A Welcoming Bench...

"Oh Pinterest, how you taunt me! With all your DIY projects, I suddenly have the desire to have a can of spray paint in my hand!" I had to get off the computer and find a project. But what? I went searching in my Father-in-law's shop for ideas. I found one! Actually two. Two beat up old chairs. I asked if I could have them. I asked where the sand paper was kept. And I went to the hardware store... to buy spray paint!

Here's the chairs before...

I can't imagine these chairs ever being comfortable. The seats had absolutely no padding in them. I unscrewed them from underneath and we saved them for a template for the new seats. And then I began sanding...

I took them back to the shop to spray them. I primed them first, and then waited very impatiently for it to dry. I have never spray painted anything before. I was advised to used lots of thin coats, and let it dry in between. I was supervised by my husband, my father-in-law & and uncle who kept passing by and giving me advice. The only thing they couldn't give me was patience. I gave them a number of thin coats over the course of the weekend. I was anxious to put the seats on. I had what I thought was the perfect fabric. My husband cut new seats. We cut foam and worked together on upholstering them. We put it in the entrance to see the look.

We didn't like it. It made the chairs look washed out. Like they disappeared into the wall. How disappointing! On to Plan B...

Hmmmmm... maybe a bench would be better. And they needed to be distressed. D brought me his electric sander. I was scared to use it. What if it turns out ugly? He reassured me that it doesn't take much to spray paint over it if I don't like it.

So, I sanded. Then I filled in where I sanded with a dark brown stain and a tiny sponge brush. Very carefully. Any stain that would get on the paint was there to stay. While I worked on that, D worked on joining the 2 chairs and making a seat for the bench. I love that we work well as a team. And it helps that he's a carpenter... and he knows what he's doing... because I don't. I am willing to learn though, and that is all that matters.

Distressing added much more personality and made it stand out from the wall. Now, all I needed was a new fabric choice.  It took a week of laying different choices over it, and I finally decided on a pretty yellow upholstery fabric. The funny thing was though, it looked better with the wrong side up. Who says you have to follow the rules?

Now, my bench sits by our front door, welcoming all who enter. It is a place to sit and take your shoes off, or to put them back on when it's time to go. It is a place where someone can sit and visit. It welcomes friends, family and customers. But most of all, when I see it, it makes me happy! I made it!! And I am so proud of taking on a new challenge!