I love seeing old things get new life, and I hate throwing things away that still have life in them or could be reused. (Like when they take a sledgehammer to those dated but still sound cabinets in the home reno shows? Drives me crazy.) So when our guest today took an old sink from the ReStore and turned it into the cutest sand and water table for her daughter, we just had to feature it!
Get the full details of Kelsey’s sink repurpose below, and consider these other ways to reuse an old sink rather than toss it out:
Combine your old sink with an old door and some new lumber to create an amazing outdoor serving table with this tutorial from Hunt and Host
or add an old sink to a crib or changing table to create a great potting bench! (original source unknown)
Inspired? Here’s Kelsey to share all the details of this old sink transformation!
Create a Kids Sand and Water Table from an Old Sink
by Kelsey from Tattered and Inked
Hi everyone!! My name is Kelsey and I blog at Tattered and Inked, where I share DIY projects & furniture redos! I’m so excited to share one of my favorite projects to date with you guys! We have been searching for the perfect water table for our toddler girl & finally decided to create our own. So today I’m sharing a DIY Sand & Water table from an old, discarded sink!
I have had in my head to do some sort of water play table for our one year old this summer since Arkansas summers are scorchers and water play is essential to survival during the summer months.
I searched for a few but never found one that I really liked.
So we decided to create our own.
The idea all revolves around re-using an old metal sink.
So I immediately ran to my favorite discard junk palace, the Habitat Restore, and was in luck!
They had several sinks that would do the trick but I really wanted metal and double basin.
Here’s what I came home with for about $30.
I was so excited to find exactly what I was looking for on my first trip!
That rarely happens 🙂
So let’s talk supplies.
Hubby actually did the building part of this project so I’m not super exact on lumber/measurements. And all of that will completely depend on the sink that you’re working with. So understand that before starting.
Hubby used an inspiration picture as a jumping-off point and pretty much just came up with the plan in his head.
Here’s the supply list:
Double basin sink
2×4 (we used approx. 2 8 ft. pieces.)
1×2 (we used part of a 10 ft. piece)
We used scrap pieces for the legs but 2x4s could work for this as well
Wood screws
Cordless nail gun & nails
Rustoleum spraypaint in White
Rustoleum Clear Coat Spraypaint
Paint color of choice (I used Meadow Mist by SW)
1 50lb bag of sand
1 drain cover
Liquid Nails
1 Drain Plug
All in all, the project cost us around $50 (we had paint & a few other supplies already on hand)
You’ll need to start by constructing the base that your sink will sit in.
Hubby built this so I don’t have a complete step by step but it’s very basic.
He used the measurement of the sink to determine what width needed to be for the top surround.
We used scrap pieces of wood for legs and attached them on the inside of the base that was created.
[Remodelaholic note: you could use this vanity plan as a starting point, just be sure to adapt to your particular sink!]
We decided to add a shelf below for buckets and toys by creating slats with 1×4’s and 1×1’s in an alternating pattern.
While hubby worked on creating the base (he used wood screws for everything except attaching the shelf pieces. For that, he used our cordless nail gun), I worked on the sink itself.
Of course, you could just leave it in the stainless steel that it came in.
Ours was actually in pretty decent condition too.
But, of course, I had to glam it up a bit.
Any chance to make it girly, right?
This would be perfect for if the sink you found had rusty spots too.
Grab a can of Rustoleum’s enamel spraypaint in white.
Perfect for adding color, adding even more rust protection and it’ll cover up all those ugly scratches and wear.
Check it out after applying several thin coats…
After spraying it white, I went over the whole thing with a clear protective coat as well. Never hurts to be extra cautious. Since I knew it’d get a lot of wear as well as the added grittiness of sand and water, I figured extra protection was best in this case.
After glamming the sink up, I turned to adding some color to the wooden base.
I chose my favorite ‘meadow mist‘ that I had leftover from our recent foyer table makeover.
After several coats of the gorgeous minty blue, it’s time to put it all together!!!
Are you ready for this????
Isn’t it just gorgeous???
I was so giddy as we were putting it all together.
The sink set down in the base perfectly.
We decided to add a scrap piece of wood over the top of the sink where the holes from where the faucet would have been were. Some of those edges were sharp and it looked a whole lot cleaner with the wood there.
It’s easily taken off with the drill if we ever need to lift the sink out for storage.
The white against the blue is just gorgeous.
I mean, why aren’t kitchens all including mint cabinets with white sinks???
The cute pink bucket was a Target dollar spot find around easter. I added the name in vinyl and gave it to her as her Easter basket filled with gardening tools & a watering can.
Little did I know that they’d be perfect for her new water table too!
I added a couple buckets underneath and couldn’t resist making them a little cuter with a wood plaque and labels for what they held.
One for water toys, one for sand.
I found the cutest little mini sandcastle forms at Michaels and we had several sand toys from our beach trips that were perfect for the table.
We obviously need to bulk up on the water toys though.
I plan to throw her plastic animals and cubes in there too.
The net with the fish were a huge hit!!
Let’s talk logistics for a moment.
It was SUPER hard to get a good picture of it, but, if you recall, there were holes on both sides of the sink where drains had been.
The water side wasn’t a big deal as it still had the drain intact. We just used a regular sink plug for it.
The sand side, however, had a gaping hole in the bottom.
We bought a tub cover (those plastic ones) in hopes that it would cover enough but it still felt too flimsy. Especially for 50 lbs of sand!
I ended up rigging it by adding a ring of Liquid Nails around the rim and pressing the rubber seal onto it. It sat overnight and was firmly on there come morning.
We haven’t had any crazy sand problems yet 🙂
One regular 50 lb bag of play sand filled it up nicely. Then just add water to the other side & you’re ready to play!!!
I was so excited with how it turned out- I was dying to share it with little miss.
The sand plug problem held us off for a night while I waited for it to dry but we got it out immediately the next morning.
I’m thinking it was a HUGE hit.
We’re still working on liking the texture of sand though 🙂
I’m thinking that when summer is over, it’ll be amazing with rice & beans in it too.
I love a good sensory table.
Little miss had a ball playing in it- the big kids even enjoyed it too!
After you’re done playing, just slip a bucket underneath the water side, pull the plug out and let it drain.
It’s one of my most favorite trash to treasure transformations & I know it will be well-loved for a long time to come.
I’ll keep you updated on how it holds up too!
So, keep an eye out for a sad old sink & turn it into something fun!!!
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I’d love for you to keep up with me on social media!
Lorene has been behind the scenes here at Remodelaholic for more than a decade! She believes that planning projects and actually completing them are two different hobbies, but that doesn't stop her from planning at least a dozen projects at any given time. She spends her free time creating memories with her husband and 5 kids, traveling as far as she can afford, and partaking of books in any form available.
This is absolutely amazing. While I love love building, building parts can be a little more pricey down here in Australia. So I’m thinking if I could find a second hand coffee table and fit my old sink into it. I’m just about to go thru an ikea kitchen makeover and the old double sink would work perfectly here. I’m super excited to do this. Lucky I never purchased a sand and water table from toys r us yet.
It’s such an honor to be guest posting on one of my favorite blogs!! Thanks so much for letting me share my project with your awesome readers 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing, Kelsey! Such a great idea and you made it so CUTE!
This is absolutely amazing. While I love love building, building parts can be a little more pricey down here in Australia. So I’m thinking if I could find a second hand coffee table and fit my old sink into it. I’m just about to go thru an ikea kitchen makeover and the old double sink would work perfectly here. I’m super excited to do this. Lucky I never purchased a sand and water table from toys r us yet.