To Sink or Not To Sink

Our downstairs half bath is in need of serious repair and a makeover. The toilet is broke and I have been using the sink and small space as my DIY paint-project cleanup room since day one of moving in here and that's been almost five years. The toilet has been broke for almost one. Calling this half bath small is not exaggerating. It is for sure itty-bitty and currently the walls are mirrored floor to ceiling, making it appear larger than what it actually is. The previous owner loved mirrors. All three bathrooms in this townhouse are mirrored the same way and even the kitchen once had mirrored walls. Imagine trying to clean up after cooking around those...hmmm??? I plan to have the half bath mirrors replaced with a beautiful Magnolia Home wall paper by Joanna Gaines called Noteworthy. I just need to decide on the color. Will it be black...

or light grey...

or even possibly light blue, which looks more of a pale sage to me...

Since redesigning this half bath, I realize removing the mirrors will change the appearance of having space. So, I came up with the idea of using a small vintage table topped with an antique ironstone wash bowl for the sink. In my design the faucet will be mounted on the wall and this will give the space plenty of room to walk into. I started searching for the perfect table last year and this treasure hunt was becoming a headache, because not only did I want to repurpose something vintage, in good condition and cute...it had to be small, but tall. Meaning, no less than 14 inches deep and wide, without going over 18 inches both ways, and at least 29 inches tall for it to be a comfortable sink height. Let me tell you now...that is a hard find! I had been searching for months and surprisingly one day I came across this lonely looking cutie with the perfect dimensions on eBay...

It was sent from the state of New York to live here in Texas with me and is truly a vintage find made by Ethan Allen...

The seller said it was in good condition and I knew the dimensions would work and didn't mind the wood finish being worn out and scratched, so I immediately made the purchase, despite it being more than what I wanted to spend. When it arrived my heart was broken and my mind turned furious. I was faced with the dilemma of having to return it, because the seller wasn't honest in the listing. One rear leg had a huge crack and she tried to act innocent about it, but I demanded she take it back or refund me half the purchase amount. So to salvage some of the earnings from her mistake she agreed to give me back half of what I paid, which was what I budgeted to pay for a table at the beginning of my search. Here is the obvious "old" crack that was unknown to have existed, according to the seller...

Below is Petite (yep, I gave this table a name) trying on the ironstone wash bowl chosen for the sink...

Being happy with the resolution I repaired her leg and a week later painted her body using a custom pink made in Amy Howard's One Step Paint, along with two of her stock colors that are my basic standbys for furniture painting; Luxe Grey and Selszick Grey. Just ignore the cement floor that I use for my painting work space. One day it too will get a makeover. Petite is definitely more pink than what my iPad captured in this picture...

After she dried, she posed for another wash bowl visual...

I found this pretty custom knob on the Etsy web store; Hooks and Knobs. Hopefully, it won't be too long before it arrives. Thank goodness I'm accustomed to waiting for things to be completed, LOL...

Now here's my REAL dilemma. Since completing Petite's paint job I am so smitten with this little cutie that I don't want to cut a hole in the top of her to attach a sink, nor do I want to leave her here at this townhouse, should we ever sell it and move. That idea sunk and just like most women, I opted out to change my mind...

Instead, I chose to place Petite in this nook centered in between the entry of the coat closet and the half bath. I dressed her top with an urn used for holding large Voluspa candle tins and she sits under a painted vintage wall basket and dried florals...

I love her here and this will be Petite's home forever without a sink, for as long as we call this townhouse our home.