Antique Window Bench

Window Bench Before

We love to go to Petoskey every year. Last year we spent a week

Window Bench After

there and discovered a very cool resale shop called "Gold Mine." It was indeed a gold mine as I found this lovely antique window bench for only $5.00! It had a very ugly seat and had definitely seen better days, but something about this bench called out to me and I had to have it. I knew it would require a great deal of work, but I was anxious to strip it to expose the wood I knew was a gorgeous mahogany buried underneath years of oxidation and abuse. There was also white paint streaming down one side of a bench leg which I knew would come off with the stripper. The seat fabric was not only ugly, it was not even a centered design. I envisioned something much more suitable for this special chair and knew that I'd find it when the time came to put the seat

together, but first I had a lot of work to do.

Bottom of Window Bench

Original straw cushion

When we came home from our vacation, Jim and I were curious what our unique window seat consisted of. After tearing away the seat cover, we discovered that it had been filled with straw! That alone showed us how old it was. This bench could very well be over 100 years old. The bottom of the bench was held together with one broken board and another cushion that was falling down. It was indeed in deplorable condition. It was also wobbly, and some of the joints were quite loose, so we pulled the entire bench apart and marked the sides so we knew how to put it together again when the time came. I had begun the lengthy process of stripping, but other things took precedence, so I had to put my bench project on hold. Summer turned to fall, which turned to winter which turned into a brand new year, 2012, and I didn't work on the bench until a few weeks ago when I had caught up on my other projects. I picked up where I had left off last year and finished stripping the old stain and varnish off the sections whih we had taken apart, Jim helped me put the pieces together.

The bench was originally constructed only of nails and dowels, another sign of its age. Once together and securely glued in place, I applied mahogany stain, which brought out the wood's natural beauty. I then applied three consecutive coats of semi-gloss polyurethane to protect the wood and bring out the chair's luster. Once the body of the chair was complete, it was time to make a new seat. Jim cut a piece of plywood that measured 15 x 17 and I stained it to match the bench. I bought a 1" high density foam cushion and covered the plywood with it and a layer of quilt batting.

So, about a week ago, I finished the project I had started last summer. My window bench was finally complete after almost a year! The end result speaks for itself. It's absolutely gorgeous! My favorite bench got a good home. A nice man who lives in Rochester bought it and it is now proudly displayed by his front door.