DIY VANITY MAKEOVER PART 2 | Fixing my white vanity that turned yellow

Thursday, June 11, 2020



Back in 2014, you guys seen me re-do THIS vanity! 


2014 | Before first revamp

Fast forward to 2020, I'm giving this vanity another makeover. I decided to give this vanity to my daughter so she can use it as a desk since online classes are a thing now due to Covid-19 but a few things had to happen before I gave it to her. The paint from the previous DIY turned yellow, the vanity chair had discolored, and to make this as a desk I had add a piece of wood to create a table top.



1. Fixing the Yellowing Paint

Because I didn't want to keep adding layers of paint, sanding was necessary.. at least on the top surface. Luckily my dad happen to have an electric sander I could use to make it easier. Maybe I shouldn't say luckily or easier because I made a mistake using this sander. You see, I've never used one before and while "testing" this sander out I didn't check to see what grit paper was already on there until it was too late. It was an 80 grit paper and it caused some scratches. I did my best to fix it by smoothing it out but a lesson was learned here.


For paint I choose a basic white paint from Vaspar Signature in Ultra White (the white paint you grab off the floor before they mix anything.)

After talking to the guy a Lowes I chose the Miniwax Water Based Finishing Spray Clear Semi Gloss. At first I made a mistake and grabbed an oil based finishing coat. The Lowes employee said you want to get a WATER based top coat since my paint was water based because if not it will turn yellow. It was at that moment that I realized 6 years ago I messed up!! The first time I gave this vanity a makeover I used an oil based primer, a water based paint, and a water based finishing coat which is why my vanity ended up turning yellow in certain areas. 

Hardware: I liked the original hardware but I didn’t like how the brass stood out against the white so I painted them and wiped a majority of the paint off to tone down the brassy look.

2. Fixing and Updating the Vanity Chair

Another problem I had was the chair. Although I thought this print was PERFECT since it was white and gray and it matched my daughters bedding, this also had discolored over the last six years. I really wanted to keep it but if you seen my video where I re-did this chair.. I didn’t take off the original fabric off. The original fabric has to be from the 60 or 70’s and because I didn’t take that fabric off it, anytime I would sit in my chair after a shower or it ended up getting wet, it caused whatever was on the original fabric to transfer to the newer fabric. I tried to soak it in some water with detergent for a few hours and it did not budge.

The search for a piece of fabric.. 

So now to find a piece of FABRIC in the middle of a pandemic where everyone is buying fabric to make masks or sell masks. . challenge accepted.

Walmart's fabric aisles were empty. I couldn’t go into Jo-Anns to get a good look at what they had due to them only offering curb-side. It was hard at first because I really don’t know much about fabric and it was just one of those things I wanted to see in person.


So I thought if I were to buy a vanity chair, what would the fabric be? I went to amazon looked up vanity chairs and one of first things I seen was.. velvet.. suede. I was like BINGO! THAT IS IT. I thought this was perfect because when looking for Aaliyah’s bedding, she really wanted soft furry-like bedding and the velvet just reminded me of that. So I was able to find a seller on Amazon that sold grey velvet.

3. VANITY or DESK?

In my last DIY Vanity video I decided to ditch the part that had a mirror. This was only because I knew I was going to be putting a larger mirror on the wall. Now I kinda wish I would have at least kept that piece because it would make the perfect desk for my daughter who since March 14 has been doing online classes due to Covid-19. 

To fix this I was able to find  a 3/4 inch piece of wood at Lowes and have my dad cut it to the exact size to fit this empty space. It was about $8 for a square piece of wood.

The only thing with this wood is that it was really rough around the edges and had gaps that were noticeable so I was able to find wood edging and ironed it on and painted over it. Smooth table top complete!


This vanity is now perfect for my daughter Aaliyah - she can use it not only ask a desk but also a place to do her nails and makeup as she gets older.


If you guys want to see how I re-do her dresser, Subscribe right here because my next video will be how I redo this dresser!

painting furniture pre teen room

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