 |
| I dreamed of a little gray bench |
For at least 20 years or more this small neoclassical bench has been kicked around my tiny home - I used it as a vanity stool, and for a while as a piano bench - all the while it was begging to be reupholstered at least. With a few hours to spare in my studio, I finally got around to doing something about it.
 |
| before: the sweet fluted legs attracted me to this piece |
Dating from the 1910s, this nice little bench is blessed with carved fluted legs and is solidly built- but it had a bad break in one part of the frame and had been buried under magazines and finally wound up in my basement gathering even more neglect. Once in my studio, I gave my old friend a good dusting-off.
 |
| straightened and cleaned |
I repaired the break with fish glue and some clamps. All of the joints tightened, the entire surface was then cleaned with fine steel wool and some alcohol. I didn't bother repairing any dents or scratches. A couple of layers of
walnut crystal stain evened up the wood color and brought it back more to its original intent. I could have given this a nice French Polish this at this point, but I decided that what I wanted was a simple, painted bench.
 |
| after: the wee painted bench of my dreams |
Two coats of
Annie Sloan Chalk Paint gave me the perfect Gustavian look. This is really nice, easy to use paint for furniture. The color here is "French Linen." I decided not to "distress" or artificially age the surface any further, as I am sure dings and scrapes will appear in time, quite naturally. The painted surface was burnished and polished with two coats of
micro-cyrstalline wax, and finally the seat was re-covered with a bit of Belgian linen left over from one of my
artists smocks.
I'm quite please with this little project. What do you think?
