Recently, I’ve been in the planning stage of completing some long delayed renovation work.

As part of that research, I toured a corporate-owned hardware store over the weekend, walking down the isle featuring sinks and vanities. 

Obviously, the focus is on the bathroom. It currently needs a few items in addition to a sink and vanity, such as patchwork flooring and a fresh coat of paint.

The thing that made me grimace was the price tag. Expensive doesn’t begin to describe the price points for these items, all mostly made of sub par materials. While there was some hints of solid wood in the pieces, most of the item was made of particleboard.

If it’s evident particleboard was used in the construction, it can only be assumed that the rest of the components are equally as cheap.

Most of what I found on the shelf indicated I may need to do a little more digging before settling on a cost-effective vanity and sink that will last.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to install granite countertops on top of solid oak cabinets, but it’s not too much to ask that it’s functional and easy on the eyes.

That sounds expensive as well. So, I’ve concluded that I better start looking at flea markets and garage sales to see what can be scrounged up for relatively cheap.

While doing a bit of research, some great ideas were found.

Instead of finding a vanity at a hardware store, one idea was to look for an antique dresser that can be converted to a vanity.

It would require a bit of modification to make room for the sink and required plumbing, but that’s what power tools are for.

Another idea to patch the missing tile is to shop online retailers such as Ebay to look for other do-it-yourselfers selling their excess materials.

Hopefully at least one of these ideas will pan out. In the meantime, it’s time to check out a locally owned hardware store to see what they offer.