Bathroom Rehab: Hemnes Vanity

Included in my bathroom rehab were a new vanity cabinet, sink and faucet: a Hemnes two-drawer cabinet and Rattviken sink from IKEA and a Giagni Andante faucet from Lowe's. A plain white vanity is not the look I'd hoped for... but in general, I love all three pieces. The cabinet's two drawers provide lots of storage. The sink, countertop, and backsplash are all integrated, which makes cleaning easy. There's plenty of space on the countertop to set a soap pump, toothbrush holder, etc.

I later added some decals to the vanity.

The faucet... well, the faucet just looks awesome. I love the way the water flows. :)

The Hemnes cabinet requires some unusual plumbing. Behind the drawers, there is a space of less than 6 inches for all the plumbing to fit into. IKEA has cleverly designed a system that will fit, and the Hemnes cabinet comes with all the required pieces (known as the Rinnen water trap assembly). Though the assembly is quite different than the standard P-trap setup, it looked DIY-friendly, and I thought I could handle it myself.

But when I checked my existing plumbing, I saw that the shut-off valves stuck out 8 inches from the wall. They would need to be replaced... which would require cutting and soldering copper pipe... which would require tools that I don't have. So I opted to hire a handyman to replace the shut-off valves.

He bravely agreed to tackle the unusual water trap assembly as well (and graciously tolerated me helping/watching the entire process). It turned out to be pretty easy. :) The only problem he encountered was that the existing waste pipe was 1.25 inches while the Rinnen pipe was 1.5 inches. An adapter (purchased for a couple dollars at Lowe's) solved that problem.

In researching installation of the Rinnen water trap (which is used with Hemnes and Godmorgon cabinets), I found that many people couldn't make it work and had resorted to cutting the back of the drawer. So I'm posting some photos of my setup in case they are helpful to others.

Not as exciting as the new vanity, but equally necessary, was the new toilet. It's just a basic off-the-shelf toilet, but it works better than the old one... and it's all white. No more two-tone toilet!

I also replaced the worn-out storage cabinet. Like the new vanity, the new cabinet is plain and white... not at all the dark gothic glamour style I'd hoped and planned for. But stuff happened, and I had to go with what was available.

When I bought the house, the bathroom did not have wood baseboards. It had cove base, which is a vinyl product generally used in public restrooms. The cove base was attached with a VERY strong adhesive, and removing it shredded the bottom 5 inches of the walls.

I had to buy the largest baseboards available in the store and add shoe molding to cover all the damage. The resulting trim is a bit grander than I might normally have used in such a tiny room, but I think it looks very nice.

All that remains are the accessories, and the rehab will be complete!