Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Mini-Bench Facelift!

Happy Easter, everyone !!  I hope that you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend with your family and friends.

As for me ... my adventures with painting continue!  In fact, I decided to get into some glazing/staining.  Thanks to all of your creative projects and fantastic tutorials, I decided to go for it!  Jill @ Peanut Butter Plaza, who has created several beautiful pieces explained how she mixes clear glaze with stain, which allows you to "play" with the stain a bit longer on the furniture.  I'm sure many of you do this, too ... I like this idea because the stain doesn't set in as fast.

Sooo, I sanded, primed and painted (two coats of BM White Dove) the bench and then let it sit for a few days.  Next came distressing ... roughing it up with 80 grit sandpaper here and there and then wiping the entire bench down with a tack cloth to remove the sanding dust.  I then mixed the clear glaze (by Valspar) and stain (Minwax Dark Walnut) together, adding a little more of each, until I was satisfied with the color.  Then it was the moment of truth ... I slapped the mix on with an inexpensive paintbrush, waited just a bit and wiped it off with old t-shirts.  What fun!

BEFORE:

 
And, here is AFTER:



What I really like about distressing is that there isn't a right or a wrong way to do it!  Just sand wherever you want!



I love how much character the glaze adds to the places I distressed:


Even sanding the metal sides here and there was easy.  (I also recovered the cushion with leftover burlap.)


Needless to say, I'm now hooked on glazing!  And, knowing how my OCD is on the rage, it looks like the fun didn't stop on the little bench (lol) ... 

 Stay tuned !!

And, HAPPY EASTER !!

Linking up with:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
BNOTP/Metamorphosis Monday
Centsational Girl/Paint Projects
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
The Lettered Cottage/How To's Party
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
Elements Interiors/Whassup Wednesday
Miss Mustard Seed/Furniture Feature Friday

Becca

52 comments:

  1. looks gorgeous! I have painted, distressed and glazed my first piece and I'm anxious to try more!

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  2. How refreshing and light for spring and summer...well done! I hope you have a Happy Easter!

    Liesl :)

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  3. You did a beautiful job on the staining and distressing and I love the cushion, too! The bench looks perfect in from of your window!

    Happy Easter, Becca!

    XO,
    Jane

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  4. Looks fantastic! I'm going to have to try this!

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  5. It looks great!! I actually just started a side business painting furniture for others and selling my own finds! I use alot of glaze and distressing and I love the look! You did a great job!

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  6. Why did I already know that you painted that bench!!! I just knew that was coming somehow! I just love it to infinity and back!!!! And the glazing....OMG, it's totally fabulous!!!! I hope your husband doesn't sit still too long, or he's likely to get painted BM White dove! LOL!! Love it!

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  7. happy easter to you too! :0
    i am loving the bench. but what caught my eye is the pillow( with the wording). did you make it??? i would love to know how.

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  8. Becca, this looks awesome! I love the glazing technique. Did you add wax to the finished product?

    LOVE it!

    Happy Easter~ LC

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  9. Wow! I love the "before" but the "after" is just gorgeous! Where did you get the pillow on your bench?

    We've been planting flowers in our wall planters today and I finally got the hubs to hang a bamboo blind in the kitchen so he can cross off several items from his honey-do list!

    Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend!
    Judy

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  10. Another great project by Becca!!! I love the idea of mixing stain and glaze together. I can't wait for the day I get to put away the joint compound and pick up a paint brush again. I have a bench similar to yours and I love the white!

    Was that the chest painted white in that last pix? Have a great Easter Sunday!

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  11. Gorgeous! I have such a weakness for pretty benches and yours is incredible!

    Have a blessed Easter!

    Big TX Hugs,
    Stephanie
    Angelic Accents

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  12. Love it! I wish I had the patience to do that. Maybe you will inspire me to do a piece or two.

    I was wondering if we could meet and go bathing suit shopping soon. I need some help and I think you would be perfect for me:)

    Happy Easter.

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  13. Love it, Becca! It looks fabulous!! You did such a good job on it!

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  14. Love it, Becca. You did a fabulous job. Bench looks great white.

    Have a wonderful Easter.

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  15. Wonderful job Becca! I have that very same pillow on my bed. I love it. Happy Easter:)

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  16. You've done a wonderful makeover on it. It's a nice piece.

    x

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  17. That turned out wonderful, Becca! I love it! What a great project to try the glaze out on, too {not too big}. Happy Easter!

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  18. The bench & the cushion look great. I haven't tried the distressing & glaze thing YET, but looking forward to doing some things in the new house. I back-tracked a post and love the "Gather" sign you did. That is such a special word & carries so much meaning.
    CAS

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  19. I always want to do lighter and brighter in the spring, too! Your bench looks great.

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  20. Beautiful white bench Becca! You are the makeover queen lately. You have done a simply amazing job on your entire home.

    Happy Easter to you sweet friend.
    ~Melissa :)

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  21. You did a great job painting your bench! I love the new color. And you're right about distressing, there's no wrong way. Your new piece of work will look beautiful in your lovely home. ~Susie

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  22. Way to get your glaze on my friend! LOL! It looks absolutely fantastic and all of this lightening and brightening has gotten me thinking about how I can do some of this in my own home. Not that I like to copy you or anything! :-)
    Vanessa

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  23. Love it! It came out perfect! I also love your pillow combination with it.

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  24. Looks great Becca! Usually you would pay a fortune for those kinds of pieces. It's nice to be able to do it yourself!! You did a great job :)

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  25. You did a great job! I knew you could do it!!

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  26. Girl, you are doing a fantastic job with the paint make-overs! The bench looks great!

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  27. You are so funny re: paint! My word, it looks wonderful! I was going to ask if you recovered the cushion...and yes, you did. :-) I really, really like this piece...great job!

    Hope you had a wonderful Easter ~
    xo
    Pat

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  28. Beautiful..Inspiring project and blog.

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  29. White is such a clean, fresh look! I think your bench has just the right amount of "distressing." Love all the pillows to soften the effect, too. :-) Sue

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  30. Gorgeous, Becca! The bench has a beautiful vintage vibe now and I think the pillow really pops against the white!

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  31. It's beautiful!!! I love how it really stands out now, but in such a soft, pretty way. I really like how you added the extra pillows too.

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  32. I love it Becca, it is so pretty! Thanks for linking!
    XO
    Kristin

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  33. It came out great, you did a beautiful job! I would paint everything in my home if hubby would let me.
    Marianne :)

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  34. Becca, I love the bench! I did this with a bench as well and totally love how it turned out.

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  35. Okay...I really need that bench for my guest bedroom...LOL. Wonderful job!

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  36. A face lift for sure! Love the new look...the distressed white really brighten up your lovely bench!

    xx Cat brideblu

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  37. I love the bench Becca!

    Thanks so much for visiting the Back Porch. I appreciate it so much.

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  38. I love it! I'm in the market for a bench just like this... just sayin'... :)

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  39. Hi Becca, thanks for listening to my bro! It sounded pretty good, but much better in person.

    Be glad that you're not getting any of this weather! It has been crazy lately. The next few days we are supposed to have sunny skies! yay!

    Have a great night, Kristen

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  40. Hi Becca, I am loving the bench transformation and the wonderful pillow! Looks fabulous.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  41. This looks absolutely PERFECT! It looks like the bench was always meant to be that color.

    http://gardenberger.blogspot.com/

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  42. That is gorgeous! So perfect for all your new light and airy rooms!

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  43. Love it Becca! I like the distressing you used!

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  44. Thanks for joining my giveaway Becca!! Good luck!! :)

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  45. Thank you Becca!

    I found the rug at Home Depot about a month ago. It's actually an indoor outdoor rug and it was only $69!! I have been looking ever since we moved in here. It had to be 7 round...I had something totally different in mind, but this one works pretty well for now. Thanks again! Kristen

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  46. I meant to tell you that I don't ride horses, I've always loved them, just have never been around them much. We are hoping to ride Harley when he gets old enough.

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  47. Becca that looks wonderful! I am debating going white for our couch. Just a slip cover but still not sure I am brave enough. Love the bench!

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  48. I love looking at these and seeing how many of the same inspirational pictures I have in my style file.

    Kitchen Benchtops

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I appreciate your comments!