• See the hole on the left side of the vanity? They built in shelves with a door to hold rolls of toilet paper and my womanly items. PTL for custom made pieces!
• Regular under sink cavity
• Two stacks of drawers, LOTS of storage space
• One small cavity with two shelves; space for washcloths and hand towels, as well as the items that don't fit in the drawers. Nice use for the leftover space in the vanity.
  

Thanks again to Dale and Tim for all your hard work!