Monday, June 25, 2012

Work Bench Makeover

This Craftsman workbench was a found treasure nestled in a dark corner of my musty old basement. Needing a kitchen island with limited space requirements, this bench only seemed appropriate. I called in the reserves (my mom) to help transform this disheveled piece into a bright beauty.
I love a rough industrial look so we kept the original scuffed up paint and added spray paint layers for the top coat. This allows you to use a sanding pad to scower over the top layer which will then expose the underneath (original) colors. 
The top butcher block is a combination of particle board and solid wood and is original to the bench. We did a heavy sanding, applied a layer of dark walnut stain and sealed everything in with tongue oil. The top had many scuff marks, nail holes, and gouges in it and the stain helped bring each nick to life. This is part of the beauty (adds character) and separates this island apart from a store bought "perfect" pieces.
Last but not least, I drilled holed into the metal drawers to give the piece its jewelry; beautiful knobs I picked up at Antropologie a while back. This helps make the piece look like furniture instead of a metal workbench.
I have used this island for numerous recipes and now can not live without it! In Love:)



3 comments:

  1. It turned out great! Kitchen is so bright and sunny! I would have left the vise so you could make some freshly strangled lemonade!

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    1. Thanks Viv! We have enjoyed this piece more then any other thing in our house and I cant wait to show you in person:) As far as the vice.....TJ would of probably hurt himself, so I did the safe thing and removed it!

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