Before and After… A Painted Bench

I picked up this bench at the Raleigh Flea Market months and months…. and months ago.  Benches rank right behind vintage frames on my list of “things I have trouble saying NO to”.  I loved the high back, the carved wood details and the potential this bench had.  The seat was in dire need of new fabric (and as I later found, needed to be completely rebuilt) and while pretty as is, the bench was stained in a color that had some orange in it.

One of the things I love most about my job is that when I see a piece I can’t say ‘no’ to, I can purchase it under the pretense with the intent to sell it as a Storywood Designs piece.  Needless to say, I purchased the bench, hauled it home and posted it on Facebook to see if anyone was interested.  One of my very closest friends snagged it as a Christmas gift for her daughter.

The bench not long after I hauled it home:

I was excited… excited because I knew the bench was going to a good home (where I could visit it often!) and because refurbishing it became a special project for me.  My friend and I were pregnant together… our firstborns are only weeks apart.  Despite going to different schools now and one being a boy and the other a girl, they have a bond that no one has ever broken.  James has an incredibly soft spot for her daughter… he adores her.  If he is scared or unsure in a new situation, he always calms the minute he knows that she will be there.  She, in turn, takes care of him… makes sure he is doing what he’s supposed to do and keeps him in line.  She spent their 4-year-old year of preschool carrying his lunch box up 2 flights of stairs for him… because he deemed it too heavy.  So, painting this bench for her was special for me.

Her mom and I decided to paint it white.  Simply white, with no distressing or aging.  The white was clean and classic and could be enjoyed for years to come.  Her mom selected a fun, bright pink graphic fabric for the new seat.  The fabric coordinated with her bedding in her room and reflected her personality.

The seat had to be completely rebuilt and after the frame was painted, I put new jute webbing and a new piece of foam in.  After adding the new fabric, I trimmed the seat with simple white webbing.

The end result?  A  pretty new piece for the sweetest 7 year old girl I know.  A space in her room to sit and read a book or chat with a friend.  I felt a little like one of Santa’s elves when I delivered this bench to her house just in the nick of time… under the cover of darkness on Christmas Eve morning!

PS:  the rain boots in the pic are a homage to the gallons of rain we’ve had here the last few weeks.  A friend on Facebook put it best when she likened it to living in Forks!  There’s a possibility for a little wintry weather Thursday night, so fingers crossed we’ll see a little something white!

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