Lynda Hall, an associate professor of English Literature at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., loves to garden. She and her husband moved to Seal Beach recently, to enjoy the sea breezes and outdoor living in this pretty seaside community. Most of the homes are long and narrow, with space-challenged side yards. Lynda, never one to be deterred, decided to make the most of her space in a creative way.
“We found this old 1950s workbench in the garage when we moved in,” Lynda says. “My husband suggested we throw it away but it fit perfectly into our side yard and is the ideal height for working on potted plants.”
She fell in love with the teal tone of She Shades Nightglow and made a creamier version by mixing it with Queen Anne’s Lace. The paints are chalk-based and work both on exterior and interior surfaces without a sealer or a wax finish.
The table by itself turned out really cute and useful. But Lynda had bigger plans. She enlisted her brother to create a hutch and a shed roof for the piece.
“We had a lot of wet weather and what with one thing and another, the project sat for about a year,” Lynda says. Eventually her brother pulled out mostly scrap lumber for the supports and hutch. Lynda purchased fence boards for the roof.
She discovered Tidepool was similar to her paint combo so she used it as a final coat for the potting bench. “I had some leftover Queen Anne’s Lace and used it to repaint my glider,” Lynda says. She notes that so far the paint is holding well after a couple of seasons.
So what’s next? Well, it’s summertime. Lynda is planning to kick back and enjoy the season in her refreshed side yard.
Love the idea of turning the workbench into a potting station! Such a great idea! I actually did something similar recently where I turned the bar cart I used for my wedding into a potting station 🙂
https://katietshome.com/unique-outdoor-potting-station-idea/