From Bed to Bench

Luke and I have always lived far away from family. When we got married, he was already in the army. Often, we would go visit family and sometimes we would stay with his grandparents in their home. In that home, there was a beautiful old bed. The problem with that bed was that it was very uncomfortable to sleep on. The bright side is that, if we were sleeping on that bed, it meant that family was nearby.

When his grandparents passed away, that bed went to his mom. At that point, she already planned to move closer to us and offered it to us. I wasn't sure we would ever use it but I was happy to accept it. Our oldest child used it for a short amount of time but, soon, it moved into a dreaded state of storage. When we bought our first home, there just wasn't a place for it. It sat, stored away, for 5 years.

Recently, we moved into a much bigger home. Before we even closed on this house, I knew exactly what I was going to do with that beautiful piece of furniture. There's an alcove, near the front door, that is the perfect space for a bench and coat hooks. I knew I needed to turn the bed into a bench. I hated leaving it stored away, not being used or seen so I was very excited to make this happen. However, I was extremely nervous about how I was going to go about this project. In came the nerves. What if I ruin it? What if it looks like a child threw it together? Will I be able to make it sturdy enough?

Eventually, I decided I had to ignore all of those thoughts and jump in. I came up with a plan and stood out in the garage with the footboard, saw in hand. I became very still and at peace. I started thinking about the person who handcrafted this amazing piece of furniture over a hundred years ago and made my peace with the idea that my plan would still honor that craftsmanship. As soon as I got through that first cut, I couldn't stop. I worked and worked until it was complete.

Well, complete is not the right word, really. I still have to put some of the trim back on. I still want to make a cushion or some pillows. For now, It finally has a home and it is finally being used again. I love the process of up cycling. There's life left in so many things that are no longer being used. What do you have laying around somewhere that could use a facelift? Let me know in the comments!

Now, where's my screwdriver?