Gossip Bench

We got this gossip bench this past summer at The Auction.  We paid $9.00 for it.  It was sitting outside on a hot summer day and by the time it came up for bid it had rained and several people had been sitting on it.  Several of which were a bit to large for such a small chair.  So consequently the chair had suffered some damage.  The legs had bowed out and the top had warped a bit.  Also the trim that runs along the bottom of the table had peeled and separated.  That part had to be remade.  It had a vinyl covered plywood seat that had pretty much disintegrated.  But we brought it home and my man glued everything back in place and made a new seat and trim.  Then he painted it.  And together we covered the seat with this green needlepoint piece we got at the auction.  We didn't pay anything for this as someone else bought it in a lot of stuff and they didn't want it.  I picked it up and brought it home knowing that I would find a use for it.  I think it turned out great.  My cat likes to curl up on it.  I had to cover the seat up with a blanket because my cat was starting to tear up the needlepoint.  I can uncover it when someone comes over because my cat will be to scared to come out then.

Church Pew Project

I got this pew several years ago from the church I attend.  This one was from the choir loft that they removed.  The rest of the church still has these pews.  I bought mine for $25.   I think that was a great deal.  You can't really tell from these photos but the pew only has one arm-leg side.  The other side was attached to the wall in the church.  That was a problem because I don't have the wood working skills to make another side to match.  So the pew sat in my basement for a long time.  I kept trying to figure out a way I could fix it without ruining it.  I never did.

Fast forward several years and I meet a master carpenter on an online dating site (we are getting married)  and he knows exactly how to get my pew looking lovely.  The wide boards of the seat and back are wide pine boards that looked better painted as they were in the church.  The arm rest and the back trim was maple that had been painted brown several times.  My man was able to cut the missing scroll side out of some maple in his shop.  As you are looking at the picture the left side is the new arm and the right side is the original.  Isn't it pretty and I would not be able to tell the difference if I didn't know which side was which.

My church is over 150 years old.  I am not sure if the pews are that old but I am pretty sure they are close to that old.  The seat is quite narrow and a bit uncomfortable but I have gotten used to them at church.  Maybe 18 years ago we got cushions for the pews at church and that made them slightly more comfortable.  I think I am going to make a cushion for my pew too.  I have a vintage salt bag that I think I am going to use.  It reminds me of  the Bible verse from Matthew.

Matthew 5:13
[ Salt and Light ] “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 

I think it will finish my pew off nicely.  I love it just the way it is too.