A Quick Entryway Bench Makeover for Fall

Hey friends! I hope you’re having a great week!

I bought this entryway bench a few years back from Amazon. I was getting tired of it, so it spent the summer on our back porch while I debated on whether to keep it or not. I finally decided to update it with a quick little makeover!

The bench got a little water damage while it was outside, but I think that just added character 🙂 I hand sanded and stained the unpainted laminate wood on the bench top and seat. The seat had some of the aforementioned water damage, and I purposely left some of the irregularity when I sanded it. I also didn’t want to sand it too much and end up sanding through the laminate. I used 100 grit sandpaper to get everything off and then 220 grit to smooth it out. Then I applied two coats of Varathane wood stain in Kona and a coat of Varathane polyurethane in Satin using a foam brush. I linked all the materials I used below.

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I started this project on our back porch, but brought it inside for the painting portion of it because the almond harvest started on our farm which always causes an ungodly amount of dust (check out my Instagram stories to see what I mean).

I painted on two coats of Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Linen White using a paint brush. After the paint was completely dry, I distressed all the outer edges with 100 grit sandpaper. Then I painted all the inner corners and details with Rust-Oleum Chalked Aged Glaze with a art brush and wiped it off with a soft cloth until I got the effect I wanted. I use this technique instead of applying the glaze all over the entire piece and then wiping it off. It’s much easier for me to do it this way instead of fighting to get the glaze off of the areas where I don’t want it. Once the glaze was completely dry, I applied a coat of Rustoleum Chalked Protective Topcoat in Matte Clear. I linked all the materials I used below.

I put everything back together and decorated it for Fall. The area pictured is the wall across from our family room. To the left is our kitchen and to the right is our entryway and living room.

I debated Photoshopping out the thermostat within the two frames on the right, but I decided to leave it in because in real life we all have things in awkward places like this thermostat that we need to work around. I plan on covering it with a picture or something else, but this will do for now.

I really enjoyed using natural materials from our garden in my Fall decor this year.

I hope you enjoyed my quick entryway bench makeover for Fall! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.