LINDSEY HANSON // GUEST POST

Hello all, I’m Lindsey Hanson from Hand-me-downs by Hanson.  I am the proud wife of a hard working man and the mama to the most adorable lil boy ever!  My supportive husband works so hard to provide for his family, allowing me to pursue both of my passions, being a stay-at-home mom and re-finishing furniture.  I created my blog to help inspire others to turn their own hand-me-downs into something new and beautiful. 

I was so honored when Tessa invited me to guest post on her fantastic blog.  She is such an inspiration to me.  I love reading about her incredible life journey of becoming a new mom and training for her first marathon.  The fact that she even has time to create such fabulous custom invitations on top of all that just amazes me.  She’s truly a modern day Wonder Woman!  :) 

Twin size headboard gets re-purposed!

I recently was given this fabulous little headboard.

It has been sitting in my garage collecting dust for far too many weeks.  During one of my late night strolls on Pinterest I stumbled upon a bench tutorial done by one of my favorite bloggers, The LetteredCottage.  You can see their tutorial here. After that I knew I HAD to use that headboard to make my very own bench.  I enlisted the help of my handy husband and off to Lowes we went! 

We measured our headboard to determine what height and width to make our bench.  We decided to use 2x4’s for the frame.  After making sure it was good and sturdy (and level) we attached the top piece (plywood).  For the front and sides we used beadboard panelling. 

We then attached the L-shaped trim pieces (you’ll need to miter the ends to fit properly) around the top and sides and our 1x4 around the base.

The last step was attaching the actual headboard, we used long screws to make sure it was good and attached!  Then I filled all the nail heads and gaps with wood filler.

Here is what she looked like prior to her paint job.  (Can you see the potential?)  

I had to stain the raw wood because I wanted to distress the piece after it was painted and wanted the new wood to match the stain on the headboard.  After that dried I put two coats of Behr Black Suede in satin on the entire piece.  A little distressing and a couple coats of polycrylic and she was ready for her close up!

I searched and searched for some clearance pillows for my bench but everything I loved was $20-40 bucks a pillow!  So, I dusted off the sewing machine and made a trip to the fabric store.  I made these three pillows for $9.00!!!  Are they perfect, NOPE.  Do I love them anyways, YES!

It’s just the right piece of furniture for our entryway.  That’s the beauty of custom making a piece, you can make it just the right size to fit your space. :)  I hope that you enjoyed this project, please ask any questions you might have in the comment section below.  I realize I didn’t get very many pictures of the whole process, so sorry. 

Stay tuned for the tutorial on the coat rack above the bench!

Please follow me to keep up with all my current projects and to learn how to transform your own home on a budget!  You can find my pieces that are available for purchase on Hand-me-downs by Hanson’s facebook page under the “For Sale” album. 

Thanks again for reading!

Who would like to be the owner of this beautiful vintage mirror turned chalkboard?  It would be perfect to display your Thanksgiving menu on. :)  It measures 24.5” W and 17.5” H (20.5” w/top piece) .  I will deliver/ship it to the winner, US participants only please.

To enter the giveaway, simply follow my blog (if you haven’t already) by clicking on the “Join this site” tab on the right of the page, next follow this blog [Konen & Co] by clicking the "Join this site" tab on the left hand sid  and then leave a comment below saying you did so. 

For a second chance to enter the giveaway like Hand-me-downs by Hanson on Facebook and share a comment about the giveaway on the Hand-me-downs by Hanson Facebook page.  

That's it!  Comments will be closed and giveaway ends on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. (Central Time).  I will choose one winner randomly Friday night and announce the winner on Saturday morning, October 27th, 2012.  Good luck! :)