A Makeover and the Entry Nook

Oftentimes people ask me to spill the beans on my favorite piece of furniture in my own home. I find this nearly impossible to answer, because my favorite thing about every piece is the story that comes along with it. Where I was when I found it, who I bought it from, where they got it from, how far it traveled to get here, etc. 

However, I do have one piece that is quickly becoming a favorite of sorts. It lives in my entry, and it started out it's life like this...

This short little unassuming bench once lived at the foot of my Mother in Law's bed as she grew up. It's seen many years of love and this is my favorite part about it. She used to lay under the bench with her friends and scribble names of all of the boys she was going to marry and all sorts of things that matter to a pre-teen girl.

I knew I wanted to preserve these scribbles, but I couldn't wait to give it a little makeover for our entryway! Here's how it's all fitting together now...

I started off by using our Ryobi Circular Saw {again} to cut off all of the original legs which were a little too short for our needs. Then I bought a set of handmade hairpin legs off of Etsy for a steal. These are 18" legs, so it's nice and tall and perfectly accomodates storage baskets underneath! 

I sanded down the bench really well and gave it a couple of coats of high gloss paint. This color is an all time favorite of mine {Benjamin Moore Lead Gray}. I can't wait to snap some shots of our kitchen for you...this color plays a {huge} role in there too! I also happened to have three of these vintage brass knobs left over from a little dresser refinishing project for my friend @here.

Of course if you've been reading this blog for some time, you know I'm more than obsessed with David Hicks' La Fiorentina fabric {hello- 3 colorways alone on one bench!} and this is where my Jonathan Adler needlepoint pillows live, as well. I happened to find 4 yards of La Fiorentina at a remnant shop here in Richmond for $2.99 a yard! It was just enough to make the perfect cushy cushion for this bench, which I didn't feel so bad about having custom made because I saved so much $$$ on fabric.

Again, there's still a lot to do here. I think it would be just fantastic to add a stripe, small scale pattern or a fun pop of color on this wall in the entry. I feel good about where things are headed though, and I can't tell you how nice it is to know I've given this very special bench a new lease on life! xx