4 the love of wood: benches

Showing posts with label benches. Show all posts

TRANSFORM NEW WOOD TO LOOK OLD

Let me show you one way I take lumber that has not been weathered and create a silvered vintage or driftwood look to it.

A SHIPPING THEMED GRAPHIC STORAGE BENCH

I find hand painting details very relaxing. I enjoy the quiet time inside my head.

And every now and then I go way over board painting a piece.

This storage bench is painted in a creamy white mix of AS Pure White and Old White. The graphics

are all hand painted with black acrylic paint and a small artists brush. I`ve taken some photos of the

steps I took to get the warn look over the letters and hope to share that with you soon.

I used a lot of symbols found on shipping envelops and crates.

If you come across a storage box like this look for the secret button that you push to unlatch the lid.

At first I thought it was locked, nope just push the button.

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A FANCY STORAGE BENCH

I only got so far with this bench before I had to put it on hold. The tea house fabric I wanted was out

of stock and would take 4 - 6 weeks before I could get my hands on. It is an extra heavy upholstery

fabric and looks so good with white distressed furniture. Well it finally arrived and the bench got

finished. The drawer fronts are all decorative but there is a hinged lid with tons of open storage

inside. It is Canadian made in Quebec and comes with a key and lock.

This bench was painted with ASCP Pure white and Old white. The original finished had a heavy

graining and I took advantage of it with the distressing. I used a 220 grit sand paper and made sure

to also sand all the edges.

Hope this inspires you!

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FURNITURE MAKE OVERS - before and afters 2

Here are some BEFORE and AFTER photos from the furniture makeover weekend I haven't gotten

around to showing yet. This event offered a place to work, access to a skilled professional (that's me)

and like minded women to meet and share ideas with. I had a wonderful time meet with

these different women and was honoured to work with them on their projects. They also had passed a

thank you card around the class during the final day for every one to sign. The truth is I got whiff of it

in advance and thank fully I did cause it's those darn things that will make me tear up when you

catch me off guard. Please enjoy these pictures and take away some ideas and inspiration of what

you can do. I'll start with this short dresser that was already converted into a blanket box. The drawer

faces were fixed in place and the top was hinged. Now there is a great idea!

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FURNITURE MAKE OVERS - behind the scenes

All these photos are in progress shoots from my Furniture Makeover Weekend.

The idea for a furniture makeover weekend started 8 months earlier. I believe it also started much

smaller but since we would have to travel to the location I suppose the coordinators figured to get the

most out of it while we were there. Lots of projects can be finished in a day but the idea was for

everyone to learn from all the different projects though out the weekend not just their own.

I've taught class before and I've managed 20 staff but you just never know what you are in for the

first time you do anything big. As the chosen weekend got closer I found myself pretty calm,

and eager to take on the challenge. I got to go shopping for supplies in the last week and get

everything packed. I still didn't know what every project was so I had to pack in anticipation.

Once upon a time I was a Girl Guide so I am always prepared.

We arrived early Saturday morning and met the ladies from LNT group. There wasn't much time to

met and greet, we had to find a sink to set up the paint mixing and figure out the area to spray

outdoors. My tool boxes would also have to found their way to the second floor where we were setting up. Long industrial tables circled the room in preparation for all the students to work on.

Before I knew it students were arriving and projects were appearing on the tables.

THE CONSULTATION ... 18 of them!

I had to talk with each person to find out what they wanted out of their furniture piece.

Repairs, additions, color, and finish, some projects evolved right there in the 2 hours, but I had to move along to get everyone focused and working.

I recall asking a group of ladies at the sink "what time is it" the response was "10 to 12

almost lunch". My reaction "is that it" made them laugh. Well at least it was lunch time!

I was in the Twilight Zone, time meant nothing to me as I ran from here to there seeing each

anxious smile wanting my attention. I would get half way through a leg install and be off again

down stairs to mix paint, which was on my way to saw the lumber I needed to finish the leg install.

By early afternoon on day two I started to notice things slowing down and coming to a finish, I could stop and talk with a student for a few minutes, I could pick up a rag and help them buff their finish, we were standing pieces up and admiring them as they were done. That was the goal and we did it!

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