This is one of those projects that I’ve been not so patiently waiting to show you. I wanted to wait until I had it in the backyard and I needed some help carrying it out of the garage. Sucker was heavy! Before I show you the finished product, let’s take a look at the before.
For someone who actually likes gardening, a concrete backyard is an annoying challenge. Everywhere you turn, it’s the same thing. I’ve been slowly changing things over the past 2 years (like planting grass on concrete) and it was time to finally address the messy area between the AC and the French doors. The pup loved that pool 2 years ago, but it’s just too small and I let it fall apart. So it was time to get Bubba’s dilapidated kiddie pool out of the yard and replaced with something useful.
I was seriously inspired by this post by Thrifty Decor Chick and ended up recruiting my own dad to help me build one as well. It ended up being a great learning opportunity since it was my first chance to use some new tools. Using her finished product as inspiration, we headed to Lowes and picked up some cheap boards. I didn’t go with cedar since I had plans to stain it so I picked the cheapest wood they had to save costs.
In one afternoon we had cut and assembled the entire thing. It was great to have some extra hands, but this is a project that someone could do on their own, it would just take more time. However, the finished product is very heavy so either build it in place or recruit some help when you want to move it.
Pretty Awesome, right!
I used a Waterproofing Solid Color Wood Stain by Behr, sold by Home Depot, to finish and protect it from the elements. Chances are, I’ll have to redo the top every few years, but for the price, it’s awesome.
I didn’t take any picture of the building process because we did it in the garage and the lighting was terrible, but it’s very simple construction. After everything was built, I used wood filler to fill all the holes and sanded lightly. Two coats of solid color stain covered everything and then I let it cure for a few days. I have plans to stack all the pots you see in the before picture on the bottom shelf and add some hooks to the side to hold gardening tools.
The great thing is that it can double as a dining table with a few barstools during the summer months. I can’t wait to break it in with a BBQ soon.
I made the whole piece deeper than most (about 36 inches) so I could have a place along the back for smaller plants and decor.In fact I have a few more DIY posts coming up in a few weeks about that lantern and utensil holder. It’s too much fun to take traditional items and use them for something new, I can’t wait to show you the details.
Unfortunately I lost a few of the receipts for I don’t have the exact cost, but I know the finished product was less than $150. Pretty damn good for such a substantial piece and I think it really looks great in the yard.
*The sun lasted a whole 24 hours before the sky opened up and poured all over the new bench on Sunday. I was a little worried about how it would hold up to the first rain but it still looks brand new!
