The much requested upholstered vanity!!
I fell in loveeee with the Jane Vanity from Urban Outfitters, which itself takes inspiration from Luigi Massoni’s iconic Dilly Dally vanity from the 1960s. You can’t easily get the Jane Vanity in Australia, so naturally I decided to try making my own! Using some slightly unexpected materials – including a giant cardboard cylinder (trust the process!), timber round and shelf, I created my own vintage-inspired version complete with a round vanity, mirror and chair. I used my Bosch tools to do this and it worked so well!
What I used
For this project I used:
- Large cardboard cylinder
- Old ottoman
- Timber round piece
- Round timber shelf (or cut your own pieces of timber to size)
- Foam
- Upholstery Fabric
- Mirror
- Two chains
- Hinges
- Bosch jigsaw
- Bosch drill
- Bosch Upholstery Tacker
- Screws
Making the round vanity
- Use a measuring tape to find and mark the centre of the cardboard cylinder. Drill a hole at the mark, then insert the jigsaw blade and carefully cut the cylinder open and down to size.
- Cut a piece of batting to fit around the outside of the cylinder. Wrap it around the base and use the tacker to secure it in place.
- Next, cover the batting with your chosen fabric, pulling it taut as you work and securing it neatly with the tacker.
- Repeat the same process with the curved piece that will sit inside the vanity, covering it with batting, then fabric.
- For the shelf, I repurposed a timber round shelving unit. Remove the existing shelves with a hammer, then cover the outside using the same batting, fabric and tacking technique.
- To make the mirror, take a timber round and mark out the mirror opening. Use a jigsaw to carefully cut out the centre, then sand the edges until smooth.
- Stain the timber mirror frame in your desired colour and, once dry, finish it with varnish.
- Attach hinges to the mirror frame so it can open and close, then glue the mirror securely to the inside of the frame.
- For the chair, I repurposed an old round ottoman. Sew a slipcover to fit over the top, then pull the fabric neatly underneath and secure it underneath to the base with the tacker.
- To assemble the vanity, glue the fabric-covered internal circle into the base. Attach brackets inside the cylinder, position the shelf on top and screw it securely into place.
- Attach the finished mirror to the vanity using the hinges. Drill small holes for the chains and secure them between the mirror and vanity so the mirror is supported when opened.
- Finally, make a small loop from fabric and attach it to the top of the timber mirror frame to create a simple handle for opening it.
It’s giving designer, it’s giving mid-century, it’s giving… that was a cardboard cylinder?! I love how it turned out and the girls are fighting over who gets to have it!
