Farmhouse Entryway Bench/Hall Tree makeover

Hey friends!  I have a fun makeover to share with you today! I picked up this entry bench or some would call it a hall tree secondhand a while back.  I had hoped to use it out on our back porch to help coral pool towels, swimsuits, etc but realized it just wasn’t big enough or the right thing to fulfill that purpose.  I didn’t want to drill a bunch of screws or hooks into our siding but I have a plan for something else I can build that will function much better.

So I was left with this piece and figured if I needed to get rid of it/sell it I could make more on it if I went ahead and gave it a makeover.

So that’s what I did and it turned out amazing!

Materials used:

• Sandpaper + orbital sand paper
• Rustoleum Linen White Chalked paint
• leftover piece of beadboard/glue/nails
• Rustoleum Clear Glaze
• 4 hooks

I removed the wood pegs and wood filled those holes and lightly sanded any rough spots  on the whole piece.  I had a scrap piece of beadboard in my wood pile leftover from my kitchen in my last house and it was just big enough for me to trim to fit in the back of this piece.  I knew adding some type of interest in that big solid back would make a big impact and it did!  Then I gave the whole thing 2 coats of Linen White Chalked paint and sealed with clear topcoat.  I didn’t distress it at all since I just didn’t think this piece called for distressing.

I spray painted the hinges with some black spray paint and then installed the new black coat hooks – those were so much better than those wood pegs!

It wasn’t a super large piece but just so super cute when it was done!  After I finished giving it a makeover, I REALLY wanted to keep it then!

I measured every little spot I could think of in my house but it just wouldn’t work anywhere – it would have overhung 2 inches in nook I have in my entryway, and in my garage mudroom area there was a light switch and alarm panel the back would block   I even measured in the bathroom and it was just a few inches too wide.  So unfortunately it had to be sold.

I had fun styling it with a few fun things just to sort of show how I would imagine it in someone’s house (ok, my house ) and posted it on my local facebook marketplace.  I probably should have listed for more because it was spoken for in under 5 minutes and I got 20-30 more messages about it in the time it took the new owner to come pick it up the next day.

So there’s the story of the super cute farmhouse hall tree that I couldn’t keep   I really do enjoy painting pieces and this makeover was very satisfying! And hey, I get to share the makeover with you and walked away with some cash in my pocket for another piece that will fit in my house so it definitely wasn’t a total loss.   The new owner was a sweet lady and I hope she enjoys it in her home for years to come.

I hope to continually inspire you to look past the “before” of the orange wood piece of furniture you see at yard sales or thrift store and be able to reimagine them with a fresh coat of paint and maybe adding some character with trim/new hardware, etc.  The “before” of pieces never scare me way because when I look at the before I immediately envision the after in my mind even though this one turned out even cuter that I imagined.

I’d love to hear about a piece of furniture you recently found, gave a makeover, or maybe a before that just intimidates you?  Send me a picture!  Or need help envisioning the after of a piece – I’d love to help!