The Other Three Benches Revealed !!!

You've all seen the Robin Egg Blue Bench and that was one of four benches that were done in the last two weeks. Pretty crazy, Right!! Thank goodness...I didn't have to do everything on all four of these benches. But, I wanted to show you how all of them turned out!!

This is the client's bench! A real beauty!!

This is my sister's bench! So cool!! 

My sister had bought a headboard/footboard about two years ago and she had told me,"the next time you make benches, will you help me make mine?" SO....once I was making the custom order bench (already had my power tools out) it was a no brainer.

This is my neighbor's crib bench!! Lovin' the style of this one! They all turned out different yet, SO cool!

  My neighbor even got in on the action and made a bench out of her crib because they are done having kids but, was keeping the crib for sentimental reasons. Perfect reason to make a bench. You get to keep it yet, it's something new!

Let's start with the custom order bench.

This is the custom order bench...pretty sad way to start out....being scraped and sanded. She was a beauty in the making!! I spent about 2 hours scraping paint and sanding. A little more than I expected but, it was worth the result.

The paint underneath was cool but, needed a little taming.

The client mentioned that she wanted a bench like these two different benches that she liked. One she had seen at target(it had three baskets underneath for storage and only liked that part of it) and my black/white bench I made quite a while ago. I had her come pick out the headboard/footboard that she liked and then I went to town building it! She knew that no two benches turned out alike and that's what she wanted...a custom peice for her entryway.

I built the seat out of thick boards with a skirting of 2x4's for sturdiness and used MDF for the shelf with 1x1's with "L" brackets for support. There was only so much space between the seat and the bottom to build in this shelf so I didn't want it bulky.

Every screw I counter-sinked, so it all had to be filled with wood filler. This is extra work but, I always like it to look finished. You can see here, the filler holes. Between the four benches we used an entire box of screws. These are VERY sturdy benches and will LAST!!

Primed the bench because a lot of it is raw wood and would SOAK up the paint.

Purdy...all white...but, the client wanted black with white showing through with a little distressing.

With all the detail of these benches, I opted for spray paint this time. I wanted a perfect finish.

A vinyl was customed designed to personalize the bench because it was going to be in an entryway. 

White was chosen for the color because the distressing on the edges showed the white coming through. 

Then the back of the bench was sealed with polycrylic. I had already sealed the entire bench except for the back of the seat because I was having the vinyl custom created. So, as soon as I got the vinyl....I got it sealed and ready to be taken home.

Here she is all dry and ready for baskets. 

You can see the slight distressing. This helps show off the details of the bench and add character.

Here's the bench in the entryway of the client. Isn't she GORGEOUS!! I have never had anyone ask for a shelf on the bottom for baskets but, it's definetely a WINNER!! Now she has a place for her kids to take off their shoes and store them away. I love how this turned out!!!

Now, my sister's bench.

This bench is the one I helped my sister make. She calls me the master bench maker but, I didn't have to help her that much to get hers done. A lot of building the bench is taking the time to cut everything to size and then drilling, drilling, countersinking  and doing it again and again and then filling the holes. She came a few days in a row but, as I was finishing my clients bench (my sister wanted hers black as well) WELL, it sorta got primed and painted and finished while she was away. I don't think she minded!

Her headboard and footboard aren't identical but, had the same feel. The spindals are more square on the back and circular on the sides but, when it's all painted out...it looks really similar.

Here is her bench at her house. I can't wait to see what pillows she puts on it! So cute!!

My good neighbor was watching all the commotion in the garage and was looking at all the benches being made. She had discussed with me that she wanted her crib made into a bench because it was sentimental and she didn't want to just store the crib. So, because my sister was building hers...I helped her by showing her how to build hers too. Tools were already out...the more the merrier!! It was a bench building party for like 3 days!!

When I started this bench build...I really hadn't planned to have four done but, it just sort happened that way.

Because the back of the crib had a rise in the center she decided to use that as the back of the bench and to make it a long, slenderer (spp? is that even a word) bench. She had the perfect wall to put it on. She had started accessorizing the room in a deep turquoise blue color with brown and green as the other room's main colors. She went bold and painted her bench in her accessories color. (You can always repaint....RIGHT?...that's what I told her)

Cribs have lots of hardware holes so it took lots of wood putty.

She painted it this beautiful blue color (it looks brighter in the picture than it really is) and then sanded to show some of that dark walnut original color of the crib. Pulling the brown from the room in. It turned out SO beautiful. I need to get a picture of it with her pillows on it. She's not home today or I'd run over and take one...I'll add one soon.

So, now you've seen the other three mysterious benches that I was talking about. Here they are and they turned out each beautiful in their own unique way! I love them all but, I especially love the shelf for baskets...I might have to do that style again!!