SPRING FEVER with the PARA Blog Crew
Well it’s finally here! It’s Spring Fever Reveal day & I’m pretty excited to share what Kes & I’ve been slaving over working on!
When I think of spring projects for the home, the first things that tend to come to mind are storage and organization. So when we were tasked with a ‘spring paint projects’ challenge, we wanted to find an area of the house where we could solve a problem while adding a bit of style.
The entryway in my mom’s house was the perfect candidate. Home to a broken, non-functioning storage bench and constantly cluttered with shoes, we decided it was time for an upgrade. It took us a weekend, some PARA paint & stain, a little fabric and lots of elbow grease, but we were able to take the entry way from this…
To this!
This was our first attempt at building a bench (and really our first at any real type of woodworking) and I honestly couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!
We built the bench from 3/4″ pine veneer plywood & stained it using PARA TimberCare Solid Stain which we tinted in Runway (P5191-85D). Because we were trying to achieve such a dark colour we had to use a solid stain – but we watered it down slightly to allow a little more of the wood grain to show through. We then finished it off with PARA WoodCare urethane varnish to give it a nice glossy finish. One of the best things about PARA’s TimberCare & WoodCare lines is that they’re water-based, which means no awful smell AND clean up is a breeze! It would be a great choice for anyone who was interested in starting their DIY wood desk plans since they could use it to finish their newly built project.
The bench seat, we were able to up-cycle from a piece that Kes got from a coworker. We decided the faux alligator skin had to go & instead covered it using the beautiful Landsmere fabric in Current from Tonic Living.
For the storage boxes, we opted to paint them in a rich brick red (Too Hot To Handle – P5078-85) to match the existing feature wall in the entry.
There were a few hiccups here and there, and a couple moments of panic, but we made it through. I must send a special thank you to Kim of The Paint Store Plus Inc. our local PARA dealer for talking me off the staining ledge; as well as Janine of Tonic Living for going above and beyond to help us choose the perfect fabric for our project!
So what do you think? Did we nail it??
Don’t forget – our PARA Blog Crew counterparts have been busy painting bees as well – so head on over to their blogs and check out their projects by clicking on the banners below! And once you’ve got your full dose of inspiration – be sure to come back & get in on the action by linking up a paint project of your own!
SPRING FEVER – Share your Spring paint projects!
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Wow, you guys were ambitious! It turned out great.
Thanks Susan! Yea…we tend to get carried away when there’s a challenge, lol! We’re really pleased with how it turned out though 🙂
Totally nailed it! I can’t believe this is your first build. You even curved the sides. Amazing 🙂 I feel the need to organize my entry now. 🙂
Thanks Mere! I think we surprised even ourselves a bit with what we were able to accomplish. And you totally should! An organized entry makes all the difference. And there are so many little things you can do to make a big impact fairly easily.
Wow I love that bench! Let me tell you that does not look like no amateur bench! You guys did an amazing job. And that fabric. . . to die for!
Thanks Sabrina! I know – I’m in love with the fabric too. Janine at Tonic Living is a godsend! I called her with our PARA swatch colour and she emailed me a few potentials to compliment it almost immediately. And I couldn’t be happier with it!
Your first build and you knocked it out of the park? Kudos! The new bench looks great in the entry, and those cubbies will be so handy. Makes me wish I had space in my entry for a bench
Thanks Michelle! The cubbies are really coming in handy. The old bench has been broken for months & pretty useless. Plus having to flip it open to store things was annoying. It’s so nice to have useable storage at the front door again! 🙂
Looks great guys!
Thanks Ang!
Thanks Tash and Kester, the bench is amazing and I love the colours. You all are the best., As Kashee said this a.m. Wow, I love the drawers!!! LOL. Thanks so much!
Mum
You’re very welcome Mom. Glad you like it. 🙂
Gorgeous! I love that they are pretty functional!
Thanks Jen! The function is probably my favourite part! Putting the storage boxes on casters just makes accessing the storage so easy!
It looks great! You can never have too much storage – especially when it looks this good.
Thanks Katie! Never too much is right. Especially at my parents’ house…between the 5 of us living there right now the number of shoes is out of hand! Lol! It’s nice to have an easy place to store them right by the door that keeps them out of the way.
Love it – turned out great! Love that you made the drawers a different color!
Thanks Keish! 🙂
Look at you, painting and staining! I’ve never been that good with stain. It is definitely a skill I don’t possess. The bench looks fab. Good choice on the fabric too!
Thanks Jen! It was my first attempt at staining & definitely something I was nervous about. I was pretty happy with the outcome though. 🙂
That bench turned out just beautiful and perfect for your entryway!
Thanks so much Heather!
Gorgeous! And I’m sure you will really enjoy all that storage!
Thanks Dani! We definitely will. Having useable storage at the front door makes so much of a difference!
WOW! you really transformed it! quite incredible! and I love the fabric you picked:) so pretty!
Thanks Heather! It is amazing how something so seemingly simple can really transform a space! I love the fabric too. It really ties together all of the colours in the rest of the house even better than I thought it would. 🙂
Great project! I love the fabric you chose and super smart to use the casters!
Thanks Tia! I think the casters is my favourite part. It makes keeping the storage tucked away so easy. 🙂
Since you have this project down just right, how about you make one for me? hehe LOVE IT!!
Haha! Thanks Christine. It really wasn’t as complicated as it looks. We’ll be sharing the plans & DIY soon! 🙂
I love your new bench! You did a fab job on it.
Thanks Heather! And great job on your powder room. It’s so much more bright & inviting now. 🙂
Great idea and I love the colour-fabric combo! Excellent work!
Thanks Lindsey!
Ok, seriously? Start making more of these and selling them immediately because it looks amazing! I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t love one of these in their entryway. Way to go, you guys. You never fail to impress!!!!
Thanks Thalita! You’re so sweet! xo