Sunday, April 13, 2014

french country bench reveal

My mother gave me this bench over 20 years ago.  My parents got this bench when they got married in 1944 so it is 70 years old.  It looks like it was handmade.  My mother always had a cushion on it with a ruffle to hide the sides.  Since I am not that good at sewing I had my husband cut and install some molding to the front and the two sides.  I bought two different pieces of molding since I needed four inches and most molding goes up to three inches.  Here is the bench before the molding was applied.
The sides don't look as bad as the front.  They aren't pieced together like the front is.  Here is the moldings that I got at Home Depot.
I thought that the carved leaves would tie in with the carvings on the bench.  Now here is it with the moldings.


Now the next step is to get it painted.  This took me three coats of paint.
It is ready for the glaze and then polyurethane.
The seat cushion wasn't as easy to do as I thought it would be.  I am not a great at sewing.  I can make curtain panels and pillows but I decided to take the easy way out with this seat cushion.  I just glued some foam to a piece of plywood and tacked down the material like I would with a dining room chair.  It works for now.  Maybe some day I will fiddle with sewing a cushion for it.  So here is the final result.
I made the pillows myself as I love the rooster material.  I got the cabinet at a thrift store in great condition so I don't have to do anything to it.  The next thing to do is to decorate this area.  That will be on the next post.  I am thinking about putting some kind of shelf and hooks over by the door where I keep my shoes.  This area looks pretty bare.  Also I will be using a curtain panel that I bought at a thrift store to cover the window on the door. 


I still have the area where the table and chairs are to finish.  The table is a stone material so I will be covering it and the chairs to tie in with this area.  Hopefully that will get done in the next couple of weeks.  I am still helping the hubby with the garage cabinets so I don't have a lot of time to spare for the basement.  I still have both of the bedrooms to finish.  One of the bedrooms I am using for my craft room.  It is a craft room/guest bedroom as it is almost as large as our master bedroom.  Until next time.


I am linking with
Beyond the Picket Fence
the tablescaper-season sunday
twigg studios-our sunday best
diy show off-that diy party
thoughts from alice-sundays at home
.finding silver pennies-silver pennies sunday
three mango seeds-it's party time
boogie board cottage-masterpiece monday
create-with-joy-inspire me monday
coastal charm-nifty thrifty tuesday
between naps on the porch-metamorphosis monday
a delight some life-a return to loveliness
dwellings-the heart of your home-amaze me monday
confessions of a plate addict-the scoop
a stroll thru life-inspire me tuesday
my uncommon slice of suburbia-inspire me monday
the dedicated house-make it pretty monday
creative country mom-home sweet garden
elizabeth and co-inspired tuesday
our home away from home-tuesday at our home
greenwillow pond-what we accomplished wednesday
the style sisters-centerpiece wednesday
savvy southern style-wow us wednesday
diy by design-swing into spring party
ivy and elephants-what's it wednesday
the happy housie-work it wednesday
have a daily cup of mrs olson-share your cup thursday
from my front porch to yours-treasure hunt thursday
a delightsome life-home and garden thursday
easy life meal and party planning-four seasons blog hop
crystelle boutique-wonderful wednesday blog hop
katherines corner-favorite things thursday
the dedicated house-before and after wednesday
imparting grace-grace at home
rooted in thyme-simple and sweet fridays
posed perfection-all things thursday
common ground-be inspired friday
the charm of home-home sweet home thursday
bacon time with the hungry hypo-anything goes friday
french country cottage-feathered nest friday
craft berry bush-inspiration gallery
miss mustard seed-furniture friday
chic on a shoestring decorating-flaunt it friday
my romantic home-show and tell friday
the shabby nest-frugal friday
the thrifty groove-thrifty things friday
pieced pastimes-saturday sparks
be different act normal-show and tell saturday
http://wearethatfamily.com/
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/
http://www.redouxinteriors.com
shabby art boutique-shabbilicious friday
http://www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com/
http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com
http://www.ducksnarow.com/
cozy little house-tweak it tuesday
http://whipperberry.com
http://diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com
http://craftdictator.com
http://www.uptodateinteriors.com
http://www.remodelaholic.com/
http://www.burlapandbabies.com/
http://www.whatscookingwithruthie.com
http://notatrophywife.com/

23 comments :

  1. What a great piece. I love it. The molding looks so pretty and the cushions are lovely.

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  2. What a great job!

    Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    - Alma, The Tablescaper

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  3. A beautiful heirloom! Glad you are enjoying the lovely bench with the new trim. Your cushions add a pretty touch of color. Have a great week!

    Pam

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  4. What a gorgeous piece of furniture... Priceless..... :) Happy Easter to you!!!
    hugs x, Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

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  5. It turned out perfect Jody! I love the added moldings and they look like they were always there. Happy Easter!
    Blessings, Deborah

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  6. you did such a wonderful job with this sweet bench!
    Thank you for sharing your wonderful blog at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop ♥

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  7. My whole house is French Country! Thanks for the wonderful idea and for sharing on the Thursday Blog hop!

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  8. Great makeover. What a wonderful piece to brighten your home.

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  9. That turned out great. Thank you for sharing it at Fluster's Creative Muster Party, I hope that you'll be joining us again.
    Hugs, Smiles and Blessings.
    Robin @ Fluster Buster

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  10. The size of this piece is great and that back is wonderful!!! Loved the creative fix you did to the front. ...Nice job!

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  11. WOW!! I love it. What a difference a coat of paint can make. The cushions are lovely too. Thank you for sharing!
    Kathi

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  12. Your redo turned out wonderful. It's a great piece of furniture! Thank you for sharing at TTF.

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  13. What an absolute marvelous treasure! It looks beautiful. I am delighted that you shared with A Return to Loveliness,
    Kathy

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  14. What a treasured piece! The molding really did finish it off nicely! I think you did a great job on the entire bench! Thanks for sharing it with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  15. I love your bench so much, I made it the "personal favorite" on my blog: http://www.crystelleboutique.com/1/post/2014/04/wonderful-wednesday-blog-hop-23-april-2014.html
    Thanks for being so awesome!! :)
    “hugs” Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I really didn't want to paint it but I think that it needed some TLC. I wish I would have done this a long time ago.

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  16. You did a great job with your bench! It looks wonderful now. Isn't it amazing what some imagination and elbow grease can do? :)

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  17. Love the bench - but really love it's transformation - you did a beautiful job!
    XOXO

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  18. Hi Jody, your bench is so pretty! I like the trim detail you added. Very nice :)
    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

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  19. Love your bench makeover! Beautifully done. I’d love for you to share this at my Motivational Monday Link Party that I just started yesterday! Feel free to share other old or new posts that fit the theme as well if you have them!

    {http://www.burlapandbabies.com/2014/06/motivational-monday-linky-1.html}

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  20. Congrats! You were featured on Friday’s Five Features over on DIY Vintage Chic. Stop by and grab yourself a button! http://diy-vintage-chic.blogspot.com/2014/06/fridays-five-features-no-43.html

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  21. It's a beautiful piece, Jody. By that I mean you started with great bones and then took it to another level with your painting and sewing. I have a similar one that a got one year ago. My son took out a million staples from the webbing but the project stalled out at my husband. He needs to glue joints. You've inspired me to get after him. I saw your link at the Vintage Inspiration Party. Ann Marie @ Iris Abbey www.irisabbey.com

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    Replies
    1. I hope that you will be able to finish yours. I really hated to paint mine since it was my parents but it changed it completely. Have a wonderful day!

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