New Kitchen Bench

Now that spring has begun to sprung, I have started refinishing furniture again which is sooo satisfying.  We needed more seating at our kitchen table for when the in-laws and friends are over.  The bench lives on the opposite side of the table but I moved it around for photography's-sake.

My first idea was to add another leaf to the table but considering this table was discontinued years ago, that idea was a bust (it took me months to realize this idea was not going to happen but we won't go through that right now).  I then went through trying to find 6 smaller side chairs to make the total seating at this table 8, but that was just too hard, everything I found (mostly on Craigslist), needed to be repainted and that was turning into too much of a time and money commitment.

My final (and best) idea was to put a bench on one side of the table which could seat at least 4 people.  I needed a bench that was 60 inches long and I wanted it to match my existing table and chairs.  I searched for days until I finally found this one on Wayfair.

The bench is unfinished, which I wanted and the style very closely mimics the style of my existing table.  Also, I have always been super-thrilled with Wayfair's prices and customer service so it was a win-win-win situation!

I ordered the bench and in the couple days before it arrived I thought about how I wanted to finish it.  I love how the butcher block top is the same as my table but I didn't want the "country" look of a stained surface.  I decided I would copy the antiqued white finish of the chair.

When the bench arrived, the legs needed to be attached, an easy process.  As it was unfinished, it didn't really require any prep before painting. 

 

 

I collected my supplies and got started painting.

 

 

 

I painted it with one coat of a white Sherwin-Williams furniture paint with no tint added. I rolled the top and painted the legs with a brush.

 



I let the one coat dry and then sanded the edges and sides to make it look older and also to hide the wear it will inevitably incur over time.

 

 

I then dusted the bench off and made a mixture of two parts glaze to one part wood stain. 

 

I used Valspar signature glaze, which I stocked-up on as it is now discontinued (but you can use any furniture glaze) and Minwax stain in "Dark Walnut" which doesn't have an orange tint to it, which I like.  The glaze is water-based and the stain is oil-based but they DO mix together for the purposes of an antiqued stain.  I mixed them in a red Solo cup with a chopstick, eying the amounts until it looked like the color I wanted.  I then brushed it on with an old paint brush (the paint brush won't survive after this job) and wiped it off with an old rag before it dried.

It's hard to see but the result is a subtle antiqued look.  To make it look more aged, you can distress it more and leave the stain/glaze solution on longer.  I wanted a lightly distressed/aged look.  I then sealed the top with two coats of the glaze.

It matches perfectly, it is super functional and best of all, Kleist approves!