DIY Chalk Painted Bench

I purchased this bench from AFW [not available anymore] back when we were doing updates on our room and I totally love it! Its the only bench I could find that was the right length to fit the foot of our bed. It was also the perfect height for our older pup, Soko, to jump up and reach the bed. Plus, at less than $120 it was one of the cheapest benches I found.

The only issue I had was that the rug I purchased [this one from Target] was very matchy matchy with it. They are both basically the same color.

Replacing the rug seemed like a waste because there's nowhere else for this one to go so I thought about recovering the bench instead, but I couldn't find the same type of woven fabric in the color I wanted. Also, if I recovered it I'd never be able to recreate the awesome piping around the edges. In the end, I decided that I was just going to paint it. I figured if it didn't work out I could always recover it, right? I searched Pinterest for a tutorial but pretty much they all said the same thing: get chalk paint, water it down, paint the piece, wax it, done. I figured that seemed easy enough.

I went to JoAnns for my supplies. I ended up getting FolkArt Chalk Paint in xxx, FolkArt clear wax and a set of brushes. After a 40% off coupon my total came to $37.00 ish. So, yes, it would have been cheaper to cover it, but I wouldn't have been able to keep the texture or the piping, couldn't find a material I liked AND I have lots of leftover paint for another project, so for me this route made sense.

Back to the project. All I did was remove the seat from the frame...

Then I added paint to a bowl...

added about 50% water...

and started painting.

Since I went from a light color to a dark color it only took two coats [and it still probably could use another] but if you were covering a pattern or going from dark to light you might need several more coats.

look at that texture!

I let that dry overnight and then I ran over it with a fine grit sanding block to soften it up. Its still a little stiff but that doesn't bother me at all.

What do ya think of it now? Definitely goes a lot better with the room don't ya think?

---jackie