Ever since I moved in to my house, I've been on the hunt for some sort of entryway bench. When you walk in the front door, there is a small alcove set back in the wall. I had a picture in my head for what I wanted, but I was having a hard time finding something that fit the correct dimensions. After joining Pinterest, I started seeing a lot of ideas using old doors. I began to think about using an old door and turning it into some sort of hall tree/bench. The downside is that I am not a carpenter and had no idea how to turn my idea into a reality. While I was home for Thanksgiving, I mentioned my idea to Grandma Betty. She told me that our relatives, Larry and Caroline Legg, have been selling benches similar to what I described. Larry and Caroline make and sale crafts at local craft fairs. Mom and I set out the day after Thanksgiving to stop by their house to see what goodies we could find. They had a couple already made, but they weren't exactly what I wanted. Luckily, Larry is a good family friend, and has had a soft spot for me ever since I started showing cattle as a cute little girl (I don't really know if the last part is true, but he does like me a lot). He quickly started going through all the doors he had in the shop until I picked one that I liked. We went over the desired dimensions, types of hooks he uses, whether I wanted Caroline to paint it or paint it myself, he showed me the choices of door knobs, and in about an hour I had ordered my custom made entryway bench. He delivered the finished product to Grandma's in a little under two weeks. I assured him that he could take his time because I wouldn't be home again until Christmas, but this fell on deaf ears :) Like I said, Larry likes me. I opted to paint it myself. I forgot to take a before picture, but it was originally a green door with red trim. Larry takes all the windows out of the doors to make them safer and lighter to handle. He also cuts the bottom of the door off where he adds the bench to help make it lighter. He then adds a shelf to the top, and a curtain rod on the back so that a little curtain can be hung. They turn out really cute. I primed the door white, and then used the same turquoise paint that I used on the old window picture frame. I distressed the shelf by sanding it in places with sandpaper. It looks good, although I kind of wish I would have tried to crackle paint it. I still love how it turned out!
The curtain rod on the back. I don't have a curtain on there now. I've thought about having a farm picture printed out and applying it to the back to show through the windows.
The back pre-painted
The front after priming.
First coat of paint
The very boring entry way before
The new and improved entryway.
Here's a close up of the very cool antique door knob that Larry included. He does several projects with these, and is always on the hunt for them. This one is antique brass with a glass knob.
Mr. Pig would like to welcome you!!
The last few weeks have been full of crossing projects off of the to do list. Can't wait to show some before and after pictures!
