ADDING FENCE POST CAPS AS FEET TO ADD HEIGHT AND CHARACTER

I love when a customer wants to use a dresser or buffet as a vanity in a bathroom.  It provides so much character and storage, not to mention that you can have it finished in any color.

Although my job is complete, it will be heading to Texas to be used as a bathroom vanity and will be getting a new solid surface top.  I hope to get those after pictures for you too!

This particular piece was almost perfect.  It was the perfect width and depth, it just needed a few more inches to make it the height the designer needed to make this a comfortable bathroom vanity.

It already had feet on it so that means we needed to change the feet completely.  Sometimes I can do this, but usually I can not.  Glad this was a situation were it would work.

Now would be a good opportunity to mention the design that I am working with on this, and a few other vanity projects.  Her name is Mindi Freng with Mindi Freng Designs.  I enjoy working with her because not only is she an excellent designer and incredibly good at working with adding color to a space, but she is always thinking outside of the box with her designs and keeping it fun by using materials that can be budget friendly and sometimes out of the ordinary, to help make the design unique. 

I happened to have these fence posts that I picked up a few months back.  I always thought they would make pretty cool feet for a dresser and after showing Mindi, she did too.  They are solid wood, very structurally sound and a little different.  Just the bit of 'funkiness' that she was looking to add to this otherwise very simple, plain dresser.

I cut the feet down about 1" to not only make them more appropriate for the height we needed, but to add a wider base to each foot for stability. 

 I wasn't exactly sure what I was getting myself into when I started removing the feet.

 Come to find out they were attached with large dowel type anchors.  

This would be the area the new 'feet' would be atached so I needed to replace the missing wood.

After measuring the holes I ran to Lowes for a long dowel that I cut it down to size.  I added wood glue before pounding into place for a nice, snug fit.

Here it is with 2 coats of primer.

 After I had the piece all sprayed out, it was time to attach the feet.  I noticed that the screws were a bit longer than necessary and if I had started screwing them in, they would have come all the way through the bottom and the drawer would have hit it…not good.

 I took a wrench and screwed it down just enough.

You will want to pre-drill a hole for the posts screw.  NOT too big, but just big enough to guide it in.

And because I'm addicted wood glue (using it, not sniffing it:))…added some to the screw and the base before screwing in.  This baby isn't EVER coming loose!

So again, here is the finished product.  I sprayed the original hardware out in Oil Rubbed Bronze, which looks beautiful with the dusty purple lacquer.