How I Turned My Dresser into a Makeup Vanity

Going from a 4,200 square foot home to a fifth wheel can be a bit of an adjustment.  One thing I liked about having a large home is having a large bathroom that had a vanity where I would get ready in the morning.  I'd do my makeup and my hair while sitting comfortably at the vanity.  Unfortunately, the fifth wheel does not have a vanity so I decided to utilize what we had to create a similar space.

First, I was lucky that our fifth wheel has a small dresser in the bedroom.  Below you can see what I had to work with, a small dresser directly under a window with a TV above it.  This photo has been brightened so you can really see the area before I did anything to it however the lighting in the bedroom was minimal, especially when the blinds were closed.

My first step was to add some lighting to the area.  I did not know exactly what or how I was going to do this so I just went to Menards to see what the options were.  I wanted to do this project myself without Cody's help even though I know he would have done it if I had asked.

At Menards I found simple track lighting that I could do myself and because the area has an available outlet I could just plug it in.

I bought a 2 foot track, 3 lights, and a live end that plugs into an outlet.

I put the live end on the end of the track and used a drill to screw the track into the base of the TV mounting area.

I used the drill to drill a hole big enough for the outlet to fit through to be plugged in behind the TV.

I ended up adding two tracks of lighting and then ordering a wireless light switch so that I can just push a light switch on the wall and the lights come on.

After I had all this amazing, much needed lighting I bought a mirror at Lowes that was the size I needed.  I kind of just slipped it under the valance and used my vanity tray to keep it from sliding down.

I turned the mirror around when taking the pictures because I didn't think anyone wanted to see a picture of me in the mirror taking a picture of the mirror.

The above picture is without the track lighting on and the below picture is with it on.

I bought a fold up chair from IKEA for less than $10 and I keep it folded up against the wall when I am not using my vanity however when I am using it there is just enough space to sit down and do my makeup in front of the vanity.