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Free build guide

Build a
vanity base.

How to build the rustic pine vanity base we sell: a small bathroom vanity cabinet of pine frames and beadboard, made to take a standard vanity sink top. A drawing for every step, every part named. Free, no ads.

Skill
Intermediate
Time
A weekend
Steps
6
Widths
18–36″
Start the free guideSee the plans · $7

Rather have us build it? We build it to order, from $489.

Need a different size? We’ll draw the plans to your size, $35.

Building it later? Save this guide to Pinterest (opens Pinterest in a new tab).

A vanity base we built, in golden-stained pine, with a beadboard door and oil-rubbed bronze T-hinges and handle, under a white sink top
DWG FUD-026 STEPS

Before you start

Four widths, one build.

The vanity base comes in four sizes: 18″ × 16½″ × 32″, 24″ × 18″ × 32″, 30″ × 21″ × 32″ and 36″ × 21″ × 32″. The steps are the same at every size; the parts’ sizes change, and the 30″ and 36″ widths have a pair of doors.

To scale · every width 32″ tall
  1. 01

    Choose the sink top first

    The base has no top of its own: a stock vanity sink top sits on it. A stock top is about 1″ wider than its cabinet and ½–1″ deeper, so check your top’s size against the base’s before you build.

  2. 02

    Check the plumbing

    The back of the base is open between two rails, so the supply lines and the drain come up through it. If the drain comes up through the floor of the room, you’ll cut the cabinet floor around it.

  3. 03

    Know the skills

    It’s an intermediate build: pocket-hole joinery, gluing and nailing beadboard panels, and hanging a door inside its frame. If you’ve built a frame with pocket screws before, you can build this.

The parts

  1. Meet the parts.

    Each group is built on its own, then goes into the vanity base in the steps below. Drawn from our model at 24″ wide, all to one scale.

  2. 01× 2

    Sides

    A pine frame with a beadboard panel across its inside face. Make two, mirror images.

  3. 02

    Face frame

    The front: two stiles and two rails around the door opening.

  4. 03

    Cabinet floor and cleats

    A ½″ finish-plywood floor inside the cabinet, resting on two pine cleats.

  5. 04

    Back rails

    Two rails, top and bottom; the back stays open for the plumbing.

  6. 05

    Door

    A pine frame with a beadboard panel, on T-hinges, with a bar pull; a pair of doors at 30″ and 36″ wide.

  7. 06

    Toe kick

    A pine kick board across the front, set back 3″ under the face frame, on a cleat.

  8. 07

    Door stop

    A strip behind the face frame’s top rail that the door closes against, with the magnetic catch.

Tools & materials

What you’ll need.

A checklist: tick each one off as you gather it.

Tools

Measure and cut

Drill and join

Clamp and sand

Install and stay safe

Materials

Wood

Door hardware

Fasteners and glue

Finish

How much to buy?

The printable plans list every board and sheet to buy for your width, with a cutting layout for each, so nothing’s wasted.

See what’s in the plans

Step by step

How it goes together.

Each picture shows the vanity base so far, drawn at 24″ wide: the parts the step adds are shaded, and the ones already built are ghosted.

  1. 01Cut
  2. 02Sides
  3. 03Face frame
  4. 04Case
  5. 05Door
  6. 06Finish
  1. Step 01 / 06Cut
    01

    Cut the parts

    Cut every part and rip the boards that need it: 1x boards for the frames, the rails and the toe kick, ½″ finish plywood for the cabinet floor, ¼″ beadboard for the panels.

    Tip

    Cut the longest parts first: if a cut goes wrong, the board is still long enough for a shorter part. Mark each part’s name on it in pencil as you go.

    In the plansThe plans list every part for your size, with a cutting layout for each board and sheet you buy.

  2. Step 02 / 06Sides
    02

    Build the side frames

    Pocket-screw each side frame together, and drill pocket holes up the inside of each front stile for joining it to the face frame. The beadboard panels go on later, once the case is joined.

    Tip

    Drill the pocket holes in the back of each frame, where the beadboard panel will cover them.

  3. Step 03 / 06Face frame
    03

    Build the face frame

    Pocket-screw the stiles and rails together from the back. Check the door opening’s size, and the frame for square by measuring its diagonals.

    Tip

    Clamp each joint flat to the bench while you drive its pocket screws, so the faces stay flush. Everything else is built off this frame.

  4. Step 04 / 06Case
    04

    Assemble the case

    Pocket-screw the sides to the face frame, then glue and nail a beadboard panel inside each, over the screws. Add the back rails, the cleats with the cabinet floor on them, and the toe kick.

    Tip

    Assemble the case on a flat floor or bench so it doesn’t rack, and check it for square before the panels and the cabinet floor go in: once they’re glued, it stays the way it is.

    The side of one of our vanity bases in raw pine: the beadboard panel in its frame, beaded face out
    One we built.
  5. Step 05 / 06Door
    05

    Build and hang the door

    Build the door frame with a beadboard panel lapped across its back. Add the door stop, hang the door on surface-mount T-hinges with an even gap all around, and fit a magnetic catch. A wider base takes a pair, meeting in the middle: build and hang each the same way, with its own pull and catch.

    Tip

    Slip a couple of thin shims or playing cards into the gap while you mark and fit the hinges, so the gap stays even all around.

    The stained face frame and door of one of our vanity bases, with the bar handle and T-hinge
    One we built.

    In the plansThe plans give the door’s frame and panel sizes for every size of base, one door or a pair.

  6. Step 06 / 06Finish
    06

    Finish and install

    Sand, then stain or paint, and seal the base. Once the finish is dry, set it level, screw its upper back rail to the wall studs, and set the sink top on it. Plumbing to your local code: we recommend a licensed plumber.

    Tip

    Test the stain on an offcut first: on pine, a pre-stain conditioner evens it out. Left unstained, the base still needs its topcoat before it goes into a bathroom.

    One of our vanity bases painted white, with satin nickel hardware, under a stone top with a white vessel sink
    One we built.

Plans & prices

Build it with the plans, or we’ll build it.

Free build guide

This page

  • Every step, in order, with a picture
  • The parts, named
  • Tools and materials
  • A tip for each step

Printable plans

$7

Look inside the plans

Everything in the guide, plus every measurement:

  • All 4 sizes: 18″ × 16½″ × 32″, 24″ × 18″ × 32″, 30″ × 21″ × 32″, 36″ × 21″ × 32″
  • A dimensioned drawing of each, and the build in pictures, every part lettered
  • The cut list, hardware and build order for each size
  • A shopping list and a cutting layout for every board and sheet
  • One printable PDF, yours to keep

A PDF to download as soon as you pay. Personal use only: build it for yourself. Don’t sell what you build or share the plan. Read the plan license. Plans are digital downloads, so they can’t be returned or refunded. If you find a problem in a plan, tell us: we’ll fix it and send you the corrected file.

Built for you

From $489

  • Built to order in Flushing, Michigan, in any of the 4 sizes
  • Raw wood, stained or painted
  • Shipping to the lower 48 included
See the vanity base

Custom size plans · $35

Need a size we don’t list?

We’ll draw the plans to your measurements, anywhere from 18–48″ wide, 16–22″ deep and 30–36″ tall, and email them within 1–2 business days.

Choose your size

Look inside the plans

Every page of the plan at a glance, and four of them as they print. In these samples the numbers on the drawing and the cut list are blurred; the plans have every one, for every width.

  1. All 29 pages of the vanity base plans: pages 1 to 4 for every size, six pages for each of the four sizes, and the license

    01 · Every page

  2. Sample page: the vanity base plan’s cover, with its contents: before you start, the build in pictures, and a drawing, cut list, hardware, build order, shopping list and cutting layouts for each of the four sizes

    02 · The cover

  3. Sample page: the vanity base plan’s first step-by-step sheet, each step’s picture with the parts it adds shaded and lettered

    03 · Step by step

  4. Sample page: the 24 by 18 by 32 inch vanity base’s dimensioned drawing, top, front, right side and section views with every part lettered; the dimensions are blurred in this sample

    04 · The 24″ × 18″ × 32″ drawing

  5. Sample page: the 24 by 18 by 32 inch vanity base’s cut list, every part by letter and name; the sizes, quantities and stock are blurred in this sample

    05 · The 24″ × 18″ × 32″ cut list

Sample page 1 of 5 · Every page

All 29 pages of the vanity base plans: pages 1 to 4 for every size, six pages for each of the four sizes, and the license

Questions

Good to know.

Something else? Email farmhouseurbandesign@gmail.com. We reply usually within an hour or two, always within 24 hours.

Is this guide the whole plan?

It’s the whole method: every step, in order, with a picture. The printable plans add every measurement, for all four sizes.

Can I get plans for a different size?

Yes. The plans cover the four standard sizes; for any other size from 18–48″ wide, 16–22″ deep and 30–36″ tall, we’ll draw them to your measurements for $35 and email them within 1–2 business days. Choose your size.

What sink top fits?

A stock vanity sink top, about 1″ wider than the base and ½–1″ deeper: the 18″ × 16½″ × 32″ base takes a 19″ × 17″ top, the 24″ × 18″ × 32″ a 25″ × 19″, the 30″ × 21″ × 32″ a 31″ × 22″ and the 36″ × 21″ × 32″ a 37″ × 22″.

Are the sink top, sink and hardware included in the plans?

No: the plans are a printable PDF. They list the hardware to buy for each size.

Can I sell vanity bases I build from the plans?

No. The plans are for personal use only: build it for yourself, and please don’t share the file.