Antique Wash Stands and How to Refurnish Them For Your New Home

Last updated on April 18th, 2022 at 12:16 pm

Antique wash stands are some of the most popular pieces of furniture that modern dwellers want to make as part of their decorations in their new house nowadays, because besides acting as a talking point during meal gatherings, they also add a mysterious charm to the entire house and can be used as other types of furniture.

antique wash stands
Photo: TheGoldenSycamore.com

Some of these antique wash stands date back to as far back as the 16th century, and were widely popular particularly in the 1800s and early 1900s. This was because homes did not have indoor plumbing then, and most families rely on such wash stands for their daily hygiene purposes. Such wash stands, or sometimes commonly referred to as wash basins, basin stands or wash basin cabinets, were typically cabinets or two-tiered tables with a wash basin on top and a water pitcher below. It is noted that some of them no longer have the wash basin on top anymore, but are being used as just an antique cabinet. By 1930, such night stands became not as favoured anymore as modern plumbing systems came in place.

So how do you refurnish these wash stands for integration into your new homes? We show you what a few experts did.

Refurnishing Antique Wash Stands

Using Milk Paints

Allison of the Golden Sycamore uses Miss Mustard Seed’s new European milk paints to give her wash stand a vintage look. She painted her piece with Layla’s Mint for the first coat and Mora for the second, and sealed the furniture with polycrylic to prevent future paint chips.

Using Chalk Paints

Crystal of Urban Patina, an expert who has more than 20 years’ of experience in painting, crafting and repurposing furniture, used chalk paint to refurnish her wash stand.

Photo: Kelly and Company Home

She painted her furniture navy blue, using Annie Sloan Chalk paint. Mixing Napoleonic and Barcelona colors, she created a velvety, rich navy color and used a couple coats of dark wax to seal the paint and deepened the look of the wash stand. The hardware also got a makeover in a new gold metallic finish.

Separately, also check out how Diane of An Extraordinary Day gave an antique wash stand a folk art chalk paint makeover. I love how she went into the details so be sure to head over for a look. Pop Restorations’ method of restoring a vintage walnut wash stand with step-by-step photos definitely also warrants a visit.

And on Houzz, several designers shared with us how to integrate an antique wash stand into your decor of the house; be it the bedroom, bathroom or vanity room, the antique furniture looks extremely outstanding among the other pieces of fittings. Some of the antique wash stands were retro-fitted with modern taps and sinks.
 
If you have no idea on what kind of antique wash stand you want for your furnishings, Dawn Gonzalez has compiled a spectacular gallery of vintage wash stands on Pinterest for your preview.Truly, such antique wash stands are hard to come by nowadays, and as a guide, you can generally get one for a few hundred dollars up to $1,500, especially if they are fixed with expensive materials. Certainly, you also have to take into account the condition of the vintage piece of night stand you are eyeing at the auctions or online. Check out this guide that we have on how to properly identify an antique wash stand.
 
Main Photo Credit: The Golden Sycamore
About Bei

60s music advocate. Bacon aficionado. Unapologetic web geek. Collects everything from Star Wars and PlayMobil to matchboxes. Scared of cats and roller coasters, in that order. Connect with her at [email protected].

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