I finished another wood project today. I have tried three different times to make a small bench for the grandkids room. It is a small room and thought it would be nice to have something to sit on while a person puts on shoes, etc.
I challenged myself to only use the wood scraps I have. I messed up quite a few inches of my 2x2 so I did go buy one more (only $2.19). I didn't have a plan but kind of made it up as I went along. Started out really simple. Then added the piece across the bottom for stability. Then decided to try to do some X braces on each side.
It was fun trying to figure out the angles, although it caused me to waste quite a few pieces of my 2x2 boards.
Wasn't sure whether to stain or paint, so I stained first. All the boards were pretty rough, with some of them having what I call "furry" sides to them. Those were pretty difficult to sand, so basically I just gave up on sanding those smooth and tried to put the furry sides down or so they wouldn't show.
It didn't look really bad, but didn't look good either. Another mistake I made was buying wood putty rather than wood filler. The putty said to stain the piece first. Which I did. Then decided I wanted sandable and stainable filler. When I filled all the holes, after it was stained, well, let's just say that made it look worse.
Then I decided to take a couple more 2x2 pieces and extend the bottom part to make a shelf.
This was when I decided to chalk paint it. I had some Annie Sloan chalk paint in French Linen, which was what I used on the little antique dresser in the room where this bench will go.
The mirror was gray too, but I just didn't like it so I painted it the wall color. Don't really like that either, but I'll figure out something that might look better. I'm thinking a smaller oval mirror with a simple brushed gold frame. I'd like to add some gold accents around the house.
This was a fun project. I feel like it is practical too. Wood working is over for a while, now I need to get back to quilt making.
First off, I love this project! Well done and even better, made from scraps in the best quilt tradition. As soon as you widened the base to make the shelf, I thought "quilt storage"!! Could that mirror also be painted in the chalk paint and then lightly rubbed with gold that is wiped off so just hints of it remain? Whatever you decide to do, this room looks more and more inviting with every addition!
ReplyDeleteThank you Vivian for your comments. I am sorry I am just now seeing them. :( I've not done well at keeping this blog up lately, but I do appreciate you visiting and commenting. I did change the mirror out for a oval one and like you suggested, I did a little gold Rub-n-buff on it!
ReplyDelete