Autumn Bench Makeover

When I saw this bench for sale on Facebook a few weeks ago, you would have thought I had won the lottery. I had been looking for a bench just like this one to go alongside an exterior wall brick wall of our house.  I had looked at three local stores, but had not found exactly what I wanted. I love the wooden bench on my mother-in-law's front porch, and this one was just like it. Thank you so much, Bunny Propst for letting me know about this bench. I owe you one! 

 

I picked the bench up from its home at Ed's Honda, loaded it into Big Red, and headed home.  I wanted to give the bench a little fall flavor and use it as part of my autumn decor. I had visions of mums and pumpkins for fall, but wasn't quite sure what to put where. 

I took this picture of the bench to Reaves Lawn and Garden in South Boston, where owner Wanda Reaves made some suggestions as to what I could do with it, such as using my existing plant stands to add height, and to balance out either side of the bench. I like symmetry, but it isn't necessary. Two or three small plants and a pumpkin or two on one side can balance out a large plant on the other side.  I like to take my cues from the professionals when it comes to projects like this, so I looked around Reaves to get some ideas. These are a few of the images that caught my eye.

 

 

 

I love the look of the large mums with the tall grass in the center, which gives height, dimension, and a little extra color to the mum. The use of pumpkins intermingled with the mums is easy and attractive, so I decided to use both techniques.

Fortunately, the bench I bought for $25 from Ed's Honda was in excellent condition and very sturdy. I cleaned it with a mild detergent and my favorite cleaning utensil, the potato brush. I then placed the large mum into a planter I had purchased at Lowes, a medium mum and pumpkin on the opposite end of the bench on two plant stands which I already owned, and another medium mum on the ground. The smallest two mums were gifted to me a couple of weeks ago, and I had planted those together in a flower pot I already had in my garage, placed in front of a grapevine wreath which had also been hiding in my garage.  I purchased the black cat for an extra spooky Halloween feel. Just kidding, that's our sweet Elvis. I finished off the bench by placing another medium sized pumpkin next to small mum pot, and that was it. Super simple.

It is important for me to keep things as simple, affordable, and low maintenance as possible, while still maintaining a clean, classic look.  This simple selection of a few mums and two pumpkins worked very well for this project, and was within my budget. I left most of the bench empty for a reason. I like pretty things that are also functional, so I made sure to leave space for at least two people to be able to sit on the bench while comfortably holding a cup of pumpkin spice coffee. What good is a decorated bench if you can't use it for the truly important things in life?

I am currently working on another project, a wicker rocker in dire need of a makeover, and hope to have a completed project with pictures soon. Until then, visit your local lawn and garden center or raid a friend's pumpkin patch, with permission of course.  Enjoy the autumn colors and have fun decorating for fall. I would love to see what projects you're working on. Feel free to share them with me. Until then, have a very happy fall, y'all!

xoxo, Erin 

 

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