The last few weeks Glen has been off work. Money is tight when he’s working full time, but him being off for three weeks has been quite stressful. In order to help us stay afloat, I’ve made it my goal to try to sell off as many of my projects and refinished projects around the home. I posted my beloved pew last week and we found a buyer. ( Insert all the tears )
See, I waited for years for a real pew, then I finally got one and now only a short 8 months after getting It, I’m having to sell it. I knew that if I had to sell this pew, we had to put something in its place. But it couldn’t be expensive to make but it would still have to be just as amazing as my pew so I wouldn’t be too sad. See how I negotiate with myself?
About a year ago one of my favourite designers DIY’d this entrance hall bench and although I absolutely loved it, it looked expensive. The carved front legs, the amazing Corbels, the sconces.. everything about it screamed dolla-dolla bills. Yet, I took it on myself to create something similar that would be under 50.00 in materials. Keep in mind, we had all the 1×6’s and 1×4’s in our garage already, so the only thing we actually had to purchase was the wainscotting. The 6×4′ piece cost us 39.99, and in the states I’m sure it’s way cheaper. Everything is inflated up here in Canada. If you had to purchase the lumber, I’m sure it would be around 50-70 dollars.
As for the corbels, we DIY’d them and guys, I’m so excited to blog about it. We found a pattern online, traced them out and Glen made them for me. All from using scraps in our garage. Win-Win!
I really wanted a unique sconce light for this project too, but I’ve come to the realization that the light can wait for now. But wow, I’m loving the completed piece. It literally took my husband about 3 hours to build and then me another 3 hours to paint. I put 3 coats on to give it extra good coverage. We also put a sealant on the bench part as I know that with my kids crawling up and down off the bench, it will get marked up in no time!
Funny thing is, we had some leftover “Pure White” paint in our garage. I was so happy, because that meant that I didn’t have to buy paint. I started painting my hall bench and then after about an hour, I stood back and realized it was all grey! The paint can was completely marked wrong. So we have a light grey hall bench, so someday the walls behind this bench will have to be painted white as I’m not loving the green country walls behind it.
Hope you guys enjoyed this DIY. The pictures do not do this hall bench justice, it is absolutely stunning! Our entrance way is so dark and so I had to edit the photos slightly so they weren’t dark. But you get the gist.
As always, sharing is caring and I would love for you to share!
