Anniversary gift

I built this makeup vanity in 2017 for my wife as an anniversary present. She wanted an area where she could put on her make up that was well lit and had a tilting mirror. I had previously built her a small cabinet to house all of her individual make up containers, so I also made sure that this cabinet fit beside the mirror on one side.

Made from sapele

The vanity is built from ribbon striped sapele mahogany. Some of the boards even have a bit of figure through them which subtly adds to the beauty of the piece. In the table top, I inlaid her name in anigre.

Lots of carving

The mirror arms are attached to the table top via sliding dovetails. The arms that hold the mirror, the mirror frame, and the front apron all feature carved elements including mermaids, seashells, seahorses, and waves.

The shells are also bolts

The mirror is secured to the arms by the two carved shells that have a bolt epoxied into them.

Two drawers

The apron features two small drawers (the drawers are the part with the waves on it). As there are no knobs or pulls for the drawers, I added finger pulls on the bottom of the drawer. So instead of pulling from the front of the drawer, you reach under slightly and pull it open from the bottom. It works well and kept the appearance clean.

LED lights

Around the perimeter of the 1/4″ thick glass mirror, I installed LED lights. We tested various LED white colors to find the best makeup color. The vanity sits atop 4 tapered legs and stands at 30″ to the top of the table top. The vanity was finished with vinyl sealer and then two coats of conversion varnish. This will provide a finish that will stand up to nail polish remover yet still has open graining to allow the woodgrain to show through.

Final thoughts

I’m happy with how the build turned out and my wife is thrilled. She uses it all the time and it has held up well to the abuse of her makeup. In looking at a project that I built a few years ago, I see a few things that I’d do differently now. However, I’m happy to have the piece be a part of our home.