A few weeks ago my husband came in the house with this vintage farm bench that he had dug out of our barn! I was of course thrilled at the sight of this great find. Its seems our barn just keeps surprising us with treasures that we never knew existed. I knew right away that after looking at it, I would keep it in its natural found shabby state.

Why did I decide to keep this farm bench the way it was? I liked the colors that were on it, one of which is a creamy yellow beige and also a soft green color underneath. I also like adding some “character” pieces to my house that help it retain the 100 year old charm that it needs. I couldn’t have done any distressing better to this bench than what was already naturally provided!

I did want to clean up the bench and get all the roughness off of it, so it could be used in my home. I didn’t want peeling paint coming off and slivers in my fingers from it! You can see the step by step of how I fixed it up. This was a quick and easy project that only took an hour or two. The only products I had to buy was the Minwax and some sandpaper.

1.) What the bench looked like when we brought it in.

2.) A close up of the colors and shabby look on top.

3.) I sanded the bench all over with an electric hand sander to remove all loose paint and debris.  Next I did a simple magical step.  I wiped the entire bench down with Minwax furniture paste wax.  This stuff is fabulous!  You rub it on and then within about 10 minutes rub back over it and it creates a smooth soft satin finish, taking away any roughness to this shabby piece.

4.) I applied two coats of wax, and  as you can see below, it left it completely smooth.

5-6.) I placed the bench here against a wall in my living room, which will be a great spot for it.  I can’t wait to decorate the wall above it and show you how it fits so well with the rest of the decor in the room.  For right now I just threw a couple pillows on it to take a picture.

Sometimes leaving well enough alone is the best solution for vintage finds!

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