Eliza was 11 then. A young girl needing a broader space for all of the phases that she was about to grow into.
Experimenting with hair tools, makeup, music and needing a space where she could FT with her friends, do her school work and so on, I started scouting around for pieces that could lend themselves to the transition from the big girl’s room to the ‘tween’ room.
I found these pieces on Facebook Marketplace from our region in NB. I had been looking for a makeup vanity but wasn’t really finding anything online that I liked that wasn’t made of engineered wood product of one sort or another. And truth be know, I needed a paint project!
I grabbed this for $40 from a friend who was downsizing in her living accommodations.
An antique, Joe picked it up and brought it home. It was perfect for what I had in mind for Eliza’s room. I still needed a chair or stool tho and came across these on FB marketplace as well so I grabbed the two of them for $10. I wasn’t sure that either would work without having to take them apart but the price worked for me!
The antique vanity came with a mirror attached. I wasn’t convinced that I wanted the 2 to remain connected so I had Joe dismantle the mirror until I could figure out what I wanted, exactly. It sometimes takes a bit! Even if I opted to not use the mirror with it, I would find use for the mirror elsewhere.
Once I had the mirror detached from the vanity, I knew that I wanted a dark grey color on the vanity and gold or brass theme going on for knobs and mirror. I already had the vintage mirror frame that I would use for above the vanity in my pile of goodies in the basement, so I started the vanity redo with the vintage mirror in mind.
I had a grey interior latex paint on hand leftover from another project in the house, and proceeded to make my own chalk paint out of it using this recipe. I swear, it’s the best furniture project paint!
Once that was mixed, and after having washed down the unit, I started painting with the chalk paint. No, I didn’t sand, and NO, I didn’t prime. I can’t speak enough to the homemade chalk paint linked above. It has, hands-down, worked the best for me in all of my DIYs that I’ve felt suitable to a chalk paint finish.
Once the paint was dry, I lightly distressed the edges with a medium sandpaper, then applied a dark Minwax paste wax all over with a clean cloth and hand buffed with another clean cloth.
It was time to re-attach the knobs. One was missing when we bought the vanity – which we knew before buying it so I luckily had 2 glass knobs leftover from an eBay order for another project. I spray-painted the remaining 4 in a gold finish to match the vintage mirror I would be hanging above the vanity.
Once the vanity knobs were attached, it was on to the chair!
I took the chair and a canvas drop-cloth to the front yard, and spray painted the chair frame in a primer.
Once dried, I gave it 2 coats of a gold spray paint to cover the primer (which was white). Being that it was white, I needed proper coverage hence the 2nd coat of gold and I wouldn’t be distressing the chair, so using primer in this case was what was called for.
Once the gold had dried completely on the frame, I had to figure out what to do with the seat cushion.
I had found a cover for a toss cushion in the fabric I was wanting for her seat pad at a local department store. I unscrewed the seat from the frame of the chair, and rather than remove the original pad upholstery, I simply enveloped the original chair pad with the new cushion cover. Once I had the screws re-inserted, they held her new glam cover in place beautifully.
And this is her make-up vanity and chair! Vintage, girly, practical and functional.
She sits here every morning with music playing from her phone, while getting ready for school with hair tools, the odd bit of lip gloss etc. She’s not yet heavy into makeup but I’m feeling that this little vanity will see her well into her senior high school years as she begins to explore that a little more. You can find that later room makeover here!
And when she’s outgrown it, well – it was a total of $50 spent, kept me busy and out of trouble 
and someone else will surely enjoy the set when she’s outgrown it. It’s all good!
It’s all been a small and introductory part of a larger transition to her ‘teen room’ which just recently saw itself to fruition. Many of her previous pieces have made their way into the new room and I’ve made them work. She’s 14 now. I’m guessing this will be the last room transformation for her until university. I can’t even go there in thought.
Oh yeah, and the mirror that came attached to the makeup vanity – it found its way here – to the powder room.
Hoping you’ll stay tuned for the ‘teen room‘ project! It’s almost done and I can’t wait to share!
For now, be safe and stay productive!
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