I think I'm going to declare February 'Bathroom Month' here. We've been doing bathroom projects…
New Basement Bathroom Vanity Ikea Style
If you are coming over from Apartment Therapy, welcome! My 114 year old house is glad to see you. Since you’ve probably read about my laminate cabinet makeover, feel free to read about all of my other projects in the gallery here. Find out more about my old house here.
Today we have another update in the ongoing basement bathroom renovation. Otherwise known as the longest bathroom renovation in the history of mankind.
This is a big one, we finally have a working sink.
We mastered the art of matching our American plumbing with the Canadian plumbing we bought at the closest Ikea {which is in Canada} and installed the faucet and vanity. Not saying the plumbing is specifically Canadian, we just didn’t know how things would work together, you know how crazy that Ikea stuff is.
Last we saw the bathroom, we had installed the new lights after our distressed plank wall went up.
In renovating this space, we knew we needed something really shallow depth-wise to fit into the space where the vanity and sink would be. The old one cut into the door frame and that just wasn’t the look we were going for. Ikea came to mind since they have different options than the standard sizes available otherwise and we knew they’d be within our budget.
Plus it’s just such an adventure going up there. It’s in a different country and all, us world travelers 🙂
We ended up getting the Lillangen cabinet, frame and sink. That line has all kinds of options. This is the sink cabinet with 2 doors and is only about 15 inches deep. Perfect for our space. We got the matching sink too, since they are all sold separately.
In my planning of this entire space {which was all in my head} I knew our accent plank wall would be white, so I opted for the brown/black cabinet. It was pretty simple to put together. How I love spending time with the little round Ikea man.
The adventure in this renovation comes with the installation. So pretend you didn’t see those lovely after photos and picture this.
Me, surrounded by all kinds of tools. A mirror ready to hang like we are almost finished with this reno {ha!}. My knee pads on cause clearly I do a lot of kneeling. All my instruction manuals at the ready. A tool belt thing. A faucet in my lap.
But what’s really going on inside my head is this.
What the heck are you trying to tell me little round Ikea dude in the pictures?
Sorry for the blur – night time DIY, you know.
Thankfully we did get this plumbing figured out. Do you know they make flexible plumbing these days? It’s a game changer. This way you don’t have to exactly line up the p-trap with the j-hook and the s-whatever. I’m making these up. Anyway, it was a happy moment when Dan was on his second trip to the store and found it.
So he finally got all the parts under there to connect like they were supposed to. It was kind of complicated at one point, we had three different sizes of pipes, stuff that belonged in a kitchen, not a bathroom, and too many washers to count.
Long story short – if you are looking to connect 1 1/2″ pipes to 1 1/4″ pipes, you do it with washers and that flexible piping, which they make for “downsizing”. We used the LASCO White Plastic Tubular 1-1/4-Inch Flexible Extendable Slip Joint Extension with Nut and Washer
Since the pipes were a little more complicated than we expected, the shelf that came with the cabinet didn’t fit in exactly as it was supposed to. Dan cut a notch on the one side so it fit around the pipe and now it holds TP.
The sink is also Lillangen. This is a different size and shape of sink than any others we have in the house, so it’s a little fun to have it there. We tested the pipes and all is good! I love the little shelf it comes with and there are hooks for your towels.
The faucet is the Rorskar line and I installed it on my own. I’m getting quite good at the plumbing 🙂 After I had to take apart the sink upstairs, I definitely learned a thing or two.
The vanity ended up fitting perfectly so I could have a little garbage can on the floor, one that I picked up at the Target dollar spot. Just about everything in this space was a bargain.
Lastly, we got the mirror hung too. This is a DIY project that I will tell you a little about soon, but the room is finally coming together. All that’s left is the gaping hole on the other side of the space you see in the reflection of the mirror that will become the shower.
More items crossed off the list makes me a very happy DIY-er. #ItstheLittleThings
Gut the whole spaceMore on that hereFix the foundation wallMore on that hereLevel the floorMore on that hereInstall the subfloorMore on that hereSelect paint and prime and paint the roomMore on that hereInstall lightsMore on that here
Get plank wood, cut it, paint it, and install itMore on that hereInstall the floor- Figure out how to create a floor for the shower and install it
- Move plumbing in shower
- Tile the shower
Install baseboardsMore on that here
Install toiletInstall vanity, sink and faucet- Find and hang
lights,mirror, art? - Install the wall shelves
- Accessorize and decorate
See this month’s guest post at Redhead Can Decorate, it’s all about decorating with picture frames.
I love that sink!! It’s really coming together now. And congrats on the AP feature. That is so cool!
Love the sink and the straining soap dish that hooks on the side! Enjoy reading about your 114 year old house!
Thanks Jess! Now I feel like I should get some fancy towels for those fun hooks 🙂
I just got a lillanger sink – it’s not even installed yet, but oooh, so cute!
I noticed that my soap dish (the slotted one) is almost impossible to get onto the sink. I’d probably need a mallet. When I try to push it on, the little foamy stuff gets all smooshed & it still doesn’t fit.
Did you have this issue?? Wondering if I need to contact Ikea because I got a dud, or if it is just a design flaw.
Thanks!!
Hi Joy,
I didn’t have that issue with the soap dish. Maybe you can try to bend it a little or use something else? I hope that helps!
Hello,
would you know the name of the sink in your pictures. I have the same one and having issues with the drain. Im wondering if its a venting issue.
Brian
Hi Brian,
The sink is one of the LILLÅNGEN ones from Ikea. We’ve never had any issues with the drain or anything though. We ended up using flexible plumbing under it to fit our pipes. I hope you can get it fixed easily.
Love the bathroom pics– you definitely look like I feel trying to read instructions– I’d have curse words coming out in a talking bubble though.
I just found that sink on the web–the Ikea in Ohio is near my brother not me. I have a tiny bathroom and only 18 inches to spare for the sink and the single door style looks like it will fit perfectly. Also looks nice too. I’ll check it out, but are you happy with the quality? (I’m not expecting greatness for $150, but you know, adequate quality is fine. 🙂 The tiny space means not much room for any counter stuff too– like the soap dish and tray and towel racks– all problems solved in one product? (Too good to be true?)
As for P Traps– the 4 dollar rubber trap http://amzn.com/B000BQRY4S is the day saver around here. None of my pipes lined up in my house and I now have one of these on each bathroom sink. I liked it even better than those flexible ones. Easy on and off too–like clamping on water hoses on the car. I suppose if that system is good enough to keep you from overheating on the freeway, it’ll work for the bathroom sink drain. (So far so good on both.)
Love your writing on this. You tell a good story. 🙂
Hi Melanie,
Thanks for all the info, especially about the rubber trap. It’s awesome that they have those products these days.
I am happy with the sink. It’s nice and has plenty of space for such a small-ish item and yes the towel holder and soap dish do get used. There’s even little “shelves” on either side of the faucet that can hold a cup or whatnot. I’m glad we found it since I was not able to locate a small vanity at any other store, without it being custom made for a lot of money.
Thanks for the comment and for reading my blog!
Hi,
Love your sink!
Does it need to be mounted on the wall? Meaning, is it supported by the wall and the legs are mostly cosmetic, or do the legs actually support the sink? I’m asking because I would like to get one too, but I don’t know if the sheetrock walls in my bathroom can support the weight of the sink.
Thanks for your help!
Hi,
The sink rests on the vanity. So no we don’t have it attached to the wall any way, just on top of the vanity, which is screwed into the wall. The vanity rests on the legs frame. So it should work for you! Hope that helps!
Wow, thanks for your quick reply!
Just to clarify, you mentioned that the vanity is screwed to the wall. Would you say that those screws are what are supporting the entire vanity/sink and the legs don’t do much, or the weight really is on the legs, and the screws are just there to prevent the whole thing from tipping over?
Sorry for being a bit dense!
Sorry for commenting on this very old post, but I just found it through Google. I also have the Rorskar faucet in my bathroom and I can’t figure out how to take the aerator out. In the installation manual I found online, the aerator seems to have had a special tool to insert the aerator, but I obviously don’t have it. My question is this: have you ever had to remove the aerator and how did you do it? Thanks for your help!