Potting Bench Transformation

I live in a subdivision with a homeowner's association that does not allow sheds which is too bad because it seems like the garage is never big enough.

When we moved in eight years ago, the previous owner left us with a workbench in the garage.  Every spring, summer, and autumn I'd tidy up in the back nook where it's located.  A few weeks later, it would return to this:

Yeah, one hot mess!  The drawer was so heavy on its own that by the time it was filled with small hand tools and hardware, it was falling off its tracks.  We were finished with it!  I figured I'd have to either post it for free on Craigslist and hope someone would take it off our hands or saw it into smaller pieces so I could put it in the trash.

Thumbing through a garden design book, I found myself admiring a potting bench.  How quaint it would be to have a pretty potting bench in my own backyard!  I could build one or...

Mr. Tallgrass was more than willing to rid the garage of the hulking mass.  His blessing to the project came with two conditions: 1) I had to put some kind solid surface under it and 2) he really didn't want me to spend any additional money on the workbench itself.

I can work within those parameters.  No problem.

I made a trip to ReStore and found some pavers for a good price, plus I found the light fixture that I later turned into this lantern.  A very productive trip to ReStore!  After cutting away the sod and laying the pavers, I was ready to tackle the workbench.

First I pulled out the drawer and removed the drawer slides.

I knew part of the drawer was made from particle board which wouldn't hold up to the weather, but some of it was solid wood.  Since the sides of the workbench weren't really trimmed, I could take apart the drawer and use the boards to build a skirt for the top of the bench.  Fortunately, the drawer was held together by screws and it wasn't glued together.

I really wanted it to have a top shelf, like a hutch, but the way the workbench was assembled on the back side wasn't going to lend itself to any easy upper shelf addition.  So I added a few more scraps to trim the top so nothing would could be accidentally pushed off the backside.

Some primer and a couple of coats of exterior paint and I have transformed a bulky, problematic workbench into a charming potting bench.

I spent $24 on pavers, $2 on a quart of paint at ReStore and $3 for the decorative scroll. 

Eventually I will probably have to replace the plywood top with boards, but I think it will hold up for a couple of seasons as it is.  We're both happy to have the extra space in the garage and I love having my garden supplies on hand where I use them.

I'm linking up...

The Shabby Chic Cottage

At the Picket Fence

Chic on a Shoestring

Miss Mustard Seed

Funky Junk Interiors

Between Naps on the Porch

Dittle Dattle

Coastal Charm

Southern Hospitality

Thrifty Decor Chic

An Oregon Cottage