dreaming of spring.

Published on by Quandie

OK, I know I’m jumping the gun a bit with the garden theme of this piece.

I just couldn’t help myself though.  I’m already dreaming of spring, how about you?

I wasn’t especially looking for another bed frame to turn into a bench, but I came across this bed while garage saling on my lunch break last fall.  Luckily I was with my co-worker Jodie and she was driving a pick up truck so we were able to load it up.

There were no side rails included, so that made this one a great candidate for a bench.  If I’d wanted to sell it as a bed I would have had to replace the side rails.

In addition to adding a seat and the lower front trim piece to the bench, this time my handyman Ken also had to insert boards into some gaps in the headboard and foot board in order to make this piece work.

This is the third bench that Ken has made out of an old bed frame (here is the first and the second if you want to see them).

Once the bench was constructed, I painted the old wood with two coats of Fusion’s Bedford, while the new wood on the seat only required one coat.  Bedford is a medium warm grey.

I let the paint dry overnight, and then I added Prima Marketing’s Seeds transfer.

I didn’t quite use all of the transfer, although I did put some of it on the lower section of the bench too.

I also sanded the edges of the piece to distress the paint job.  With Fusion paint I recommend doing this within a few days of painting the piece.  Fusion is more difficult to distress once the paint has cured.

Although Fusion paint does not require a top coat for durability, the bare wood that I exposed by sanding could use a little protection.  So I added just a little bit of Miss Mustard Seed’s furniture wax to a cloth and wiped it over all of the distressed areas of the bench.  I didn’t add a lot of wax, just a bit.

I did the same over the transfer, just rubbed it lightly with a waxy cloth to give it a little extra protection.

I couldn’t resist staging the bench with plants and gardening supplies.  Sure, it’s January and everything outside my window is frozen solid.  But inside I can pretend it’s practically spring!

If you’re wondering where to purchase the Prima Marketing Seeds transfer, check out their ‘where to buy’ page.

If you’re wondering where to buy the Fusion paint in Bedford, check out their ‘where to buy’ page.

And finally, if you happen to be local (Twin Cities, MN) and in need of a fabulous bench, check out my ‘available for local sale’ page to see if this one is still available.

28 thoughts on “dreaming of spring.”

  1. Another win for you and Ken. It would be the perfect entryway bench, I can see someone putting on their rubber boots right there! Love the color and the transfer. Do you normally not seal the transfers after applying them? I guess I’ve seen posts on Facebook where they seal them, but maybe on Fusion they adhere better? Love the staging for spring, I’m so ready for warm weather and sunshine, even here in Texas!

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    1. I have sealed them on some pieces, but normally I don’t. I have several pieces of my own with transfers on them and have never had a problem with them not being sealed. I’ve put them over milk paint, chalk paint, bare wood, metal, glass and of course Fusion (acrylic) paint. I generally base my decision whether or not to seal on the surface itself rather than the transfer. That being said I don’t usually put them on things that might need to be scrubbed down (like a dining table top) and I’m not sure how washable they would be unsealed. If you put one on something and you want to be able to wash it thoroughly later I would seal it with something like Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat.

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  6. Beautiful work! Ken sure is a wonderful woodworker and all around craftsman. Nice that you guys found each other and teamed up. Love the color and the transfer is perfect. Another win/win!

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  8. What a wonderful bench! I love it ❤️ Gives me a little taste of Spring to look forward to. Thanks for sharing!!

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  10. You and Ken do amazing things together! The bench is beautiful and you almost had me convinced it was Spring rather than the temp being in the 20’s all week.

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    1. We are actually having spring-like temps here in the Twin Cities this weekend, it was in the upper 40’s yesterday. We could almost fool ourselves into thinking it is April!

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  13. I work in a vintage store in SW Minnesota. About a year ago, a customer told me about a great blog that she reads and thought I would also enjoy it. She said the blogger reminds her of me. I started reading your blog and my customer was right, I really enjoy your blog and it seems we do have several things in common. I paint furniture and upcycle vintage items for the store where I work. I find these items at garage sales, thrift stores and sometimes on the side of the road. I also live in an old house, she’ll be 136 on her birthday this year. A lot of people like old houses, furniture and garage sales so that’s not so surprising, but a few things did surprise me. We have the same first name and I read that you celebrated a birthday while on your vacation. I’m not sure of the exact date, but I think it’s close to mine (November 22). I lived in the Twin Cities area most of my life. My husband and I did craft shows at the Oakdale Mall for many years so if you ever attended those shows, our paths may have crossed. I wanted you to know how much I enjoy your blog. I don’t think there is anything you’ve made that I don’t love. You have great taste and do beautiful work. Thank you so much for sharing!
    -Linda

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    1. Oh my gosh Linda, yes, we have the same birthday! And the Oakdale Mall is such a blast from the past. I work at City Hall and the mall was just a few blocks away (it has since been torn down and now there is a HyVee in that spot). I vaguely remember my co-workers and I heading over there on our lunch breaks. Our paths probably have crossed at some point or another! Thanks so much for your comment and your kind words about my blog 🙂

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