Vintage Outdoor Potting Bench

As you all know, I love shopping estate sales and finding vintage items to add to my home or outdated items to upcycle and make beautiful again. Sometimes I like to take something I already own or that I inherited from the previous owner when I bought my home, and make it beautiful and functional again.

I recently did that over the summer with this ugly work table I had out in the back that I used for random space. It came with my house, and I had it against my house in the back to hold random items, like garden tools, paint, or deer repellent that I used regularly. After I updated my home with my new air conditioning, I decided to clean up that area and make it cute again. I ended up getting some random inspiration and decided to transform the ugly table into a cute, decorative yet functional potting bench!

I wish I had some before photos, but unfortunately, I do not. I never thought it would end up as cute as it did! I sanded down the metal and spray painted it with the Rustoleum Hammered Spray Paint in Black. I absolutely love using the Hammered spray on imperfect and rusted metal, as the hammered effect covers up and hides any of those imperfections by giving a dark black, rustic look. After that, I ended up spray painting the ugly plywood squares on the table with the same spray paint. My plan was to put something on the wood (as you will see below) so I wasn’t too worried about it looking perfect—I just wanted it to blend together with the metal.

After that, I placed my vintage watering can from my grandma on there and planted some lettuce and herbs in these crate like planters I purchased from Home Depot. I strategically placed them on the bench and even found this metal, vintage looking garden tool box from the Hearth & Hand line by Magnolia Home (yes, please, Joanna Gaines) at Target (you can find it here). It all came together so perfectly!

I ended up liking my potting bench even more this fall after placing some mums and pumpkins on it to create a seasonal and festive look. I think the heirloom pumpkins go perfectly with the vintage theme.

I wanted to share this project, as I think it is so fun to take something old and random and turn it into something cute and functional. As I continue to work on saving up for some bigger renovation projects, I love doing these small projects. They are fun, fulfilling, challenge my creativity, and can make a big difference in an area of your home for a small price!