Expedit-ceptional bathroom vanity

Jules Yap·
IKEA Bathroom Hacks
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Materials: 2 Expedit 2×2 Shelving Units

Description: We used 2 Expedit units to make this lovely vanity. Because the vanity that was removed was custom size we could not find a standard vanity to fit. Also, the plumbing went from the center to the left wall. The Expedit worked perfectly. The plumbing runs behind the unit.

We put a 3/4 inch piece of plywood, and a then a piece of backer board to lay the tile on. Used a back panel and 2 pieces of shelving to make the center shelf, and glued 2 plastic washers on the left and right center to hold the toilet paper roll. It works like a dream, and looks fantastic!!!

~ Danny Smith, United States

Jules Yap
Latest posts by Jules Yap (see all)

10 Responses

  1. Ostracon, the floor to the top of the counter is 32.25, and floor to top of sink is 36.5. The washer is just a plastic washer I found at HD that had a hole big enough for the holder nipple to fit in, the thickness is about 1/16th in. The sink is a kraus that we found on amazon.

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  3. Oh, and one more thing (sorry)…

    What was the finished height to the top of the sink basin? I know that the height of the Expedite is 31-1/8″. The tiles you used may be 1″ square (with 1/8″ grout), so rough estimate for the counter height is about 33-1/4″, and the vessel basin looks to be about 5″ high (comparing to the back-splash tiles) so my guestimate is about 38-39″. The “old” standard height for vanities was 29-30″ but some of the new ones I’ve seen at kitchen counter height of 36″ and I saw one listed in HomeDepot as being over 40″ (with a regular countertop sink, not a vessel). The reason I ask is because I was thinking about possibly doing something similar but would want a toe-kick underneath, which would raise it another 4″. The toe-kick would add a level of water protection should the toilet overflow, etc.

    So far this has been the best vanity hack I’ve seen here. I love the way it looks contemporary-Asian. (I’m leaning toward industrial Japanese so this would fit right in.)

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  4. Danny, thanks for the reply. Great idea to have individual access panels in each cube.

    And gluing the large nylon washers on to be able to use the center holes of the washers for the ends of the spring-loaded roll holder to snap into (just the way I envisioned it in the blog post) versus drilling holes in the sides of the Expedit was brilliant and really shows that “necessity is the mother of invention.”

    Just curious, do you remember what size washers you used, not only for the diameter (and hole size) but also the thickness? I’ve seen some pretty thin ones and also some that were double the ‘normal’ thickness. The thicker ones would better hold the roll when the paper is being pulled on to keep the roll from popping out when the person is (ahem) indisposed.

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  6. Thank you all for the comments. Ostracon, the wall and floor are bamboo flooring. I just went all the way up the wall. As far as accessibility goes it is simple. Every back in each shelf comes of with one screw, and the center shelf with the toilet roll lifts and slides right out. So there is access to every bit of plumbing. The plastic washers hold the standard TP roll holder in place. The nipples on the end of the holder goes into the center of each washer so it doesn’t fall out from the weight of the TP.

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  7. I love this hack, Danny. Very striking, especially with how you duplicated the flooring and mounted it on the wall as a back-splash. (Any additional info on that, like what brand it is and if you sealed it?) And the re-purposing of the nylon washers to snap the toilet roll holder in is an example of “brown fist engineering” at its finest. I’m curious about the plumbing access in case of a leak. Is there a removable back panel to get to the valves, inlet and drain lines?

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  8. I imagine the expedit would be as good as any very cheap melamine vanity is with water; you assume you will get a good five to ten years of it looking great and then it will probably start chipping and warping and in 10 – 15 years, need replacing. As long as you don’t expect it to last forever you get good value for the price paid.

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  9. That’s cool. But one thing I always think about when using these pieces in the bathroom is how people are dealing with waterproofing. Water in bathrooms is inevitable; that counter top helps quite a bit, but water is sneaky, and Expedit is only foil, paper and chipped wood.

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