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Farmhouse Benches with Grain Sack Stripe

When I head to the thrift store and see country blue and geese with hearts, I instantly have a flashback to 1980’s. My childhood home definitely featured that kind of style at one point. It’s cute, but totally not my style. My last thrifting visit produced this haul and looked like someone cleaned house. For the next few projects, I’m going to be transitioning these pieces into a farmhouse state. Today is all about those country blue benches becoming farmhouse benches.

1980's Thrift Store Finds for Makeover Fun by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

I literally laughed out loud when I spied the bench set stacked and hiding in a corner of the store. It was as if they knew how dated they were. IDK…Maybe it will come back in style? (let’s hope not…haha)

Wallpapered Bench Tops from 1980's | prodigalpieces.com

DIY TIME

So, which one do you like? The garden scene or the dolls? Since I felt like having some DIY therapy, I set about removing these poor benches from their papered bondage. I won’t say it was super easy, but pretty straightforward. I used a sponge to wet it, and scraped, and kept going.

Scraping Off Vintage Wallpaper | prodigalpieces.com

My littlest kiddo loved to help me – peeling paper is addictive! At one point I asked her what she thought about the paper on the benches and she replied, “Wallpaper is for walls.” bwahaha!! She nailed it. But…I told her I used wallpaper on furniture all the time. She said that my paper was pretty paper though. Good girl. If you want to see my wallpaper creations, take a peek HERE.

Once the paper was removed, I made repairs with my nailer, and used my sander to get them prepped for the next step.

Using Ryobi Brad Nailer to Repair Benches | prodigalpieces.com

Here they are ready for paint. The fun part! Notice how the person who created these didn’t finish the paint down the middle? hmmm…

Vintage Country Blue Benches Before Makeover by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

TIME TO PAINT

I chose to spray my farmhouse benches to be with a flat black spray paint as a base color.

RustOleum Flat Black Spray Paint for Benches | prodigalpieces.com

Inevitably I get a leaky spray can once in awhile. Yes, I could wear gloves, but thought I’d share my tip: just use an olive oil, hemp oil, etc. to wipe off the paint. No chemicals needed and it works like a charm.

Spray Painted Fingers Clean up with a Natural Oil - No Chemical Cleaners Needed | prodigalpieces.com

Now my farmhouse benches are like little black sheep, but we’re not done yet. Since I have a strong affinity for feed sack, as you can see in these past posts, I decided to add some stripes down their middles.

ACCENTS

While I can use my FrogTape for some of the stripes as-is, I often use my cutting mat and cutter to make thin strips.

Cutting Mat and Cutter to Cut Frog Tape | prodigalpieces.com

I center up the lines and get ready for the next step…more paint. BIG surprise, right? yahoo!

Black Farmhouse Benches Prepped for Paint by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Since the farmhouse style usually incorporates distressing, I didn’t want that blue to peek out, so to create the look I wanted, I used an old candle to wax the spots I wanted black to peek out.

Waxing Edges with Old Candle to Create Distressing Marks | prodigalpieces.com

To create some rustic charm, I used a whitewash of paint using my paint brush. Dry brushing basically means getting on the very tip of your bristles wet and working the paint around with minimal coverage.Dry Brush Painting Farmhouse Benches| by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Only one dry brush layer is all I need. After it cures, I lightly distress those previously waxed spots to reveal some black base layer. Then, I decided to take it up a notch using my Old World Numbers stencil. After that, I used a fun layer of gray wax to add depth, protection, and texture using my brush.

Waxing Farmhouse Benches with Gray Wax by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

THE REVEAL

The wax gets a good buffing and then my farmhouse benches are ready to go.

Handmade Rustic Farmhouse Benches for Entry, Bedroom, Living Room, and More | by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com #prodigalpieces

Rustic Farmhouse Entry Bench with Feed Sack Stripe by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Well, we’ve said buh-bye to that country blue and hello rustic farmhouse. {{breathes sigh of relief}} Aren’t they fun now?

Primitive Handmade Farmhouse Benches with Grain Sack Stripe by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

No. 8 Rustic Farmhouse Bench with Grain Sack Stripe for Home Decor by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Gotta love them stripes and the bit of whimsy they offer with the numbered stencils. One got a No. 6 and the other a No. 8. Had to mix it up, ya know.

Grain Sack Bench Tops for Rustic Farmhouse Style by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Grain Sack Stripes on Farmhouse Benches by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Stenciled Farmhouse Bench with Old World Numbers by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Which one suits you? Both are available in my online shop along with all my other handmade and vintage furniture and finds.

Shop Prodigal Pieces | shop.prodigalpieces.com #prodigalpieces

 

Rustic Primitive Farmhouse Benches with Grain Sack Stripes and Stenciled Numbers by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

No. 8 Primitive Entry Bench by Larissa of Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

SHARE

My hope is that you are inspired to see past the obvious either in what’s already in your own home, or when you’re out thrifting. A DIY update is easy and makes it fun to create your own home story. In addition, pin and share to inspire others too!

Goodbye 80's country blue and hello rustic farmhouse. These benches were meant to be farmhouse benches with bit of paint and know-how. Get the DIY details at Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com #prodigalpieces #handmade #furniture #farmhouse #diy #homedecor #home #homedecorideas

Up next is that goosey barrel. You know those have to go…right? See the after HERE.

1980's Goose Nail Barrel Before Makeover by Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

To get these DIY tips & tricks in your inbox, be sure to sign up for my newsletter. Until next time!

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Also, more of my projects like these farmhouse benches:

Simply beautiful. Larissa of Prodigal Pieces created this French Provincial headboard bench with a custom built frame as well as a handmade tufted French mattress. | DIY details at prodigalpieces.com #prodigalpieces #handmade #diy #homedecor #furniture #shoppingWhat a difference! This vintage upholstered bench needed some TLC and is now refreshed with simple steps. See the details at Prodigal Pieces | prodigalpieces.com

Comments

  1. Betty Messer says

    Hmm…dolls or garden scene…IDK…I would probably choose the dolls even though my kids would probably think them a little “creepy”, ha! Love how these turned out. You have an awesome imagination on how to change the look of things and inspire me to think outside the box. Keep up the great work! I love your blog!

    • Larissa says

      haha…so funny! Thank you for the kind words, Betty. I sure have fun!

  2. Joanie McLaughlin says

    The benches turned out adorable! What a difference. I have to tell you – I had the same garden wallpaper border in my kitchen and the doll border (different colors) in my daughter’s bedroom in the early 90’s, so I chose both! I also had geese in my kitchen in the 80’s with my blue and peach and mauve! Wait – did you shop my attic? LOL!

    • Larissa says

      That is hilarious!! They had they day for sure. You made me LOL!!

  3. Debra Wise says

    Larissa, thank you for savings those benches! They were so awful but you’ve given them a new life! I love that your babies help you out and are learning how to do what their mama does. Great idea and can’t wait to see what you do with the barrel. And yes, those ducks have got to go! Thanks for the inspiration!!

    • Larissa says

      My absolute pleasure and duty!! hahahaha!! Thank you for all the love, Debra.

  4. Claudine says

    I love these, Larissa! 🙂

  5. Cindy says

    I was laughing outloud about the 80’s. We got married in 1988 and we were in our early twenties so I went with that style.

    When we got older and I finally found my style my husband said, thank you, I didn’t like the other stuff. He didn’t say a word for years.

    So happy that decorating nightmare is over.

    These are super, you turned ugly into beautiful farmhouse.

    Enjoy the rest of your day

    Cindy

    • Larissa says

      Oh my goodness!! That is so fun! What a guy. You know you’ve got a keeper!

  6. Becky says

    Oh my goodness! That 80’s stuff… who thinks these things up!? And why do we all rush to do them!?!? I’m hoping some of today’s styles are a little more classic and not shudder-inducing 20 years from now! NICE JOB with these!

    • Larissa says

      So funny how many jump on the bandwagon. We are sheeple at times! haha! Thanks for the smile, Becky.

    • Larissa says

      Thanks so much, Susan! This whole pile of 80’s was fun to do. 😀

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