World Market Potting Bench Makeover

Have you ever had a project that you just could not make the time for?  This World Market Potting bench makeover has been on my to do list for a LONG time now…just ask my husband! Ha! Now that school is over and I am home more I finally have had the time to give it the much needed attention is was asking for. I can’t wait to show you!

But first, it’s the 2nd Friday of the month and that means I’m joining the Thrifty Style Team, hosted by Julie of Red Head Can Decorate, to share a collection of our  thrifted, up-cycled, and DIY projects! Make sure to scroll to the end of my post to see what everyone is sharing this month!

World Market Potting Bench Makeover

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

World Market Potting Bench Makeover

While out gardening and rearranging our backyard and patio recently, my husband kept asking if I wanted to get rid of the potting bench he had given me for Mother’s Day several years ago. Of course my answer was NO!

But to his credit, it was left outside untreated for more than one Colorado winter, and boy was it quite weathered.

It looked pretty bad. Okay, it was an eyesore.

It was warped and had water damage in a few spots from rain and snow. Most people would have considered it trash.

But, if you know me I’ve never met an ugly piece of furniture that I didn’t think I could make beautiful again. Remember my favorite boxwood green dresser and my other white dresser that I painted?

Well that’s exactly what I did. I grabbed my paint brush and my favorite Miss Mustard Seed Boxwood milk paint and got to work! Our Wheaten Terrier Kona helped out too!

Makeover Supplies

The best part about this potting bench makeover was the fact that I already had all of the supplies on hand! Talk about a thrifty makeover! Here is what I used.

• Miss Mustard Seed Boxwood milk paint
• hand held sanding sponge
• paint brush (use an old or inexpensive utility one)
• wood sealer
• Potting Bench (World Market still carries mine HERE, or I suggest looking on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for a used one in need of some love!)

From Trash to Treasure

So here are the simple steps I took to makeover this sad old potting bench.

• First, I mixed up my bag of Boxwood milk paint from Miss Mustard Seed that I had left over from when I painted my favorite Boxwood dresser. I can’t rave abut this paint enough! It comes in a bag (which means it lasts longer and is easy to store) and needs to be mixed with water. All of the directions are on the back of the bag. So simple! I usually put mine in a mason jar but any container will do. It requires some time to sit and settle so this gave me time to sand down the bench.

•  Next, I hand sanded the entire potting bench outside in my grass. I used a simple 120 fine hand sponge seen in the picture above and below. Honestly, it’s what I already had and it worked just fine!

Check out this up close and personal look at how gross this piece really was! Yikes!

• Then, I wiped the old potting bench down with a damp towel and then went to go check on my paint to see if it was ready.
• Once the paint was ready  I got out my very old and well loved paint brush. I didn’t want to use a nice one because the potting table was so weathered I knew it would be rough on the bristles and soak up the paint quickly. Boy was I right! It soaked up the paint like crazy and I had to do three coats. I let it dry for about 15 minutes in between each coat. It was a hot day so it dried very quickly. If you use this paint indoors on a piece it will take longer to dry between coats.

TIP: Do as many coats as you need until it has the coverage you are looking for. For me that magic number was 3!

Boxwood Green

Since I was outside in the sun it dried very fast! It was interesting too because when I was taking pictures it looked so different in the sun or shade. So some of pictures have a variation of green it seems. I tried my best to capture the true Boxwood color. Below you can see the first coat, second coat and final coat all in order.

Chippy Paint Perfection

There was even some chipping paint that happened! I love this paint for that very reason…it chips so easily and adds extra character which I think just adds to the beauty. I wasn’t going for perfection on this project and it probably shows in some areas. 🙂

If you want to learn more about painting with this type of paint then you will love this post:

“Everything You Need To Know When Using With Milk Paint“!

The Best Clear Coat for Exterior Painted Wood

I did however make one mistake. Would you believe that I didn’t seal it for the outdoors after I was done painting and then we had a huge rainstorm!? Ugh. It’s true. You would think I would have learned my lesson the first time.

After I searched around my stash at home I discovered I didn’t have anything that would work for waterproofing painted wood that would be outdoors.  I found these two options that I will be looking into…hopefully before the next storm! Black Dog Salvage“Guard Dog” Top coat matte for painted outdoor furniture or General Finishes 450 Water Based Top Coat. Let me know if you have any recommendations!

UPDATE: I did end up putting a top coat over the potting bench. I used Minwax Indoor/Outdoor Helmsman Spar Urethane in clear satin. So if you are wondering if you can use milk paint outdoors? The answer is YES! If you seal it.

A Boxwood Beauty

Here is how she turned out and where she will live in our yard!

And here she is all styled up and looking like a true beauty. Talk about trash to treasure! I love all of her imperfections.

Of course my viburnum snowballs had to make an appearance too!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! I hope you enjoyed this thrifty World Market potting bench makeover as much as I have. Have I inspired you to paint something now?  It’s amazing what a little bit of paint can do to bring something back to life!

Now make sure to visit my Thrifty Style Team friends listed and linked below!

XOXO,

Kelly