Although our dining room remodel is coming along rather slowly at the moment, I have been motivated with a few other projects lately! With our house guests away and Daniel working night shifts this week, I have had a little time every day to work on a project. On Tuesday, Daniel and I magically had the day off together. We did some thrifting and discovered this cute little bench. We snagged it brand new, in the box for just $45!

Because it has a cherry finish, it didn’t really work with our decor in the living room, where we intended it to go. We have dark glossy wood floors and some other neutral furniture, so I decided to paint it to help it fit in! Daniel was concerned that paint on treated wood might chip off…. but he doesn’t know about chalk paint apparently. I picked up a jar of a lovely tan/gray from a local shop here (Reliks) for another project and had lots left over! They make their own line of chalk paint, and it’s priced decently. Here is the bench in our space post-sanding.

Here it is post-painting!

I like the after so much more! I plan to make a pretty cushion for the top and hang some fun coat hooks and artwork above it, but all of that requires more time/money. In the meantime, I prettied it up with a chevron lined interior and some pillows I made forever ago.

Stay tuned for a few other projects with this adorable shelf liner! If you’re interested, I got 2 rolls of it at a great price on Amazon. It’s made by the MacBeth company, and I’ve heard you can (or at one point could) get it at TJ Maxx. They have other fun patterns too! Check them out!