I have seen so many benches made from beds on Pinterest. I pin a lot of different ideas, however this one was not going to let me rest. The old bed frame hanging out in the garage was nagging at me.
What a simple idea, and it turned out to be quick and easy to build. I first cut the footboard in half. I now had 2 identical pieces that I could use for the sides or "armrest". I attached them to the back or "headboard" with some heavy duty screws. I built a frame of 1 x 4's the length and width of the seat and attached it with screws.
I filled all the screws holes with wood filler and sanded them down. I used a deglosser on the entire piece. I let the deglosser dry. Normally it is dry in 10-15 minutes. I painted the back with a chalk paint made from Behr "Elephant Skin" Ultra paint /primer and Plaster of Paris.
I used my Cricket to cut out vinyl lettering and placed it on the back. I choose a bird pattern and the words "Gardening tills the soul" as I wanted to place it in the garden. I then covered the entire piece with a slate blue color of chalk paint. When the paint was dry, I removed the vinyl lettering to expose the "Elephant Skin" colored lettering.
I purchased a 16" wide board for the seating and painted it in the Elephant Skin gray. When completely dry, I appled a Minwax Spar Urethane for indoor/outdoor use.
The bench is not in it's final resting place. However I am loving the look and happy with the repurposed bed!
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I've been wanting to do this for a while and I really like how your bench turned out. I have a twin headboard from a bed that was my dads when he was a child. The plan was to build a box type seat for it and use the headboard for the back. Look out - I think I know what my next project will be this summer! Thanks for sharing yours!
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