Friday, September 25, 2015

Home Project: Paint the bench red

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task."
~William James, American Psychologist and Philosopher


When I moved into my new home, my mom gave me a bench/chest that has been in the family for some time. Originally, it belonged to my cousin, Nathan. My Uncle Jim may have even built it. I think he did. It is solid wood.


By the time it came to my house, as a child, it had seen it's fair share of life and carried an array of dings and chips. We painted it blue. And by "we," I mean my mom. Blue is my favorite color. It's hers too. Everything in our house was blue. Not quite, but it seemed like it. I loved it. Blue is peaceful.


Then the chest made its way from San Francisco to Utah, where my mom painted it with two different colors of tan. Yellow tan. Light brown. Neutral. It worked in her space.


And finally, when I bought my home it arrived in its tan glory and took up residence in my entry for quite some time. I intended to paint it red and put it in my room. But it just sat in my entry. When I got my Ruth Carroll antique secretary (a desk, not a person) refinished (pictures coming later), I put it on display in the entry and moved the bench to the garage. Ya know, to paint it red and move it up to my bedroom.


Well, seven months later and more than three years in the new home, I finally did it. Praise me. Of course, I didn't take any before pictures. I'll be sure to post some if I ever find any, but for now you'll just have to enjoy it in its current red state. I didn't even sand it. I just spray painted it, dings and all. Dings add character, and they remind me of my childhood and how that bench has been a part of my life, well, just about forever.
.
.
.
.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think it was yellow when we first got it (before painting it blue).