Sprucing Up the Dry Sink

I had been on the lookout for an affordable dry sink for a few months. (For those of you who don't know what a dry sink is or what they are used for, Sawdust City has some great info. Dry sinks were used before indoor plumbing came to be. They consist of a cabinet with a recessed basin that usually held a pitcher of water and a basin for washing. The raised sides helped to keep the water from splashing on to the floor.) Thus endeth the history lesson! So back to the dry sink. One of my colleagues was selling her dry sink on our work classified website for...wait for it...$20! Talk about a steal! To put it into perspective, most of the dry sinks I found were at least $80 if not well over $100. Score! The sink was in relatively good shape. One of the wooden plugs had popped off from the bottom and there were a few gouges on the side. It would definitely need some wood putty and a good sanding. I took the hardware off and filled in the gouges.

Then I hand-sanded it just enough to scratch up the finish and smooth the places where I filled in the gouges and holes.

I decided to use General Finishes again because I was so happy with how the red mirror turned out. They carry a really pretty chocolate brown that matches the original color.

I decided to start small by doing the doors and drawer first.

The color looked pretty good!

My supervisor thought so too.

Don't let the forlorn face fool you. He snuck out earlier and had his fair share of outdoor time.

Later on that night, I started working on the body of the dry sink. This color is amazing. It reminds me of a Hershey milk chocolate bar when it first goes on. (Yum!) As it drys, it turns to a lovely dark chocolate color.

After a few coats, the gouges and holes were covered up pretty well and my dry sink was all ready to go!

See what I mean about the dark chocolate color?

This one is a keeper for me - it's not for sale. I keep all of my painting supplies in it and it's the perfect size for my apartment...all 800 square feet of it!