GARDEN POTTING BENCH DIY

It sure doesn’t get much better than this! Summer is slowly coming around here in the Hoosier state and we have been wasting no time getting our garden area in tip top shape. It was our goal this Spring to get the raised garden beds built and planted, and we met that goal, on time! I’m so shocked at us, and it was easier than we thought. I was happy that my brother in law came out to help, which freed me up to do other things, once I laid out the build plan and got them moving in the direction of my vision. Here’s a little throw back to show you where we started with out garden vision…

I can’t believe how far the garden and coop have come since last September. That was just 8 months ago, and there was a long cold winter in there that we were long gone to Florida so this area got zero love during that time. I can’t tell y’all how in love I am with how this garden has come along, and my gorgeous DIY vintage, cast iron sink potting bench is one of my FAVORITE things in the garden!

So lets get to it. shall we.

I saw a picture of a potting bench on Pinterest and knew it was exactly what I needed for my garden. The hubby and I hopped on Marketplace and found a vintage cast iron sink, a little worn, but totally what I was looking for and we quickly snatched it up for $100. I was so excited because it was exactly what I wanted, it has drain boards on both sides, the single basin sink and a raised lip backsplash, and the angels sang!

We picked it up on a Sunday morning and brought it home, by Thursday we had collected all the other items we needed to bring my potting bench to reality.

1. 5- 2x4x8
2. 6- 1x6x8
3. left over Cabot Oak Brown exterior wood stain with sealer
4. deck screws
5. a rough diagram of what I wanted built with measurements

This entire bench was built to fit the sink top, so I won’t bore you with exact measurements. We wanted the sink to come just to the bottom of the windows if it were setting on the side of the coop, so we cut the four legs at the correct length and began building the lower part of the table. We used the 2×4 boards for the legs and the lower apron and screwed it all together. We moved on the the cross boards (1×6) and cut them to length for the bottom shelf. This made the bottom very sturdy, and squared it right up. We then cut out the 1×6 boards at the appropriate size (they were different that the 2×4 because the board thickness was different) and we screwed these boards into place making sure everything remained square. We put in a lot of extra screws to make sure this base remained sturdy and strong. The design is rustic, you could use a craig jig and put your screws in on the sides so they are hidden, but I don’t like using that device so we just kept it rustic, besides, its an outdoor potting bench, no perfection required.

Once everything was built and sturdy, we tried the sink on for fit, and it was perfect. So we moved to the stain/sealing. I just used a paintbrush to paint on the stain with sealer. We used the stain that was left over from our pergola build a couple of years ago, and it worked wonderfully. I am planning on painting the raised beds with it as well. It’s a lovely oak color that warms up a bit after its aged a little.

And that is it, my friend! We let it dry for 24 hours, moved it to the garden and placed the sink. I love the final look, and it makes a beautiful work space and photo spot in my garden.

Be a blessing!

xoxo