Thursday, May 10, 2012

Everyone Enjoy's A Good Bench!!


So I gave a sneak preview of this bench project a couple of posts ago . . .
One of our great customers had requested a long coffee table bench for her home.
I have one very similar and she wanted one as well.
The benches that we used were castoffs.
My sister-in-law works at one of the local elementary schools.
Last fall, when the employees were "back to school" and cleaning and organizing for the new school year,
she discovered two solid wood benches.
Their fate? The dumpster.
Are you kidding? They were just going to toss them in the dumpster???
What were they thinking.
She called and asked if I wanted to perform a rescue -
I have my friends and family so well trained on cast-off furniture.
And FREE is a very good price!
What was wrong with them?
The paint was a bit chipped - but that was about it.
They were heavy and solid and in great condition.
My superhero - (aka my husband Jon) - dropped what he was doing and immediately drove over the school and rescued them.
He then sanded them down and connected them together with bolts.
Primed them.
And then I took over.
Blocks of color. . .


Followed by  an undercoating of white for the various designs. . .

(sorry. This one is little blurry . . .)

Then color, words and detailing. . .
Words and images face different directions so you can view it from any angle.







The end result?
A very sturdy creation, full of whimsy and bright color.
The final product measures approximately 2 feet wide and 8 feet long.

Next on the agenda?
A bridge painting . . .details to come.

1 comment:

Giggles said...

Laurie this is beyond fabulous...just amazing... Free is a good price...one I honor as well! You made something so beautiful, and reduced the carbon foot print! You are amazing!! Thanks for sharing your process!! LOVE IT!!!

Hugs Giggles