Now that my son’s wedding is over I can tackle some of the painting projects that have been piling up in my garage! I’ve had this piano bench sitting here for years just waiting for the perfect top to come along. I picked up the primitive bench on the right at Country Fair Mall one day for $10.

A label on the side of the $10 bench showed the owner as “Francis”, which I shortened to Frankie!  I thought it would make a great little plant stand or garden stool.  Then, I just had to name the other bench Gracie!  Not sure if you’ve ever watched the Netflix series Grace & Frankie but that’s where I came up with the name for these two!

I wanted to keep Frankie’s primitive, distressed look, so I used a combination of greys and browns to give her a worn, barn wood look.

I found a piece of plywood in my scrap pile and cut it to size to use as a top for Grace.  Grace had a more elegant look with her fancy legs and details so I knew I would have to dress the top up a little bit to fit the look of the rest of the bench. I decided to use a portion of a Hokus Pokus design transfer I had leftover from another project.  I pulled some of the colors from the design to use on the bench.

I used a grey-green color called Vintage as the base color, blending hints of Grotto and Ivory.  I dry brushed with Rich Black and applied the design transfer, then I sealed it with a clear matte finish.

I think Grace & Frankie turned out pretty cute!  I’m hoping to get them up for sale on Marketplace while people are still looking for porch/patio/garden items.

Products used on Frankie:

• Waverly chalk finish Truffle
• Waverly chalk finish Nimbus
• Waverly wax Antique
• Rustoleum Chalked Country Grey
• Rustoleum Chalked Clear Matte Sealer

Products used on Grace:

• DecoArt chalk finish Vintage
• Waverly chalk finish Ivory
• Folk Art chalk finish Grotto
• Folk Art chalk finish Rich Black
• Hokus Pokus Design Transfer – L’horlage
• Rustoleum Chalked Clear Matte Sealer