Cranberry Bench Makeover

When I was little, my mother gathered my brother and I around the kitchen table to make ornaments.

You know the kind where you pour tiny beads into wreath and Santa Claus shaped molds, stick them in the oven, and make DIY stained glass? We made a whole day of it. And when we pulled those precious gems out of the oven, we wrapped them up and gave them away as gifts to friends and neighbors.

It was one of my favorite days ever.

My mom did DIY before DIY was cool.

And that’s when I learned, at the age of 5 years old… the best presents are the homemade ones. The ones that maybe didn’t cost more than a dollar or two but are filled with time and care.

So when I stumbled upon this $30 bench at the thrift store, I knew time and care was all it really needed.

(Affiliate links are provided below for convenience.)

Today, my blogger friends and I are kicking off our last Trash to Treasure Transformation Tuesday of 2016! (By the way, we’re hosting a contest and giveaway this week on Instagram if you have makeovers of your own you’d like to share too.)

Last December, I shared how I (ahem… I mean, Santa) gave an old thrifted dollhouse a sweet makeover for Olivia. To this day, she still adores it.

This year though, I thought I’d snag this bench for my mom since she’s always wanted one at her kitchen table (for a certain squirmy-bottomed 4 year-old).

To get rid of the yellowy-orange wood tones and cover up the scuffs and rough spots, I gave it two quick coats of Fusion Mineral Paint in Cranberry.

Are y’all sick of seeing this paint yet? I love this stuff. Maybe I’m just impatient, but I’m not a fan of prep work, and I like that I can skip the sealing step that comes with chalk paint. This one is literally one step and you’re done. (You can still distress it and add dark wax for antiquing if you’d like though.)

It took me less than an hour to paint it (and to chuck the icky seat cushion that came with it), and this bench was good as new. I styled it all cute for Christmas in our entryway to snap a few quick shots of it.

Also, if I didn’t love wearing these comfy boots so much, they might just stay as permanent makeshift vases in our entryway.

I literally just ran around our house grabbing odds and ends to accessorize it since we’ll be hauling it over to my parents’ house soon.

Do you do that all the time too? Steal decor from all of your house? Items are constantly moving around here. Nothing is safe.

If you want to know about any of the sources (since you guys sometimes ask), here they are:

• Frosted holly wreath
• Mini tree
• Small black lantern
• Large black lantern
• Gray striped blanket
• Striped jute runner
• Bench paint: Fusion Mineral Paint Cranberry
• Wall paint: Sherwin Williams True White
• Door paint: Sherwin Williams Naval

My other thrifty blogger friends are sharing their own trash to treasure transformations too. Just click the links below to see the makeovers. And don’t forget to join us on Instagram to share your own with the hashtag #TrashToTreasureTransformation!

(Clockwise from top left):  Artsy Chicks Rule | Prodigal Pieces |

Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer | Girl in the Garage

Have you done any homemade gifts for Christmas this year? Or tackled any awesomesauce thrift store projects? If you want to see any past Trash to Treasure makeovers, you can check them all out here.

A big thanks to Fusion Mineral Paint for providing paint to sponsor this post.