The Bench with a Story that Touched My Heart Gets a New Look

AFTER

Apparently, my story I wrote about this bench touched many hearts (you can read it here). It was fun to hear from many of you! Some of you thought I should leave the bench as it was. But I felt called to chalk paint it. This is the end result above. I share the paint I used below and what I did. But first, here is the before photo:

BEFORE

I didn’t sand anything down and painted right over the top. So it still has it’s rough spots, which suited me just fine. Kind of symbolic in remembering that even through the rough times of life, we can still come out better than before. 😉

I did two coats of the celery. Later in the day on Saturday I sanded the edges of the bench where you’d normally see wear and tear. This morning I put on a coat of antique wax over the top of the celery and wiped that down. You have to move fast as it dries quickly. I let that dry and then topped it off with a coat of clear wax, which I also wiped down as I went along.

I’m really happy with the end result and John approved too. Now I’m hoping that my plants will flourish with their new home. I don’t always have the greenest of thumbs, but I sure do keep trying!

xo,

Barbara