Next to you is where I belong...Bench Recreation

My husband and I were given this bench from family members who were throwing it out.  I gladly took it knowing I could recycle and recreate it's look. The bench had been previously primed white and then painted brown (which had been pretty well worn as you see in the picture).

I started off by sanding the bench to smooth the surfaces and to get the majority of the paint off.  Usually, recycling a piece of furniture that has previously been painted different colors on top of one another can be challenging. However, because I was going for an antique/worn look, I didn't mind the different layers of paint showing through so I didn't bother to sand off all of the paint. I sanded just enough to get a rough surface so the paint would stick. I also sanded just outside my garage so there wouldn't be much dust to clean up.

The next step I did was wipe down the bench with a dry cloth to get all the sanded dust off of it. Then I sprayed a light coat of primer over the whole bench. The great thing about spray primer is you don't have to completely coat the item...just a light spray so it gives the paint something to stick to. However, if I had sanded the bench completely down to it's original form, I probably would have skipped the primer.

After the bench was dry from the primer I started painting. I chose a color of "Tidal Teal" blue color from Lowe's and got it in one of the paint sample sizes (which is a half of a pint). I bought two of the paint samples because I wasn't sure how much I was going to use and they were only $2.98 each! I will probably never buy a 1/2 gallon of paint again, unless I am painting a room or such. They are great for saving you from storing a lot of extra paint and saves you a ton of money!
Anyways...later I found out that I only needed one 1/2 pint of paint to cover the bench. I always buy satin paint finishes because I feel it always turns out the best. I used a cabinet paint roller which was great to use and I didn't have to worry about streaky paint.

 My husband liked the bench just like this...I love the color but it wasn't completely looking like the image I had in my head...
So I then sanded the places that I wanted to look worn and the places I would want the glaze to really show up. After sanding I wiped all the dust off with a dry rag.

I then mixed 1 part glaze to 1 part paint in an old hot chocolate tin that I saved. I chose a brown titled, "cowboy boots" for the glaze color (that's the fun part about glaze is that you can choose any color you want!). Then I added a lot of water until I got the right consistency I wanted. Honestly, I typically like it to be really watered down and be pretty runny. But, it is up to you! The more water the more lighter the glaze will be. I then put on the glaze using a sponge brush. Make sure you have clean rags on hand to start wiping the glaze off.  Now, I love using glaze as oppose to stain. This is because glaze is sooo forgiving! You can leave the glaze on longer than you can stain AND if you don't like the way it turns out, don't fret, just paint some more glaze over the top and wipe it off and it will take off the glaze you had underneath with it. I even had time to grab my camera and take a picture while the glaze sat. Also glaze is VERY easy to clean up with water. After I glazed the top, I realized I still wanted the glaze to be more watery so I added more water. After I was done glazing the whole thing, and wiped off the glaze, I ended up sanding more to add character.

After the glaze dried, thanks to the help from a wonderful sister, I printed out the vinyl lettering and stuck them to the bench where I wanted. After I had all the letters in place where I wanted them, I rolled over the top of the bench with a polycrylic (using a cabinet roller again), which will protect it. Note: You do not need to use polycrylic on everything you do. I only use it on the tops of tables, dressers, etc...basically anything that will have items on it.  Make sure you use a water based polycrylic. This small can of polycrylic was around $18 at Lowes so I like to use it sparingly and did only two coats.

 This is the end result:

If you have any questions, just leave a comment below and I will try to answer them. Thanks!