DIY Potting Bench With Old Sink

Zest it Up
by Zest it Up
8 Materials
$30
2 Days
Medium
Sam and I have been hankering to build a one-of-a-kind potting bench that was sturdy enough to handle some serious gardening action, but still exhibit some legit repurposed design. We have scoured online for inspiration, but as usual, our inspiration wound up coming from our recycled materials. Thanks to some awesome family and friends who never tear down a fence without calling us to offer up the weathered wood, we had a decent little stock pile of materials just waiting to be refashioned. Along with some cute “junk” that we found on the side of the road, our potting bench took shape right before our eyes and quickly became garden art!!

Photo Cred: Anya McInroy
As I’m sure you can imagine, this little beauty of a sink wound up being the star of this project!
As with many of our projects, this potting bench began with a little demolition.
Hahaha!  I am not going to lie, this project kind of developed and grew as I went.  This is why I am not going to even bother with a supply list or measurements.  It really refined itself as I went.  Starting our rickety, it became beast!  SO heavy and so sturdy.
In honor of my figuring things out as I go, I wanted to make use of an old gate door that was missing some boards.  In my brain, it would serve excellently as a table top….and it had an opening almost the exact size of our sink!  So, I used some fresh 2″x4″‘s to create a frame underneath the door, in order to give it enough strength to support our yellow cast iron sink.
Once I had framed it all out, I rested the table top on our workbench, so that I could futz with attaching some 4″x4″ legs.
I attached them by simply drilling in some wood screws at an angle….don’t worry, this will get more steady as I go!  Like I said, things developed as I went icon
Here it is resting on another tabletop surface, awaiting more legs!
Things were a bit wobbly, or at least wonky, so I pulled everything in by attaching 2″x4″‘s to the legs halfway down.  This helped to pull things in and straighten things out.
 This helped to pull things in and straighten things out.
I then made sure to cover everything with the “dressing” of old boards.  Obviously the table surface got a lovely layer of aged wood, but the frame I created along the legs became a sturdy shelf with the help of old fence boards.
Then, using additional 2″x4″‘s, I managed to create a back wall to our potting bench.  I then used old fence boards and an old window to face my back wall.
Last step was to use these shelf brackets to create a decorative dirt barrier on the sides of our sink.  Using our good old technique of wiping the wood down with vinegar soaked steel wool, we managed to match the supports to all the old fence board.
Drilling through the 2″x4″‘s straight into the shelf brackets, we could count our little project finished!
Filling the sink with mushroom compost and our shelves with pots, we were ready for some garden work! This guy is MASSIVE!  I adore how the shabbiness is hiding how sturdy it is.  This beauty is going to stand up to some major abuse.
Happy gardening and reusing!
xoxo,
Chanda
 
Suggested materials:
  • Drill & Screws
  • Nail Gun & Nails
  • Rustic Wood (old fence boards)
See all materials
Zest it Up
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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