DIY fan converts farmhouse sink left out for the trash into statement piece for her guest bathroom

By On Mar 25, 2021

The guest bathroom is a great place to make a statement with wallpaper, tile, or in this case an old-school sink. An avid handyman turned a retro sink that was thrown away in an alley into a stylish bathroom.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure – and that couldn’t be truer in Nancy’s gorgeous bathroom. Her half bath is a bit unusual in that it drains from her kitchen, but a statement sink totally distracts from the whimsical layout.

In front

(Photo credit: Nancy Joerger)

The cabinet that was thrown away with the sink had a lot of rust which would have made it a big job. “I wasn’t ready for this type of repetition,” says Nancy. Instead, Nancy simply took the farmhouse sink and found an antique dresser big enough to hold the frame of the sink on Craigslist.

So she removed the top and pulled back and shortened the drawers to allow installation. The top two drawers cannot be used, but the lower ones are great for storing toilet paper and extra towels.

After this

(Photo credit: Nancy Joerger)

The first step in the redesign was tidying up the sink – which luckily had no cracks or chips – just a lot of dirt. She soaked it in CLR cleaner to loosen the residue before scrubbing it with bleach. After it dried out completely, Nancy gave it a good scrub with a soft cloth and comet powder.

Finally, she ran a magic eraser over it to remove any remaining scratches. Nancy installed a new faucet that she found at her local menards. It has a handy soap dish and a traditional style like the original.

(Photo credit: Nancy Joerger)

“The sink I had before was just plain normal and boring,” says Nancy. “I decided to make the walls from Behr Graphite Charcoal dark because the new sink was so white and a show stopper for the room.”

(Photo credit: Nancy Joerger)

“This sink is so big and it adds so much character to half of my bathroom,” says Nancy. “The crazy thing is that I was just looking for a sink. The addition of that sink just turned this half bath into a show stopper. ‘

“My home is from 1901, so it’s pretty cool to have a real farmhouse sink for our guest bathroom.” We think it will work great in your small bathroom. If you’re renovating your own bathroom and looking for a new sink, our guide to choosing the best sink will help.

We feel so inspired – something that most people would walk right past Nancy made a one of a kind design statement.