Free Porch Bench

As an avid KSL buyer, I love it when I find something great under the "Free" section.  Last year I picked up a free garden bench that needed some TLC but had potential.  Yes, it took me a year to finally do something with it but the important thing is that I did  it. 

Here are some shots of the bench when I picked it up.

 As you can see, it needed some serious wood glue and one slab of wood was missing that my sweets cut to size and replaced for me.

I wanted this bench to still maintain its aged, weathered look. I used some of the leftover paint samples I had from painting my Master Bedroom and brushed on one light coat, allowing the wood to still shine through.  It was the perfect shade of light gray.

Lastly, I brushed everything over with a mixture of Annie Sloan Clear and Dark waxes.

The dark wax can be overwhelming when it's used alone, but when mixed with clear and applied to the high points, it creates the most perfect weathered look. 

I could hardly wait for the wax to dry long enough for me to set the pillows I sewed together in their new place. 

The bright and modern design on the pillows was exactly what I wanted against the aged and faded looking bench. 

The pillows were made from outdoor canvas material I picked up at Joann's.  The striped print was on clearance for around $4/ yard, and the floral print was a splurge for me at around $30/ yard, but I was willing to buy it on sale at 50% off, and purchased a very small amount by only using the expensive print on one side of each pillow.

With the addition of a new window flower box and my cute rug I told you about, my front yard is starting to look bright and summery. 

Now if only I had something like this to show for the back yard, I'd be really happy.

I'm sharing this makeover and tutorial with these inspiring beauties: