Our front porch is large, as in wide. When we bought the house I had asked the sellers for their front porch furniture.
There was two sets of chairs and two side tables. They looked okay but soon realized we also have a lot of space on the back porch to fill. So we split the sets up leaving one of the sides of our porch empty and sad looking.
So I’ve been scouring Pinterest for ideas on how to inexpensively furnish the other half. I had even thought of some nontraditional type ways to decorate. Who doesn’t love a dresser turned bright yellow plant holder.
Or how about an old window frame with lovely potted plants.
Too bad I can’t garden to save my life.
So I looked at other ways to fill the space. Wagon wheels, small stool, antique milk jug.
Chalk boards to change with the seasons is still something lingering in my mind.
But I hadn’t found the right inspiration for decor that wouldn’t cost too much.
My mom asked to take the kids this weekend so Saturday morning I was lounging around and browsing through good ol’ Pinterest and started seeing benches, I absolutely loved the look of this bench.
But I did some quick math in my head and the wood for this one was stretching the amount that I wanted to spend, let alone the amount of skill that goes into making bench like this. I needed something simpler.
So I started seeing benches made from chairs.
So off to the thrift shops I ventured to find me some chairs, knowing the type of chairs would dictate the direction I took the bench. I found two chairs both $9.00 but on sale for 50% off.
I managed to get the cushions off and all the small nails out of the frame and sanded the wood a bit. I wanted to try a different product, a Rustoleum spray paint, it promised to cover quick and adhere to many surfaces really well. Initially I bought one that was named Ink Blue but once the chairs were sprayed it was way to bright for me. So after sending my sister back to Home Depot to pick up a can of Navy I re-coated the chairs.
I decided to add planks across the back and seat to create the bench. I went to the store and was looking for 6 inch wide planks but they were more expensive than I thought they’d be. Looking around I stumbled on Ship Lap planks and they were around 6 inches wide but half the cost. The only draw back was the lip on the front and back that allowed people actually wanting to use it as ship lap to overlap the pieces.
But for half the cost I didn’t see it as a problem. So I purchased two 12 feet pieces and had Home Depot cut each in three equal pieces. I didn’t even have to get my husbands saw out. I sanded the pieces lightly and stained them with a dark espresso stain that I had wiped off as I painted it on.
After everything dried and after church the next morning I quickly screwed the planks onto the chairs. (I had to go pick my kids up from Grandma’s, but desperately wanted to finish. I have little patience sometimes.) We carried it to the porch, put a few pillows on it and stepped back to admire the finished product. I’m delighted with how this turned out and really glad I chose to repaint it Navy.
Balance and less empty space acquired. Now if I would just learn how to not kill plants I could fill that planter… after painting it of course.
Does anyone think I could convince Tim to let me paint or stain the concrete?