How NOT to Make a Bench!

This was my first attempt at making a bench!  It was made from an old crib, and it was an 

EPIC FAIL!  

It may look decent from afar, but let me tell you, it is quite horrific!  

 I'm going to show you what we did....so then you will know What Not To DO!

To preface this project, I have been wanting to make a bench from an old headboard/crib for a long time!  However, I wanted it to be exactly how it was pictured in my head...nothing less! HA!

So I had been searching for months to find the perfect piece.

When I came across this Jenny Lind style crib on Craigslist for $50, I knew she was the one!

Here she is before I ruined her:

Because I wanted the bench to be the length of the crib (not the width), I cut the curved ends off of the width pieces

and attached them to the length pieces because I thought that would give me the length I wanted with the cute curved ends that I liked

But once it was cut, we weren't sure how to attach it, so we ended up taking a long screw and screwing it together right on the curve.....Not a good idea!

 We then built the frame for the seat, which went according to plan...no big issues here

The planks for the seat turned out ok, but the middle board was warped.  The black plank was actually the bottom rail of the crib

For my perfect bench, I really wanted arm rests on the sides.  So we took the other width piece of the crib, cut it in half, and cut off the bottoms to give the sides the height we wanted

Yeah, another BIG mistake!  But we finally got it all together.  She was awful, but we had spent ALL day on her, so I was going to paint her anyways!

I painted her using my homemade chalk paint with Valspar's Polar White.  Are you still thinking she looks ok?! Well, let me show you...

First of all, the sides are so crooked, and the entire bench leaned forward, so we had to add furniture levelers to the front legs of the bench!  

Also, the seat of the bench is too narrow...my bum hardly fits!!!! lol

 We couldn't get all the pieces to fit exactly, so we ended up with gaps like this everywhere:

And remember this...isn't it lovely?!

We also ended up with many of these, even after drilling holes first!

So here are my suggestions:

Don't try to piece together the back of the bench

Stick with one solid piece for the back!

Don't use wood that is bowed! 

Don't guess on the width for the seat

Measure an average chair or bench seat!

And Don't be like me, and expect it to look like it does in your head!!

I'm not sure when I'll be willing to give a bench another try...but I'm thinking I might stick to a headboard next time...

Until then she will sit on my back porch!

Therena

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Thrifty Thursday: Repurposed Changing Table

I haven't had much time lately to hit the thrift stores, but I did happen to swing by a garage sale this last weekend and pick up this antique changing table.  When I saw her I thought she would make a great little "potting bench"

The guy told me this piece was made in the 60's (not sure if that's true), but he gave it to me for $10

 so I gladly hauled her away!

And this is how she looks now, sitting on my front porch:

I used Valspar's Polar White, and then Wet Pavement for the cabinet faces:

I didn't use a primer or sand her, I just made my homemade chalk paint.

I added a simple stencil to the cabinet doors because it looked kinda boring. 

 But she turned out pretty cute, don't you think?!

 Remember the table I had here before?  Well, I still love it, but this repurposed changing table just fits better in this spot, and I found a better spot inside for the old table!  

So its a win/win!!

Therena

Link Parties:
Living Better Together, Love of Family & Home, Miss Mustard Seed, The Pin Junkie, The Shabby Nest, All Our Days, Start at Home, Funky Junk Interiors, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Six Sisters Stuff, VMG206, It's Overflowing, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple, Craft-O-Maniac, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, A Peek into my Paradise, Skip to My Lou, Love Grows Wild, Artsy Chicks Rule, Nap-Time Creations, Sugar Bee Crafts, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Fluster Buster, Savvy Southern Style

Pre-Blog Projects

 I was going through some of my old photos last night and came across a few with furniture pieces from before I refinished them!  Oh, the memories it brought back.  So I thought it would be fun to tell you a little about them: 

 If you've looked at my "Things I've Painted" page, you will recognize both of these pieces!

TV Console NOW: 

THEN:

We bought this piece from a unique furniture store in Gilbert, AZ called The Potato Barn.  I had it almost 7 years before I refinished it.

And that adorable face is my middle boy Barrett :)

When refinishing this piece, I left the top alone, and painted the bottom with a creamy white (not sure the color.....remember this is Pre-Blog!).  I glazed it with an antiquing glaze, but used a DRY cloth instead of a damp cloth to give it a heavier antique look

Ok, moving on!

Bench NOW:

THEN:

 I love this bench!  When I was growing up this bench was in the waiting room at my Dad's office.  When I was a senior in High School, my Dad went to work for a company and moved out of the office.  I begged him to let me keep the bench!  He so lovingly did, and even stored it for me while I went off to college!  So I have had this bench for a loooong time!

Sitting on it in this picture is my oldest son Talmage (it was his 5th birthday)

 I used the exact same technique for this bench as I did for the TV console:

So now you know the history behind these two pieces that you've

 seen throughout my blog!

Therena

Party Links:

Brag About It Link Party, Sugar Bee Crafts, Savvy Southern Style, Domestically Speaking,

Lil Luna, Not Just a Housewife, Someday Crafts, Shabby Creek Cottage, Start at Home, Huckleberry Love, House of Hepworths, Gingerly Made, The Pin Junkie, All Our Days, Love of Family & Home, Miss Mustard Seed, Tatertots & Jello, Remodelaholic, Six Sisters Stuff, Its Overflowing, DIY Sunday Showcase, DIY Showoff, Keeping it Simple,

Craft-O-Maniac, Coastal Charm, Mod Vintage Life, Skip to My Lou, A Stroll Thru Life,

 Nap-time Creations, Fluster Buster