Pediment Headboard Bench

I found a queen size broken pediment headboard and footboard set the other day at a local thrift store for $10.  (The DAV, or Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store is a great one in Prescott, AZ.  I ALWAYS find great deals there.)  I decided it would make an absolutely fantastic bench.  I already started choppin’ when I remembered to take this picture.  (By the way, the Metallic Secretary Desk you see in the background of this picture sold this week!!  Yay!  And the woman also bought the Funky Lamp I did a while back for her daughter, and has a couple of commissioned pieces she wants to have redone as well!  Double Yay!  Hi, Diane, if you’re reading!)

But onto the project at hand…  I cut the footboard to be the sides of the bench and attached them to the back post of the headboard with a scrap from the middle part of the footboard like so:

Make sense?  Then I put three planks of 1 x 6 lengthwise from side  to side  and added some fluted trim across the front like so:

I decided to try a new tool and a new technique on this project.  I stole borrowed my mom’s Dremel to add some hand-carving on the large open space on the back of the bench (headboard.)  First I composed a design on the computer and printed it out.  Then, with a pencil I heavily outlined the design, taped it face down where I wanted the design to be, then rubbed with (in my case) the end of a chopstick to transfer the pencil lines onto the piece.

You peel away the paper, and there you have your guide!

Then, I carved the design with the Dremel.  It gets really hot, so I could only do it in about 10 minute increments before letting the tool cool down again.

 

 

For this project, I decided to use a blogopshere favorite, Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint.  This was a large project, so it took three cans.  The coverage is great with Rustoleum Painter’s Touch.  The only drawback for me is that I can’t use my favorite little spray paint gun with their specially designed top, so it makes my fingers tired.  (I really can’t wait to get a paint sprayer…)

After it was painted, I did some distressing and a smokey antiquing glaze.  And here it is!

   

 

Very stately, don’t you think?  I LOVE it!!

 

This project is competing in the Spray Paint Challenge at The CSI Project!

Linking to:
Finding Fabulous, The Shabby Nest, Perfectly Imperfect, I Heart Naptime, Miss Mustard Seed, Life in the Fun Lane

Headboard Bench

I picked up a neat headboard and footboard combo at the thrift store the other day for $10, and thought they’d be perfect for a porch bench repurposing.  I’ve been wanting to try and build one of these for a while now.

I’m getting really BAD at remembering to take before pictures, but I stopped a little bit into the painting to snap a few pics so you could see the construction.









As you can see, the back of the bench is the headboard (this one is a twin), and the front is the low footboard.  (If your set has a higher footboard than mine, I’ve seen it cut in half and used as the arms of the bench.)  The seat is a rectangle made from 2 x 4’s, with 1 x 4 slats for the top.  I braced the sides to give it some added stability with some table legs I had lying around from another project.

The whole thing got a coat of flat brick red paint (to match my front door) and I did some hand painted detail on the bottom front to fancy it up a little bit.

Here it is in front of my house, matching my front door.  :)

I think I might want to do some more decorative painting and carry the design all the way across the bottom, but I’ll call it done for now.  ;)




EDIT:   Well, I couldn’t leave it alone.  :)  I added some more decorative painting to the bottom front to carry the design all the way across.  I like it better now.  The openings on the headboard back were looking like eyes and the design looked like the nose and a handlebar mustache.  (…or am I just crazy… nevermind… don’t answer that…)  I’m pretty sure that I’m really, for reals, done with it now.  :)




Linking to:
Shanty 2 Chic, Somewhat Simple, Miss Mustard Seed, Shabby Nest, Funky Junk Interiors, A Soft Place To Land

This project is participating in the Outdoor Decor Challenge at The CSI Project!

Take Two! A Garden Bench

You know when you finish a project and your just not “feeling it?”  Or maybe a giant wind comes up and knocks something over and breaks it, so it’s back to the drawing board?  This project was born of just such circumstances.  And do you know what?  Cara and I both agree it may just be one of our favorites so far.

We had a pair el-cheapo side tables with really nice legs but ugly laminate tops.  Cara did a great job fixin’ them up as best she could, but like I said before, we just weren’t feelin’ them.

Then there was the beautiful headboard that Cara painted.  We were definitely feeling that one, but in an unfortunate accident, it was injured and couldn’t be used as a headboard any longer.



So in our second take, we put the headboard, it’s matching footboard, and the two side tables together to make a garden bench.  We spray-painted it (yes that gorgeous color is SPRAY PAINT) using Krylon's Satin Jade.  With a hand-painted bough of cherry blossom, and some brown glazing, we’re very proud of the final product (and fighting over who gets to keep it for their front porch!)  :)

This project is competing in the Spray Paint Challenge at The CSI Project!

Linked to:
Finding Fabulous, Mustard Seed Creations, The Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic, Funk Junk Interiors