Repurposed Potting Bench

What?? We're talking about a gardener's potting bench the week before Christmas? I know its crazy, but it was 18 degrees here this morning, and somehow I am dreaming of spring. Not a good sign since spring doesn't hit the high desert until about May in Central Oregon! That's nearly 6 months from now! OUCH! Well, I'll just dream for a few minutes. You're welcome to join me in my dream!

This is my wonderful new potting bench! My husband built this bench for me from a very old packing crate that we carted home from a friend's yard (saving it from the burn pile) several years ago. It has been taking up space stored in the back yard since then, and we were not sure what to do with it until last summer! We added some scrap wood we had around the house, an old, unwanted mirror from my daughter's room, and a sink we purchased for $5 at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore! (If you have a local ReStore, I highly recommend going! LOTS of wonderful stuff at great prices, and your money goes to a great cause!)

My DH, Dan, started out by reinforcing the box. Years of exposure to the elements meant that the poor box was a little weak, but it also meant it was weathered in a very attractive way! The addition of 2x4's and wood glue added strength to our base. At this point Dan removed the front panel from the box. This was eventually split in two pieces making the doors which transformed our box into a cabinet.

We stood the shell back upright, and DH added the 4x4 posts to the back that would hold the mirror and shelves across the back. Dan decided to add fresh deck boards to the top of the box since it will see a lot of down and dirty potting soil action in the future. This also made a nice solid counter to put our sink in. We coated the boards with Thompson's Water Seal to protect them from water damage.

From here, you will have to use your imagination because there are no more "in progress" pictures. We had all 4 of our granddaughters at the house at the time (ages 6, 5, and our two 2 year olds), so we were... slightly distracted! 

Dan cut the hole in the counter top, dropped in the sink, mounted the mirror and additional backing boards, and bingo! (Well, actually this is a major oversimplification of this project, but since I was only slightly involved, I don't have all the details. I was building a pallet table for our back yard at the time. Maybe I'll write about that project sometime in the future.)

We still need to "plumb" and drain the sink, and add shelves to the inside, but the frame work is complete, and sitting out in the cold waiting for warmer days! I will add more, (and better) photos when we complete the project this spring.

Thanks for letting me veer from the Holiday Season for a few minutes this morning! I feel better already!

Have a great day!!

Tina