Storage Bench Makeover for my closet – before and after!

Jul 01 2022
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Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents’ made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child hood entryway for many years and suffered quite a bit from teething puppies gnawing on it. From there it moved to our horse barn where it provided a lovely home for mice and chipmunks as well as storing horse tack and the like. Move ahead a couple more decades and it came with me here to Grandma’s house where it lived in the barn (still full of horse tack), then in the wood shed and then, finally, in the old well house for several years up until right now.

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

You guys know I’ve been hacking away at our second floor for months now meaning I’ve been looking through old pictures from the blog for before and after pics of the whole space.

One in particular caught my eye of my closet from back in 2015… I used to have a storage bench in there and I realized how much I missed it!

However, the other three benches are perfect right where they’re at in the house (in our guest bedroom, entryway and dining room) so I couldn’t steel one back from the other spaces… So, after what was probably twenty plus years outside Lodi and I brought this bench in to assess just how damaged it was.

You guys know I am not one to paint solid wood generally… However, I sanded out and stained two of the other benches and the other I left exactly as my grandparents’ made it for me… So, I felt I had paid my dues and could proceed with painting this one especially because of how rough of shape its in.

You can see the dog(s) really did a number on both sides of it. They might have been puppies but they were 60 pound puppies and grew into 100+ pound German Wirehaired pointers lol.

I loved those dogs so much but they were impressively destructive when they were teething…

As usual I’m always slow to remove what I consider character or memories…

We already have three beautiful and practically unscarred storage benches so I thought I would just let this one be weird.

I removed the top and than hit it hard with my orbital palm sander.

Perfection here was obviously not possible but now that its smooth its scars don’t bother me at all. In fact, I love that I remember my old dogs (many years gone now) every time I look at it.

I taped off the inside before painting and chose gloss black Rustoleum so this storage bench will match the black painted door and three dressers we already have upstairs.

I did two coats and waited a day between each coat for it to dry.

The hinges were rusted out so I replaced them with two new steel hinges. It was at that point that I decided the storage bench needed a little extra something.

My Grandpa’s three legged stool came out as one of my favorite makeovers ever almost totally due to a little flower decal I found on Amazon that I put on the top of it.

Seeing as how the stool lives not ten feet away from the future home of this storage bench I thought it would be fun to use them here too!

Click here – Flower Decals on Amazon

I ordered two of them and added one to the top and one to the front of the bench and oh my gosh I just totally love it!

This storage bench gave me the space for clothes I rarely wear such as dresses, skirts, slips, serious winter gear etc.

This year Lodi and I both did a huge amount of purging and emptied our drawers and hanging spaces of anything that we don’t use on a daily basis.

We binned up or took to the thrift store as we went!

This bench meant every article of clothing of my own is now actually here in my closet – freeing up storage space (and bins) for us elsewhere.

I had to pull the storage bench out for my after pictures because it hides so completely under my hanging clothes. It was like trying to take a picture of a shadow in the dark!

I think it fits in perfectly up here!

Already having the black Rustoleum meant the whole cost here was just the two decals and the hinges bringing the entire makeover in at well under $20!

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Of the four storage benches that we own that my grandparents' made this one absolutely has had the roughest history. It lived in my child

Hi guys! We're teaming up the first Sunday of every month for our DIY blog hop. Feel free to join us by linking up or you can also share it!

This Month’s DIY Blop Hop: $20 or less projects! (Click here for our upcoming themes and more info on how to join us every month!)

Niky from The House on Silverado - DIY Paint Stick Flag

Niky from The House on Silverado – DIY Paint Stick Flag

Lydia from Life Beyond the Kitchen - Tik Tok Inspired Front Porch Sign

Lydia from Life Beyond the Kitchen – Tik Tok Inspired Front Porch Sign

Beautiful, Affordable DIY Upholstered Headboard for Less Than $15!

Niki from Life of a LEO Wife – Beautiful, Affordable DIY Upholstered Headboard for Less Than $15!

Comments

  1. Niky
    July 1, 2022 at 5:56 pm

    Tarah, I’m so glad you were able to save this piece, despite the “fun” your pups had with it. 🙂 It turned out so pretty!

    Niky

    Reply
  2. Stephany
    July 3, 2022 at 12:11 pm

    Looks awesome! Some things just have to be saved. My father used to do so much wood working when he was younger. Some that he made to sell but a lot of it he kept. Sadly his hands shake so badly now that he can’t still do it anymore. 😥 He recently gave me 2 beautiful lamps that he made years ago and with some clean up and new shades they’re going to have a place on our night stands from now on.🙂💕

    Reply
    • Tarahlynn
      July 5, 2022 at 11:02 am

      Stephany, isn’t it wonderful to be able to keep things that mean so much to us from our past? My Grandpa is many years gone now but I keep him here in many ways with the furniture he and my Grandma built together. Thank you for coming by!

      Reply
  3. Karen aka Lace Faerie
    July 3, 2022 at 11:04 pm

    Well done! I love (functional) family heirlooms! What delight to reminisce about your Grampa and your beloved pups.

    Reply

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