This is one of the most surprising DIYs that I’ve done where I thought I was going to hate the end result, but I actually love it. It all started when Joey found a free bench on the curb in our neighborhood. He can never pass up a free bench so he lugged it home. But it was in terrible shape.
One of the legs was even chewed up.
It was in such a sad state that I figured I might as well go wild and experiment with the design. If it looked terrible, I could just put it back on the curb for someone else to upcycle. So I used my circular saw and started cutting. First I cut the legs down so they were even. Then I decided to cut the back. I took off 2 of the horizontal bars and made the bench end at the top of the arms. After that, I did a thorough sanding and used some black stain that we had leftover from another project. My hopes were low, but wow, this was such a glow up.
It totally elevates our front porch game. Because our porch is covered, I was also able to hang some art, which looks so great. The art was a free find on Offer Up, and Joey sprayed the canvas with a clear coat to make it a bit more weather durable. If it ends up getting ruined after a few years, I’m not going to be too upset since it was free! Also, please don’t judge my sad planter. I know the poor plant looks like it’s on death’s doorstep. I have no excuse.
I’ll leave you with a quick side by side for comparison!
Bam! That’s what I call a makeover!