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Monday, June 27, 2011


I finished painting the antique green picnic table I picked up at the GW last week. This big guy needed a good cleaning. A little Mrs. Meyer's soap and water did the trick. I bought some red paint at the hardware store yesterday. This took me a very long time. Red is a very  hard color for me to pick. It can look too orange, pink, or two juvenile. I wanted a cherry red and I think I finally got close with BM, Candy Cane Red, in eggshell.  It took 4 coats to paint this bench, and after the third coat I had to walk away from the bench for a bit, he was annoying me. Or I was annoyed with myself for not getting the BM paint in Aura {primer added} to save myself time.
{Before}
Since it isn't a dramatic before and after I thought it would be fun to show you 4 ways to use an antique picnic table inside your home.

I love this as a coffee table, and I am almost tempted to keep it in my living room but I would have to repaint everything in my entry and room to keep it, and that isn't going to happen. 

Use a bench at the dining table. It is great for a big family and easy to clean up after every meal, just wipe the bench down.


Such a fun entry way bench {this is how I will use it until someone buys it from me}. Low to the ground for little ones to easily hop up on to tie those little shoes and long enough to hold baskets full of kid stuff.


Lastly, at the foot of a bed. You could fold up extra blankets and store them on the bench. 

32 comments:

  1. I love the vision I have of you carrying that bench all over your house ~ it looks great in every space!! I've been looking for just such a bench & love yours :)

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  2. Funny thing Kathie, is that I got up at six and did the mini photo shoot on a whim. My husband came down to get ready for work and it didn't even occur to him that most wives aren't carrying around a red bench and taking pictures of different rooms in their house at six in the morning. This happens far too often in our home.

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  3. You did a fabulous job with that red paint! I can never get red right. It always comes out pink for me.

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  4. perfection! I am so in love with it! hhmm...ideas are stirring now...

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  5. Have I told you how much I LOVE your home and your style??? That bench looks awesome in all four spaces.

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  6. I love your red bench! I have a white one and it has been used in lots of ways, too! After seeing how great yours looks in red, I'm thinking of going red too!

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  7. love the pretty red bench and think it is so great how you showed so many different uses for it!

    great job!

    xo

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  8. Love the red bench! Every room needs a touch of red! Visiting from NTT!

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  9. LOVE that bench! It looked great in all those spots! Martina

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  10. Oh melancholy. I reminds me of a red bench I used to have outside...before the weather got the best of it! Love that you gave different options of how to use the bench! You made me a believer...and now a follower too!
    Michael
    bluevelvetchair.blogspot.com

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  11. Love, love, love the bench ideas...i'm looking for a small one right now and a place to put it! Great post!
    www.stylishlyeverafter.blogspot.com

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  12. Love this! It works really well as a coffee table and looks great in your room!

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  13. those are all great ideas, and working it in the red! love all your throw pillows, too!

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  14. That is a lovely bench and the uses you hightlighted are great ideas. I love versatile pieces.

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  15. i love it in red, and i love how you showed it staged different ways! what a useful piece!!!

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  16. It's gorgeous! I love the color you chose. Thanks for including photos of it in different settings!

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  17. What a good idea to style your bench all those different ways! I really like it in your entryway the most, but it's cute everywhere. :)
    Meredith @ Welcome to Heardmont

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  18. You are so right! I works everywhere!!! Great find and great job!

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  19. How is it fair that you can use that bench in four amazing ways in your own home?? It looks fabulous. Love it as a coffee table!

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  20. Coming over from Momma Hens Coop party! Lovely bench & adore how you can use it so many different places in your home! xoxo, tracie

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  21. I do want that bench! ;) I love the color, you picked a perfect red. I've really been looking for a bench like that for the bottom of our bed! I love the lines down the middles, too. Great detail!
    I'd love for you to join my giveaway for 2 canvas pillows going on now! www.alittleknickknack.com. Happy 4th!

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  22. I haven't seen your entry way...but I love it as the coffee table. Very cute :)

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  23. great ideas! I have two of these out in a shed, and I've been trying to decide what to do with them - end of the bed, it will be!

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  24. I like the bench as your coffee table....I have two benched from a picnic bench that need a touch of paint and a place to be, hopefully with a new table for outside.

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  25. The bench is great in red and those are all great spaces and great uses! Awesome! Thanks so much for linking to All Things Furniture!
    :-)
    shaunna

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  26. I love this post and how it shows how many ways you could use this piece! Just so pretty! And I adore your house! I am your newest follower!!!
    Stacey of Embracing Change
    p.s. - found you on Coastal Charm

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  27. Ok...so I just toured your home and now I am really lovin'it! I wondered what your home looked like when you moved it? Would love some before shots! I love that your furnished it with thifty finds! Just lovely! You rock!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

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  28. Who would have thought that a simple bench could be so versatile. Love it! I'm visiting from Perfectly Imperfect, and I'm your newest follower.

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  29. I adore this bench - I have a very similar one sitting in my garage right now that I am refinishing for my sister - I so want to paint it this red and KEEP it!!!

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  30. I love this post! What a great way to show how an item can be used so many ways! I especially love your living room with the bench! I will be featuring you on my blog tomorrow - coem and grab a featured button!!!
    Stacey of Embracing Change

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  31. Love the red! Actually painted my worn kitchen cabinets that color several years ago, paired it with aqua - after painting white, yellow, and blue...I had finally hit it right. So wish I had the red vision to begin with. Now looking for an outdoor picnic table set styled like your bench - any suggestions of where to look? Estate sales, yard sales - not working! Need new most likely. Suggestions, websites, or do you have anything for sale?

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