I love trawling through antique stores, flea markets and trademe for old cheap pieces of furniture that I can revive. It’s amazing what a bit of paint can do! This bench seat with drawers was purchased on trademe about 4 years ago. I bought it as one of my great light-bulb moments where I saw what the piece could become. I was going to paint it and reupholster the seat cushion and it was going to be amazing! It has been sitting in our garage for the last 4 years so finally, whilst on my mission to “finish’ my projects, there was no better time than now!

Project supplies:

• Sandpaper and cork block – medium grade
• Primer (I used Zinsser cover stain)
• Paint – oil or acrylic based paint (I used an oil based paint; Dulux interiors Super Enamel in semi gloss, that I already had at home from another project)
• Small roller and tray and/or paintbrush for oil paints
• Drop cloth if working indoors

You can get all of this from a hardware store like Bunnings. (I got mine from Placemakers)

I gave it a quick sand first and then wiped it down with a damp cloth. If using a primer, you don’t really need to sand as the sanding is to provide a rough surface for the paint to stick to, and that is what the primer does. However, if your surface is rough or uneven, giving it a quick sand will smooth it out.

Before you start painting, make sure that your room is well ventilated if doing this indoors. I painted the primer on with a paint brush. (This is a personal preference, you can roll it on if you like.)

This is what it looked like once it was all primed up. The drawers for under the seat are on the right there. I only do one coat of primer and find that it’s fine, but some people may prefer 2 coats.  I then had to wait for an hour for it to dry.

The Dulux paint in the colour St. Clair Quarter was rolled on over the majority of the seat. I did find there were a few areas that I needed to use my brush.

With the paint I used, I needed to wait 16 hours to re-coat, so I re-coated it the next day……. (Patience is not my virtue!)

The drawers didn’t need any handles as they have a cut out underneath for your hand to slip into when opening them, but I decided that it needed something extra.

The knobs were bought from Freedom Furniture and are a mustardy yellow colour. I just measured and drilled in the centre of the drawer and they just easily screw in.

With a newly upholstered seat cushion, it looks amazing! Just like I imagined…..4 years ago!