How to Get a Farmhouse Painted Bench from Boring Oak

A painted furniture makeover, this farmhouse painted bench went from orange to distressed white and is now picture perfect. 

Farmhouse Painted Bench with Storage

I actually prefer to call this bench ‘the boomerang bench’, it’s equally as suitable as a farmhouse painted bench. My husband hated it and couldn’t wait to get rid of it. To paint a clearer picture of its history, well, I purchased it over a year ago with intentions of painting it, but plans change. I ended up keeping it in our small entryway because it seemed perfect for the kids to keep their shoes under and their school bags on. Problem is, we don’t really have an entryway so the bench sat close to the front door but in our living room. A bit awkward for the room, but functional.  

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Wooden Oak Bench History

When one day my customer came to pick up a different piece and mentioned that she had been looking for a bench herself, I told her how much my husband hated this wooden bench. She then called ‘dibs’ on it for whenever we decided to get rid of it. If you’d like to see what she was picking up when she called dibs, you can see it Farmhouse Glam Table.

Make sure you stick around to the end, my furniture fixer-upper friends are joining in with their creative makeovers this month.

Fast Forward

Fast forwarding a bit to our living room makeover in January. While clearing out our living room for its makeover, it was finally time to get rid of the storage bench. I didn’t have room in my storage unit for it so I reached out to that customer to see if she was ready to claim dibs on the wooden bench. She was! BUT under one condition – that it be painted off-white and distressed. With so many painted bench ideas I do feel that a farmhouse painted bench makeover is a perfect choice. We made a unique arrangement and I brought the bench to her with the promise to paint it once the living room makeover was completed. The golden oak bench is out of the house! But like a boomerang, it has come back for its custom painted furniture makeover. 

Painting a Farmhouse Style Storage Bench

I don’t quite think you can call this a farmhouse painted bench yet, not with the orange glow of that wood, but in time we will be able to. The entire bench is prepped for paint. This is my process for How to Prep Painted Furniture.  Next, I laid the bench down on furniture dollies to paint the legs under the seat first. The bench is being painted in a creamy off-white. You can find great quality furniture paint online HERE. 

Once the inner legs area was painted, distressed and sealed with a clear matte sealer I then stood the half painted bench back up on its legs to continue. 

A little trick to painting with white, or off-white is to do the first coat in a shade of gray. By painting gray first, it acts as a sort of primer. Often white paint needs more coats, due to less pigment and can be frustrating to get decent coverage. I always paint my first coat in a light gray then followed by the creamy off-white.  The sides of the bench also had these holes that needed to be painted. 

I simply used an artist brush to paint inside the holes to make sure that they match the rest of the painted bench. 

Once the entire bench is painted, it is then distressed and sanded in its entirety with a fine grit sandpaper for a super smooth finish. The edges are distressed creating a farmhouse style appearance to the painted bench. 

The Result – Farmhouse Painted Bench with Storage

This farm style bench aka boomerang bench is ready to bounce right back to its forever home. 

Need a bench but prefer not to DIY? Find fantastic benches for sale here: Benches for sale 

Sharing is caring? Share the boomerang farmhouse love <3 Click To Tweet

For more DIY bench ideas and how to build a bench, farmhouse bench plans, and more make sure to check out DIY Benches.

Love farmhouse decor? Make sure to check out Farmhouse Decor for your Inner Farm Girl! 

Furniture Fixer Uppers

WAIT it’s another month of Furniture Fixer Uppers and you don’t want to miss this! Make sure to click the corresponding link under the image of ugly ‘befores’ to see each amazing makeover. Enjoy!

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