The Bench That Almost Wasn't

Vacation week at home – what better time than to do a project that has been on the back burner forever.  I’m determined to make a bench for my entryway.  I have a bench that belonged to my step-father but it’s 44 inches long and I can’t have anything over 38 inches in that space (and that is pushing it).  But I’ve always loved the keyhole legs on that bench.

So off to Lowes I go and get wood, pegs, feet – all the little things I need to make this very simple box bench happen.  Sit down and actually draw a picture figuring if I plan it, I’ll have to measure correctly without just doing that as I go which is my usual mode for creating.  After carefully measureing each piece exactly as planned before cutting, I figured out where the holes should be drilled for the pegs.  All ready to go.

 

Mr. Whimsey decided I needed help and he would drill the holes – oh my.  There were a total of 24 holes/pegs planned.   Can Mr. Whimsey hold the drill straight while he’s drilling?  If you look at the second to the last picture in the post – you’ll find the answer to that.  But we had holes and we had pegs. 

 

OK, next idea?   “I wish we could just cut some inches out of the bench we already have,” said I.  “Oh sure,” said Mr. Whimsey, “we can do that.”  “OK, I’ll get the circular saw out and get the bench marked,” said I.  “Oh no,” said Mr. Whimsey, “I have this perfectly good table saw that is much easier to use.”  “Ah but…..,” said I.  “It will work – we’ll make it work!” exclaimed Mr. Whimsey.  Oh well I can always cover it up with paint and a cushion and maybe not let anyone sit on it went through my mind.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                       
So after a test sit (yes it is sturdy enough to sit on as long as you aren’t jumping up and down on it), I sanded it, gave it two coats of white primer, and a coat of crackle.

 

Then because I knew it wouldn’t take much paint and didn’t want to spend any more money on the bench project – I mixed my own paint.  I had some paint left over from my bathroom project , some paint leftover from a small sample jar that I didn’t use in my bathroom because it was too green, and a jar of bright turquoise craft paint that I put in just a little at a time to get a beautiful robin’s egg blue.  That went on over the crackle and after letting it cure for 24 hours, I used Briwax in Rustic Pine (which is a really earthy dark brown) to polish and antique it.

 

 

 

I covet one of those old fashioned looking rectangular pillows with the piping all around and tufting that are cotton stuffed…something like this only not in that color (I’m dreaming maybe a really faded cream and blue ticking)…but for now a folded king-sized cotton quilt is the perfect size and will have to do. 

 

 

So here is the moral of the story.   What you have can be used in many different ways…shop from your house to find what you need…and know that whatever comes out IS good enough – after all YOU created it!