DIY Makeover... From Toy Box to Funky, Industrial, Shipping Crate Bench Inspired by a T-Shirt Design

My funky bench makeover.

It started with this lovely purple wooden bench/toy box that my Mom found (thanks Mom!)

 and this...

My coffee t shirt.

I wanted the bench to have the look of being made from wooden printed

shipping crates and my shirt became my inspiration.

I primed, painted and added wooden pieces on the bottom ...

The wooden pieces were added so I could attach these big industrial casters.

After it was painted and dry, I brushed on watered down light brown paint.

I quickly brush it all over the piece, usually in manageable sections on large

pieces like this so it doesn't have time to dry out too much.

While the paint is still wet, wipe it off with a soft cloth and it does basically the same thing 

as glaze... leaving color in all the nooks and crannies.

I prefer this method over glaze because it dries faster

 and I seem to have more control doing it this way.

Keep in mind, the sheen of the paint you used for the base coat can affect how

much of the wash you are able to wipe off. Unsealed flat paint can really soak color up.

 I usually use satin or semi-gloss for my base coats or, alternately, you can add a coat of 

poly in between your base coat and your color wash application.

If you find your color wash has dried a little too much to wipe off, you can

brush on a little more water with your paint brush to soften the dried paint

or use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Sponge to easily wipe it off.

For the next step, I used a wax resist to distress the painted lettering.

It can give a more random distressed look than you get with sanding.  

I'm using a big block of paraffin wax, you can find it at the grocery

store, it's used for canning fruits and jelly. 

You can always use a candle too, preferably unscented, but I like

the big, easy to handle, rectangles of the paraffin. 

Before doing your decorative painting, rub the bar of wax on the areas where 

you want a distressed finish. I used it mainly where I knew I would be painting the lettering.

Using wax is also a great way to layer colors and get a time worn, layered paint look.

After waxing, I started painting the lettering. 

I don't use stencils or measure out, I just go for it!  

You can see it's not perfect, but I'm okay with that and you won't even 

notice it in the end, especially for a distressed piece. 

After painting, let dry completely then take an old credit card or scraper of some sort

 and scrape lightly over your painted area. 

The paint will easily scrape off wherever the wax was applied.

I think the wax distressed treatment gives a great look.

I added a different pair of hinges to the back but the ones I wanted to 

use were old and rusty...

I used spray on Rust Converter to eat the rust...or whatever it does...

and turn them into a nice black color. You have to seal them after using this

product or they will rust again. I used clear spray sealer.

Since I already used wax on this piece, I gave it a wax finish instead of 

poly at the end to protect it.

I loosely followed my T-Shirt logo for the design.

I added a bunch of other random words and numbers....

The back... I was going for part of the word "coffee"

I left the inside plain but painted and did the color wash treatment.

All done.

Ace... Such a poser!

Thanks for checking out my toy box makeover, find me on Facebook,

Pinterest and visit my Etsy shop to see what's new.