Average But Inspired

Inspiring creativity at home.

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The Grain Sack Stripe of Necessity {A Painted Bench Makeover}

It’s always the projects that are supposed to be easy that turn out to be the biggest pains in the you-know-what.

That was precisely the case for this little bench.  Though she looks lovely now, she put up quite a fight to get to looking this way.  Bench 1

She came to me from my mom and dad’s garage, looking a little neglected and unappreciated. Clearly someone wasn’t paying attention when they let acid (or maybe just water) seep into the top and leave an awful ring and splotch mark! bench with mark
I sanded her down and applied a coat of gel stain in dark walnut, and the ring and splotch mark went away, just like magic.  Once that dried, I applied another coat of gel stain to darken the finish. Everything looked great.
stained
But then (CUE THE DRAMATIC MUSIC), when I went back to work on her the next day, I noticed that the stain appeared to have risen up in the area where the ring and splotch mark were. It was thicker and almost sitting on top of the finish. So I started to wipe it off, and of course, the ring and splotch mark were SUPER prominent.

Needless to say, I uttered several swear words that I cannot type here, because this is a PR friendly blog after all.
splotch of death

What I wanted to do was throw this stupid bench right out the window, but instead, I consulted some especially talented blogger friends who helped me decide that a painted grain sack stripe would be the way to go on this one.  (Thank you SO MUCH Bre at Brepurposed, Sarah at Little Red Brick House, Amy at Canary Street Crafts, Michelle at Dandelion Patina, Christina at Operation Home, Kristi at Making it in the mountains, Erica at Dwell Beautiful and Kendra at Joy in Our Home!)  And thankfully, they also cautioned me that the ring and splotch of death might show through my paint cover-up attempt if I didn’t take proper precautions to prevent against it.

So, my good friend Google helped me determine that I needed to spray this problem area with some shellac prior to painting.  (Word to the wise: do not research what shellac is made from.  You will want to die and/or never use the product.)Shellac
I was a little nervous because it made the finish super shiny, but I painted over it with some chalk paint and it worked perfectly! NO WATER RING OR SPLOTCH!  Alleluia!IMG_0588
Since this worked out well, I decided to add a little something extra by painting the “No. 9” on the front part of the bench. Why number 9? Because the 1959 song “Love Potion No. 9” was in my head much of the time I was working on this bench! Those heart cutouts on the legs had something to do with that, I think. No. 9
In the end, I think the grain sack stripe added some fun detail to a simple piece, so I guess I’m thankful for the splotch mark and ring.  I wouldn’t have painted it this way had it not been for them rearing their ugly heads time and again.bench 2 bench 3
I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She’s got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin’ little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine

– Bre

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Comments

    • Thanks, friend! What in the world do you think that mark was? Have you experienced this before? I feel like it was something nasty to be such a pain!! 🙂

    • Thanks, Amy! I am so thankful you ladies told me to run with the stripe. I’m glad to have that splotch of death GONE!! 🙂

    • Thanks, girl! Grain sack stripes are the bomb, as you so eloquently put it the other day! 🙂 Have a good one!

  8. I wouldn’t have liked it as much if it didn’t have the stripe! Don’t you love it when mess ups turn out to be blessings? I feel like that happens a lot 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi, Angela! Thank you so much! That is so sweet of you. And you are totally right. Sometimes it’s hard to see it when you’re in the thick of it, but once you step back you realize it was all meant to be! 🙂

  10. What a makeover! I’m inspired! I love how you covered the “mark of death” and how well the white-washed legs look with the darker stained seat! Well done!

    Reply

    • Hahaha, thanks! I am a little over-dramatic with the “mark of death” thing, but it was SO annoying! 🙂 I appreciate your sweet note!

  11. Oh I love it with the stripe! I think that was a happy accident for sure. It gives it a lot of character! Thanks for sharing your process with us, it is very inspirational.

    Reply

    • Hi, Heather! Thank you so much! You’re totally right; a happy accident. I love it! Thanks for your sweet note! 🙂

  12. I love how this turned out! I might have shied away from a bench with hearts, but you made it look great! I will have to keep an open mind next time I come across something like that. Great job! I am pinning and sharing on Facebook. Hugs. 🙂

    Reply

    • Aw, thanks, Leia!! In all honesty, I would have shied away from it, too, but my mom loaded it into my car all by herself and wouldn’t let me leave until I took it! So I really had no choice. 🙂 Hahahaha – moms.

  13. Fantastic! You’d never know you had such trouble with it. I do sympathize, though. Everytime I think a project is going to be quick and easy, I end up with something that takes way longer than it should. And the project normally doesn’t get finished 🙂

    Reply

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