Monday, May 4, 2009

semi-DIY potting bench

I have to tell you, Sunset has been seriously rocking recently. I can't decide if I've changed or if they've changed, but either way I'm quite pleased with our current relationship.

Aside from the magazine, they have a great blog, One Block Diet (which actually just won a James Beard Award), an amazing test garden, and they raise chickens and bees and grow ingredients for beer and all sorts of other good things.

And they have really good ideas in the magazine. Like good enough that I've actually dog-eared half of the pages in the April issue. I successfully completed one of those projects this weekend.

Potting Bench Euphoria, people. They made it so easy I couldn't resist:



So here's their idea: Buy an old table from a thrift store. Put the old table in your backyard. Voila! And here I've been waiting years for one because I couldn't be bothered to build one. Or have someone build one for me (more like it).

I successfully found and purchased a funky old pine desk at a thrift/antique-ish store up the street from my house. Instead of bricks for the "floor" I used a bunch of random old cement pavers that have been lurking around the side yard since we moved in. (So satisfying to find a use for them.) And I bought a few old crates at the flea market a few weeks ago to use for shelves.

I soooo wish I would have taken a "before" photo. It was hideous. Weeds and pots and neglected plants and bags of soil. Since you can't see the before, I know you won't be as ecstatic as I am with the results, but here goes:







I love that it has drawers for keeping pruners and plant tags and other essentials that have been cluttering up the laundry room forever. And I love that I now have a place for little horticultural experiments outside of the kitchen. Plus I can dry flowers on the lovely bars that decorate our windows. I'm so happy.

17 comments:

chris @ court + hudson said...

i love this so much - you don't even need to show the before pictures! ohh i'm so jealous of your little space. i want one .... or any outdoor space really. ; )

Rachel said...

It looks great!
And it's not just you - Sunset used to be amazing (over a decade ago) and then it slowly got less and less amazing and then just recently it somehow kicked into high gear again. This has caused a huge amount of talk in certain circles of my family and we all agree. And yes, we're nerdy.

Lynsey T said...

This is so cute! I wish I had a place for this in my backyard! I love the rustic look.

Anonymous said...

that is so cute! I have the perfect table for it. Now I just need a house, with a yard.

Color Me Green said...

do you worry about rain grossing up your wood table over time? or is that not a problem bc it doesn't rain that much where you live?

LPC said...

Sunset is cool again? Oh my goodness. Perhaps global warming can be solved after all. I do hope so.

kristina said...

Yay! thanks guys. it was an extremely satisfying project.

Color me green - we get maybe 7 - 10 days of rain a year so I'm not really worried about it. Plus real potting benches are wood and one would assume they are rained on as well? Since they are outside?

Most likely it won't be an issue until december anyway...

AshleyL. said...

That desk is fabulous! As soon as I have my own home (or at least a home with a garden) I am totally doing this! THANK YOU for a great and inspiring idea! :)

Melissa said...

I love this! You inspire me to have more of a green thumb :)

Heather from the bar said...

simple and usefull. and perfectly gorgeous :)

P. said...

This is amazing - and so beautiful. God, your pictures are so lovely.

A million hugs for your incredibly sweet comment yesterday. xoxoxoxo

iheartkiwi said...

i love a good home project! this looks amazing... my fiance and i actually just talked about renting a plot of land for a garden at our local community center (we are sans yard at the moment) yay for all things green and garden related.

sel said...

gorgeous!
it's amazing how flowers/plants can lighten up a space. your photos definitely cheer up my day :)

Grace Community Garden said...

So so Pretty! Do you know the name of those flowers drying on your bars! I love them and haven't been able to find them!

kristina said...

Hi Truly Engaging -

They are (as far as I know) just called Straw Flowers. That's what I call them at least.

Unknown said...

did you apply any sort of protective coat to the table if It'll be outside year-round????

here in KS it'll be an issue w/ snow...much to think about.

Sara E. Cotner said...

I am finally getting around to doing this project this weekend. I've been holding your inspiring pictures in my head for a long, long time!