The Pedestal That Wanted to Be a Bench

There it was, sitting in our garage for almost two years now. The pedestal that we inherited when we bought our house. I must explain that we bought the model home in our neighborhood a year after the builder had gone under. So, when they left, they left behind all sorts of builder stuff -- extra doors, windows, hardwood planks, and the pedestal (actually two of them). It had acrylic boxes on it and was used to hold marketing material. It looked like this:

My husband kept threatening to take it to the dumpster, and I kept insisting that I had plans for it. And I did, I just didn't know what they were yet. Until...I stood looking at the empty space at the top of the stairs at my sister's new townhouse! Just like that, it hit me. That space needed a big, chunky bench, and the pedestal living in my garage, if turned on its side, could be a bench! In fact, I believe it wanted to be a bench. After all, you know how people are always saying they don't want to be put on a pedestal. But everyone loves a good bench!

So, I went to work! That pedestal is some kind of heavy! As solid as it is, it was covered in laminate. I did my Googling on how to paint laminate furniture and landed on Lindsay's blog, Living with Lindsay. Her instructions were perfect and her supply list simple. The Zinsser Bulls Eye Primer she suggested worked like a charm. Best part, no sanding needed!

I did two coats of the primer then followed up with a lovely grey that I had mixed at Lowe's. The can of paint I bought was actually a light blue and was on the return rack for $3.00, so I just asked the paint guy to make it grey. He added a few drops of black, gave it a few turns and after a couple tries, I had the perfect grey! I went over to Home Depot next, got a 6x6 post, had it cut in to four, 12 inch pieces for the legs, sanded them (to get rid of splinters), primed them, then painted.

And here she is now in all her glory:



(She's pretty sturdy, but her legs will be attached with L brackets later.)



I love how chunky she is!

I made a wall tapestry to hang above the bench to top it all off. You can see it in this picture:

It has a real art gallery-type vibe!

And the final gem...



I blinged out one of the bench ends to cover the holes that were there!

And there you have it! The story of how a pedestal became a bench. I'll call it a "Pedebench." Ah-ha, the perfect seat for home done pedicures!

Total Cost for Custom Bench (including paint, stain, wood, and bling): $28.00