Last week while I was at Home Depot looking for the cull bin, I happened upon this large bin of lumber. It was clearly headed for the dumpster. I asked one of the guys on the floor about it, and he said I could have whatever I wanted for free.
I got all of this for for .51 cents. That is a piece of 1/2 inch (nicely sanded) plywood that was in the cull bin. It is 16 inches wide and 48 inches long. Did I need it? no Do I know what I’m going to do with it? no I also had NO plans for the 1×4’s.
Then along comes cousin Marybeth (from Pinckney Michigan) with
This headboard in tow.
The headboard had a foot board that we cut down to make the arm rests.
We did have to make a run to Home Depot to get a 2×6 for the front facing of the bench.
See the planks that make up the seat? Yeppers! Free boards from the trash bin at Home Depot!
Look at the cute little details of the headboard!
My suggestion was to mimic these lines on the front facing board (2×6)
Marybeth is going to mix Colonial Maple and Antique Maple stains to try to match the original stain color.
The foot board to this bed sat very low. Marybeth decided that it would make the arm rests too low. We “floated” it off the ground, resting it temporarily on some wooden blocks. She has a plan to add some feet to the front of her bench when she gets it home. I told her that if she couldn’t figure it out, she could always cut some off the back legs. Her house has a hill in the back yard, we teased that we were building it “lopsided” so it would sit level on the hill! hahahah
If you would like more details about making a bench, check my tutorial and other bench project ideas.
On the first morning of our visit, we found some time to go thrifting at my favorite Peddler’s Mall. Here is Marybeth modeling a formal dress. We had a great visit. We took some time to go out to eat with family. Marybeth brought me a dresser that used to belong to my mom. It needs a little work. I will hopefully have pictures to show you next week. It is such a cute piece!
gail
See my favorite Mission Style Headboard Bench with Storage-The Complete Tutorial
see other headboard projects here
Miss Mustard Seed says
April 15, 2010 at 2:29 amI just love how all of these pieces came together! That’s what good deals are all about…snapping them up and knowing you can use it down the road. Great job!
Stacey @ Fun to Craft says
April 15, 2010 at 1:23 amThat is awesome. I cannot believe that you got all of that wood for basically free. I need to find that free wood at Home Depot. How awesome! Thanks for sharing at ‘Look at me, I’m SO Crafty!’ at Fun to Craft.
Sheila Irish says
April 11, 2010 at 10:30 amThis came out wonderfully! I would love to see a picture of the completed bench after Marybeth is done staining and attaching the front feet….
Sheila Irish says
April 11, 2010 at 10:30 amThis came out wonderfully! I would love to see a picture of the completed bench after Marybeth is done staining and attaching the front feet….
angie says
April 11, 2010 at 12:59 amThis is my favorite bench you’ve made. It looks big enough to take a nap on.
Jennie says
April 10, 2010 at 5:22 amCUTE! I’ve been wanting to try one of these. I need to find a cute bed first. Great JOB! I need to go trash diggin’=)
Jennie @ CInnaberry Suite
Dawn says
April 10, 2010 at 2:38 amI’m hunting down me one!!!Awesome!! Found you from shanty2chic
Shaunna says
April 9, 2010 at 2:06 pmBeautiful! I’m working on making a daybed from a couple of doors right now…so happy I passed through from miss mustard seed’s! Nice to meet you -shaunna
Andy Porter says
April 9, 2010 at 1:59 pmI had to comment on this one! I just replaced my queen headboard and wanna turn the top into a long bench. I laughed when I saw that that was your project! I love the plank idea for the seat! It looks amazing!!
ChezChani says
April 9, 2010 at 12:43 amThat is great!! I can only build things with a hot glue gun. Useless with nails and such…
Anonymous says
April 9, 2010 at 1:54 amOh my goodness, what a cute cousin you have!! LOL If I would have known you were going to post my goofin-off pics I would have combed my hair or something! LOVE the bench!!
Cousin MB
Candace@craftysisters-nc says
April 8, 2010 at 8:58 pmYou made those free boards look like a million bucks..I went back and admired your beautiful and straight slats. Great job! 🙂
Shayna Mills says
April 8, 2010 at 8:34 pmMan what a steal, talk about being at the right place right time, great job!
Casual (dash) Cottage says
April 8, 2010 at 7:52 pmLooks like you and Cuz Marybeth had a time together.
Not to mention the pretty little bench she’ll have to always remember that visit.
It will be cute once it’s finished.
Thrifting is always fun too.
Amanda says
April 8, 2010 at 7:43 pmI gave you an award. Check it out: http://amanda-brown.blogspot.com/
I Play Outside The Box says
April 8, 2010 at 6:56 pmAwesome bench…and what a great deal on the wood you picked up for a ‘song’!! Love it!
Patty says
April 8, 2010 at 6:35 pmOh that’s so pretty, it’s going to look wonderful once it’s been stained!
Barbara says
April 8, 2010 at 4:05 pmOh, one more thing – well, actually two.
Post finials for the feet!!
And how did “free” end up being 51 cents?
Barbara says
April 8, 2010 at 4:03 pmIs there nothing you can’t do? Man, I wished I lived close to you to watch and learn!!
Jennifer says
April 8, 2010 at 3:31 pmThat is super cute. I wouldn’t mind having one of them on my porch. I really like the little trees on the headboard as well.
Creations By Cindy says
April 8, 2010 at 2:51 pmWhat a great deal you got at HD! WOW! The bench turned out great. I want to do this!!!! Be blessed. Cindy
Andrea says
April 8, 2010 at 1:37 pmYou just blow me away with every post! I love all of your work! Can’t wait to see the finished product. Have a great day!
Natalie says
April 8, 2010 at 1:09 pmI have my childhood headboard in my attic that I would love to do something like this with. Problem is, I don’t have a matching footboard.
Great job on diggin at Home Depot. I never even knew they had an oops bin!
Dawn says
April 8, 2010 at 11:33 amWhat a rush it is to run into a DEAL like that at Home Depot, isnt it?!?! They recently took away the (what I called) Oops Wood section, so we don’t have the bins to go through anymore…. I think I’m going to start hanging out by their dumpster though!!! Maybe I could get a part time job there, LOL. All that wood…. 51cents. I really like the bench, wish I could make something like that on my own.. The longer I follow your blog, the more likely I am to try though, thank you so much for the inspiration!!!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
April 8, 2010 at 11:06 amgail, it looks great! i admittedly am not normally a fan of beds turned into benches as they look too much like beds to me, but this one turned out great and looks like it was meant to be a bench! i love the shape of it, and what you did with the planked seat- how thrifty to use HD’s scraps!
Cassie @ Primitive & Proper says
April 8, 2010 at 11:06 amgail, it looks great! i admittedly am not normally a fan of beds turned into benches as they look too much like beds to me, but this one turned out great and looks like it was meant to be a bench! i love the shape of it, and what you did with the planked seat- how thrifty to use HD’s scraps!