I love my new potting bench! It's now complete with planted flowers. The backside I added a flower box and planted it with purple salvia and a ferny houseplant...can't wait until they flower...also added a bright cobalt blue glass vase (upside down) inspired by you glass/mosiac people! Also put up a bracket on the edge of the door and hung a wire basket planted with purple wave petunias...they should be awesome when they grow. We've had some warm weather here the last couple days! The bench sits over a big half rotten stump. On the table top is a pot of pansies. Later on I plan on laying flagstone in front of the bench and, hopefully, lead the path to my ol' garden shed. This has been a fun project and I can't believe how much I've used it already and kept the dirt off my patio table & chairs now! Jeanne S.

Several years ago I was lucky enough to get a shed-your basic barn-type, but I was so thrilled! One of the first things we did was brainstorm on a bench for the inside. I don't have a picture & it's too dark now, but here are a few features we used to make it SOOOOO useful. Height-if you've spent years planting & potting on the kitchen table, your back knows what I mean. The correct height for you makes all the difference! From the ground up: I got 3 plastic storage totes with lids that fit just right lined up side by side on the floor of the shed between the frame of the bench. These hold my potting mix, compost & such-I just slide them out to access them & slide them back. I think this would also work outside if you find them without a concave lid (don't want to breed those skeeters!) Above this is a shelf, not a terribly high space, but perfect for some pots, tools, row cover-you get the idea! On top is the top. It extends 3-4" in front of the frame so that after potting you can just pull your tote forward & sweep the fallen soil back in-easy & tidy! The front edge of the frame being in back of the surface gives you a conveinient place to drive a couple of nails to hold your brush to sweep the dirt with, a dustpan if you need to dispose of the debris, a flyswatter, or anything you'd like to have ready at hand. Since it's inside a shed with exposed studs, we notched out the rear side of the top to fit around the studs to prevent stuff from falling down behind the bench! Another cheap tip-2 screw eyes & a piece of dowel that slides into them makes a dandy paper towel holder! Mine was built of mostly used wood, topped with old rubber conveyor belting & while it is totally functional & not as pretty as some of those you've done, these are features that you could use even on the cuter ones!

Kirk, we can't find any "American rust" that isn't priced at the antique level! DH found some old barn wood at a great price and we're hitting all the flea marts and yard sales for the iron work, to no avail! Luckily he's a partially out of work wood carver and can carve some brackets and decorative things to add to the bench! I'm thinking of taking up carving myself! Thanks for your great photos to get us started! Nancy

Agree the hall trees are cool. But already have a matching antique oak hall bench and mirror in my front entry. And no room for it inside the side door. The door really is rather rough since someone stripped it before I got it. I think I bought it at a Habitat Restore several years ago. I was going to use it on my barn board garden shed we built but of course it was missing the glass so that was a bit of a problem. And then found a different (although not as cool) door with frame for $10 and used it instead. Its too darn hot here to work on anything right now! Maybe this weekend. Lori