A New Window Seat

My niece was looking for a window seat to put in a garden shed that she has converted into a summer sitting room.  We were thinking that some kind of a trunk with a cushion on top would be good, but most of the trunks you see around would be just too big for the space.  I stumbled across this handmade pine box of sorts at a garage sale, so I picked it up for twelve bucks - it's 12 inches deep, 37 inches long, just the right height to sit on, and storage space besides.

 

Original Pine Box

Original Pine Box

 

 

I painted the whole thing with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Emperors' Silk.

 

First Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Emperors' Silk"

 

 

Next I painted over the Emperors' Silk with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in the color called Versailles, except for the inside.

 

Second Coat: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint "Versailles"

 

 

My husband came home after work and said, "I thought you had that painted red.  Didn't you like it that color?" Well, not wanting to explain my whole plan, I just responded, "It was ok, but I have other plans."

After the coat of Versailles I put on a thin coat of clear wax and let it dry.  Next I took some fine sandpaper and started sanding down to expose some of the Emperors' Silk.   I wasn't sure how I liked it until I started waxing it again - another coat of clear wax with dark wax over the top, some drying time, some buffing, sewing a cushion for the top, and Oh My Gosh - I love those two colors together and so did my niece.

She's going to add a hinge on the front to add a little more character, but here is the finished window seat for her little summer sitting room.

 

 

Window seat after two coats of clear wax and one coat of dark wax.

Finished Window Seat

 

 

I will not walk past a handmade pine box at a garage sale again! This was a fun project - a simple pine box with heavy coats of varnish, given a new life with some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and some of her great wax. Now all I need is a picture of it in its new home - that great garden shed that's been transformed into a great summer sitting room. 

I should add that there was an inspiration piece that my niece saw - a small shelving unit with a cushion on top and listed for $499. I made this for $23 plus the cost of the paint.  

I also made the cushion from a piece of canvas drop cloth that you can find at any home improvement store. I had watched a video by Miss Mustard Seed about buying, washing, and using these drop cloths for slip covers and things like that. It worked out great! I bought one that was 9' x 20' for about $18. I was afraid it would come out of the dryer a wrinkled up mess, but it washed and dried very well. I put bleach in when I washed it as suggested by Miss Mustard Seed and it came out a nice oatmeal color. I will be trying some slipcovers on a couple of chairs that I have. 

The Internet is so wonderful and gives me so much inspiration and instruction.  :)