Up-cycled Headboard & Footboard:

I was driving my kid's to school one morning when I spotted this headboard and foot-board on someones curb waiting for trash pick-up!  I drove a little further, and someone else had some old cabinet doors out on their curb!  Score!!!  After dropping the kid's off, I drove back through my neighborhood, and proceeded to load up the Jeep with all my new found treasures!

My goal was to make this for FREE...to spend absolutely NO money, and to try and use what I already had on hand.

So when I show you how "I" built this, and what "I" used, it may not be the most accurate way of building one of these.  ha ha

I cut the foot-board in half with a Circular Saw, and screwed those pieces onto the sides of the Headboard...

Then I screwed on 2 pieces of Poplar Square Dowels...

I then cut up some wood fencing for the seat...

"Yes, wood fencing!!"  ha ha  

The next day was PAINTING day!!!...my favorite part of this project!

First thing I did was sand down the rough edges...

I used a deglosser for the rest of the bench...

...and AFTER 3 coats of Satin paint in Black...

To get the distressed look for the seat:

I used the same black paint, and painted around the edges and cracks...

Then I applied Espresso Stain to the wood.  Once that I was dry, I brushed on some golden glaze...

If you notice, I used some Furring Strip on the back and front just to kind of give it a clean look.

When it came down to the painting/decorative part of it, I did end up spending some money.  Ooops.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a metal decorative piece.  It was only $2.50 after a 50% off sale though. 

This bench is now in my Entryway next to my front door.  As of right now, it's more of a "decorative" piece with no intention to hold an adult...ha ha

It's very sturdy, and can hold children...

I do have future plans for this though, to make it sturdy enough to hold an adult, so I will update you with all those details once I tweak it a bit!

Thank you for looking!!!

~ Jenny xoxo