Welcome back, sweet friends! On one of Nancy and my thrifting trips last year, we came upon two benches outside of one of the thrift stores that were almost identical. They were long and narrow and both were painted barn red. We thought they would be perfect for each of us to make over. Then we discovered one of the ends of one of them had been chopped off. What a bummer! It would have been fun to see what each of us came up with for them. I did, however, bring home the one that was still intact for $6:
I’m not sure what this was used for and was kind of stumped with what to do with it. By adding it to my latest pile of treasures, I committed to doing something with it! (LOVE that…it’s helping me get rid of it all! 🙂 )
I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I love.
I decided to give it a Summer beach-inspired makeover!
What better place to photograph a Summery piece than beside the pool?
It was pretty rough in its before state and both outside ends had this gross mold/mildew on them:
Free mildew? Yes, please!
Honestly, this is probably why it took me so long to make this over! This one never made it to my storage room. It had to stay in the garage!
I put on my mask and sanded it with my rotary sander, and it was ready to paint in no time:
I started painting the underside using white chalk paint and it began to bleed through for some reason, so I switched to BOSS in white by Dixie Belle to give it a good base first.
I let it dry overnight and then followed up with one coat of Vintage Duck Egg Blue mixed 50/50 with Cotton.
Then I added “Sandy Salty Happy” using my Silhouette and my old faithful Bit of Sugar DIY chalk paint (recipe HERE). :
I gave the letters two coats of the Bit of Sugar using a small brush and removed the contact paper (I use that in place of pricier vinyl.) right after applying the second coat.
I sanded with 220 grit sandpaper and sealed with Dixie Belle’s clear satin topcoat, using their blue sponge applicator to apply:
Rinse the sponge with water as soon as you’re done with it and you can reuse it over and over again. I love using it to apply sealer! The satin topcoat gives just a slight sheen.
I used the ST Song font for the words.
I actually have a stencil that has this saying on it that I bought HERE, but the size I bought was too small for this bench.
It was really hard capturing great photos in the bright sunshine, but this bench looks right at home by the water!
I took the first photos on Sunday, but I put this bench out on the deck yesterday afternoon while the kids were swimming and I actually kinda like it out here…
So I snapped a few more pictures to add…
The bright sun didn’t help capture this gorgeous color very well, but this is what it truly looks like:
Isn’t it so yummy? I just love this Vintage Duck Egg and Cotton combination. Both colors I used to mix it are available in my Esty shop! FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $50.
Although this is really cute on our deck, this one will be heading to my booth!
Not bad for $6, right?
And that’s another one done!
If you missed the first two pieces, you can see what I did with them here…
I’ll be back on Thursday sharing how I gave this lamp a little lift:
See ya then! 🙂
UPDATE! See the new look Mr. Rooster got HERE now!
XO,
Don’t Miss a Thing!
If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!
Email * Facebook * Pinterest * Twitter *Instagram
Petra says
I love it 🙂 Being down-under anything beach-style gets my vote!!! I’m so looking forward to seeing what you do with the lamp 😀
Christy says
Thank you, Petra! I love all things coastal too! I’m not sure if I mentioned to you before that my dad was born and raised in Sydney and we live on the NW Cape when I was a kid! I’d love to get back there someday! XOXO
Michelle says
I don’t know if you realize how much you inspire people, Christy! After seeing your darling blue bench, I was inspired to paint a table blue!!l Love the bench!! Thx for sharing!!
Christy says
Wow I love that so much, Michelle! Thank you!! Hope your table turns out fabulous!!! XOXO
Denise - Salvaged Inspirations says
Omgosh…adorable, it doesn’t even look like the same piece! And can’t wait to see what you do with that lamp Christy!
Christy says
Thank you, Denise!! I’m so glad to have this one done! See ya Thursday, sweet friend! XOXO
Cecilia from Georgia says
Icky! I would have passed this piece up. However, you jumped on it and now have such a unique piece of furniture. I’m sure it will be a quick sale. But, I love it on your deck! Do you make your stencils with contact paper? Any advice when cutting? Do you set it on vinyl? Thanks
Christy says
Thank you, Cecilia! Honestly, I didn’t realize it had mildew on it until I got home, and then sitting in the garage it probably has spread a little. So gross! I’m really glad this one is done for sure. And yes! I use contact paper instead of vinyl and I just set it on the same setting as vinyl. It works great! XOXO
Janice Holt says
Love the bench and it looks right at home by your pool.
Christy says
Thank you so much, Janice! XOXO
Denise V Cox says
I love it! And coastal decor is my favorite anyway!! Boy, Dixie Belle has lovely colors… plus the way YOU “concoct” your own color magic!!
Denise.. ????????
Christy says
Thank you so much, Denise! Coastal is my favorite for sure as well! And yes…I am loving this color combination, especially! XOXO
Christina in SW FL says
Oh Christy, you saved this bench!! It looks beautiful!! I mean it really had potential and you let it shine! It will go fast in your booth. I adore benches. 🙂
Christy says
Thank you, Christina! I love benches too…I rarely pass them up! XOXO
Gail Alford says
I couldn’t imagine what could be done with such a short bench! What a great idea it turned out to be!
Christy says
Thank you so much, Gail! This one had me stumped for a while! XOXO
Susan Homeroad Stevenson says
That turned out great! It looks good everywhere around that beautiful pool!
Christy says
Aww thanks so much, Susan! The pool makes a great prop ha ha! XOXO
Marcie Lovett says
We’ll throw in the mildew at no extra charge ???? Of course it looks fabulous now and someone is going to grab it for their own backyard!
Christy says
Ha ha, right?? Thanks, Marcie!! XOXO
Mary W says
I don’t know why, but this lamp/shade remind me so much of that really popular old movie where the father has a ‘leg’ lamp that he thinks is very valuable. Maybe it’s that shade? Anyway I’m dying to find out what you will do with this treasure!
Christy says
Oh ha ha yes! A Christmas Story! The shade is cracked on the inside so that’s outta here! XO
Rose says
I love this little bench, I would keep it by the pool like your first photo.
Christy says
Thank you, Rose! It would be a great place to sit and watch the kids swim! XOXO
Kathy says
Another amazing project!!! You never cease to amaze me!
Christy says
Aww thank you so much, Kathy! I appreciate that!! XOXO
Marie says
Wow, what a difference! Love the color and the sentiment. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the lamp.
Christy says
Thank you, Marie! This was a gross one…glad to have it done lol! Enjoy your day! XOXO
Charla W Durden says
Oh my gosh! This is so adorable. When I saw it I was wondering what you could with it too! You’re amazing! Love, love everything coastal too. I grew up on the Texas coast. We recently purchased a house and I’m doing my upstairs bedrooms in coastal themes and have some all around the house. Thanks for all your inspiration!
Christy says
Thank you so much, Charla! I love all things coastal! Glad to hear you do too! XOXO
Julie Briones says
Super cute, Christy! Love the different places where you photographed, too!
Christy says
Thanks, Julie!! XOXO
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe says
Hi there, this bench is darling!!! Love the color. I’ve never thought of mixing paint to get a different color. (Duh!) I clicked the link to your way shop but it keeps taking me to my Etsy home page. Ugh! Can you please tell me the name of your shop? Thanks for the new idea (missing paint). Love your blog!!!!
Lorraine Castellon-Rowe says
Sorry for the typos. asking for the name of your Etsy shop.
(Mixing paint) ????
Christy says
Ha ha no worries! 😀
Christy says
Thank you so much, Lorraine! Try this link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSerialDIYer My shop is The Serial DIYer. 🙂 XOXO
Margie says
I adore everything you find and make over. Christy I tell ya honey here in Arkansas the prices at the near by thrift store and or trading post might as well be as high as the mall…yes seriously..at least where I live.. its sad actually..they use the DIY’ing against us or to their advantge I could say..when you say $6 for that bench I just WANT TO YELL HOORAY FOR YOU…here i would have to give $20 being the least..I just dont get it..and the seller tells me, ”Well thats what every one is buying now days”….OMG really…Drives me nuts ..what do I say to that..BAHAHAHAHAHAHA..I suppose i need to come there and stock up on my DIY furniture and decor.. I love all you do..Always Beautiful and Always inspirational!..Oh and the Rooster lamp..I loooooove it..#clapclapclap
Christy says
Thank you so much, Margie!! That is just crazy! We have stores like that here as well and I don’t even waste my time stopping there! Luckily, we have a lot of thrift stores to choose from! Rent a U-haul and come on down ha ha! XOXO