Darryl’s Cherry Bath Vanity

I was commissioned to build this bathroom vanity for a family friend. It is made primarily of locally sourced Florida cherry. The project design developed as I went along, making changes as needed.

The legs are laminations that were joined to the cherry plywood side panels with dominos. Originally I was going to create a frame and panel look on the sides with solid cherry stiles framing the plywood panels, but after laying out the parts on the bench, I decided to simply put a curve on the bottom of the panel. The curve on the aprons were cut on the bandsaw and faired using the flexible sanding block technique that Marc has demonstrated in the past. The slatted bottom shelf was originally going to be a flat plywood panel, but I felt that the lines in the slatted shelf would really add to the overall look. I also decided to run the grain in the drawer fronts vertically instead of horizontally for additional interest. The panel under the sink is removable so that the plumbing can be repaired when necessary. I also built a matching medicine cabinet and I have included a picture of the door which is cherry with a solid 1/4″ cherry panel.

I was really going for a very clean, simple design, using the beauty of the material as my big feature. Early on, I took a piece of finished cherry to the customer to sign off on the natural cherry finish that we had initially agreed upon. The customer took one look at it and asked if I could stain it darker (ugh). I had read somewhere that lye can be used to kick start the aging process in cherry and decided to give that a try. The color change was immediate and dramatic, it was love at first sight! I enjoyed this build immensely, I hope that everyone enjoys the pictures and the story.