Evolution of a Porch Bench

A few years ago I bought this bench at auction for something like $25.00…it’s not in the greatest shape, but it fits so perfectly on my porch so I make it work.

It was a faded teak when I got it so I decided a quick fix for me was to paint it.       Here’s its first debut with my burlap stenciled pillow that I first shared back in 2009:

 

These were taken before I started using photo editing programs

 

I loved the black color because my house is khaki with black shutters so it “went” with my house

 

Then this past spring I got a wild hair to paint it turquoise.    After spending a lot of time and $$ trying to find the perfect color, it ended up like this…..WARNING:  EPIC FAILURE AHEAD!

U-G-L-Y!

 

…but I was not happy with it AT ALL!   It looked waaaaay too rainbow bright for me.

 

Then the other day I was in WM and saw Rustoleum’s Camouflage in Khaki.     When I first started spraying the bench, I thought it would be too close to the brick color so I had hubby move it back to the porch to see if it blended in too much.    It looked okay so I went ahead and sprayed the whole thing.    I love the color and even though the color is VERY close to the brick color, I love how rich it looks.    Well, here, see for yourself:

That poor ol’ burlap pillow has been through about 3 seasons so it’s time for me to make a new cover…it’s so faded

 

 

The print pillow is an outdoor one I picked up at Target when I was on my turquoise kick….but I still like the pop of color it adds

 

 

See that empty wall planter back there?   The brutal sun has already killed the flowers in there and a hanging plant on a shepherd’s hook so I’ve got to replace them with something else.    I have some faux hydrangea stems I might use in there for now….even with daily watering most of my flowers don’t make it throughout the summer here.     The ferns are Kimberly Queens….the only kind I can grow!     They do wonderfully here on my covered porch.

On a side note, I’d like to thank EVERY ONE OF YOU that left me a comment about the removal of the Southern Living Idea House photos.    It seems that they want to feature the home in their August issue and apparently don’t want to spoil any surprises.    However, it would seem to me they’d love any free publicity getting word out about the house and sparking interest in others visiting it.    I’ve always loved Southern Living but this has left a bad taste in my mouth and I doubt I’ll ever feel the same about that company.    But, what’s done is done and after the magazine comes out, I plan on reposting a lot of the photos.      Thank you for your understanding about my “uh oh” moment!