Foot of the Bed Storage Bench Makeover

by Angela

5 Materials

5 Hours

Easy

I recently used paint to rehab my patio cushions with great results (post here: https://www.hometalk.com/diy/outdoor/furniture/patio-cushion-rehab-with-paint-36994925?r=2. I was so happy with the results that I decided to update my foot of the bed storage bench. The bench is in great shape but the colors no longer fit in with my decor. I had left over white paint from my door rehab project ( https://www.hometalk.com/diy/home-tours/ugly-door-makeover-31703821?r=2) so I used the leftover paint, added baking soda and water to make my own chalk paint and went to town (well, actually the back yard) painting my bench.

Before

I taped off the legs and areas of the bench I didn’t want to paint. I thoroughly mixed 1 cup of white latex paint, 1/2 cup of baking soda and 3 tablespoons of water. Using a spray bottle with water, I moistened the fabric and began painting the bench.

First coat

Since it was a warm sunny day, each coat dried fairly quickly.

Third coat

I ended up painting five light coats, sanding between each and after the last coat. As soon as I find a stencil I like, I am going to add a stenciled vine design in pale blue to the top and then apply wax to protect the finish. But in the meantime, it‘s already a better fit with my bedroom decor than it was before painting.