Hall Bench From Leftovers
by
Margaret E
I had a piece of a double bed footboard left over from my Double Bed Frame to Queen Headboard project, and was inspired by the benches other Hometalkers had made. I knew my project would have to be a little different because I would need to add legs to whatever I made. I knew I'd find what I needed at one of the local Habitat for Humanity ReStores. (If you have one near you,keep it in mind when you need building materials. You may be able to find what you need far cheaper than one of the big box stores.)
Here are my materials: the center part of the footboard and an over-the-refrigerator cabinet from Habitat. Not shown is the 95-cent 2x2 board (also from Habitat) for the legs. I removed the pieces of trim from the bottom of the footboard piece before cutting it to size.
Everything cut to size. The board for the seat were recycled from an entertainment center at my sister's house. The board for the legs was rather warped - probably why it was just 95 cents!
Legs are on. I admit, the back legs are a little crooked (but not visible from here), but I only had one board and one shot at drilling the holes properly. Did not pass the second test.
All in one piece, ready to paint. The trim from the bottom of the footboard was cut into three pieces; the two small ends were too pretty to throw out, so I put them at the edges of the seat. The veneer on the footboard was badly cracked and peeling, which resulted in all the patching. I'm not one to paint wood furniture, but I already replaced veneer on the headboard and chose not to do it here.
This is the third of three coats of paint (cream, blue and white, no fancy Milk or Chalk paint - I'm into recycle and use up what I have, so that's exactly what I did.) The inside of the cabinet is a $1.25 sample Oops paint from Lowe's - I saw the grey paint in the morning when I was looking for a paintbrush; decided I wasn't going to take it, then ended up going back for it when I finished the coat of white paint. I knew it would be perfect for the inside of the cabinet.
I used 0000 steel wool and sandpaper to distress the areas where wear would naturally occur. Unfortunately, none of that shows up here because my white bench doesn't have a lot of contrast against the cream-colored walls in my apartment. I'm still looking for appropriate baskets/bins for the cabinet. I like the look of this one, but when you shop Homegoods, your chances of finding as many of what you want as you need are slim. And thus far, this is the only one I've found in the greater Atlanta metro area!
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2 of 6 comments
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I love this! You did a great job!
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Thank you, Carolyn! Now I have that coastal cottage I hoped to buy; haven't yet found the perfect spot for the bench.
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