VIF, Early Birthday Present, Little Changes to Come

I received an early birthday present from my husband last Sunday when he said to me, "I think I'm going to make your potting bench today."  I said, "Really???"  He said, "Yes!"  I said, "Okay!  My only request is that we only use material we have on-hand and not buy anything."  Off to work we went....

I stumbled across an old iron country kitchen sink a while back.  And when I say "stumbled across" I mean I saw one in someone's trash pile, made a quick u-turn, and asked my strapping son of 23 to "Quick...throw that in the back of the truck!"  Okay.....I'm not proud!!  The owner of the house in which we raided her trash pile even gave her blessing!!  So off I ran with a very cool sink. 

A day or two of hearing "What are you going to do with that thing?" from my son and husband had me envisioning a lovely potting bench. Truth be said, I never even got a good look at it. My son put it face down in my truck. It went face-down in a cart in the backyard by the shop. It went face-down in the yard while my husband and I worked on bench. Little did I know that it needed a good scrubbing. Of course it did....why wouldn't it?

Okay....back to Sunday. Here are pictures:

One can't get started without the proper
foreman.  My Kloe-Angel was really the
one in charge!

Scrap wood from building the chicken coops,
hen houses, and sunroom was used.

I had to stop Mr. Handy Hubby before
he got too far so I could paint!

Leftover exterior house paint. 
Brushes already on-hand.

One of two cast iron brackets/corbels.
I've had these for a few years now.
I.love.them.
My husband does not as they each
EASILY weigh 150 pounds!
What in the world could they have been
originally used for??
(Did I tell you I.love.them???)

This is my worst-off stained glass window....
(did that make sense??)
one I would not be too upset over seeing it age
some more being out in the weather.  Plus I liked
the green panes with the green paint.
I did put some clear poly on it to seal it a bit though.

It had to be moved into its new position
before we could tackle adding the brackets and
sink.  That cool backsplash is actually the
footboard of a bed I bought during my first
trip to Maine several years ago.  I use the
headboard in my son's room, but have had
this out in the garden.  I happened to walk by it
while we were out there and said, "Hey...I have a
great idea!"  It is absolutely perfect!!!

Sink in place and looking exactly as I had
hoped.  Gracie is giving it a once-over.
We had to make one purchase....the metal
bands that are holding up the brackets.
Not bad!

And here she is....
my beautiful New/Old/Vintage Potting Bench.

Some lovelies from the garden....roses, rosemary in bloom,
marjoram, and a jalapeno pepper.

Every night I go out there just to gaze at this lovely creation.  I can't wait for this weekend to start so I can continue tweeking it.  I want to add more old brass hose nozzles (as I collect more over time) to the top shelf and collect old watering cans (to join the lovely plastic one) to add to the bottom.  I have another storage container that is housing still more pots and supplies.  That will all be added as well.  Then at some point, I will actually put a stopper in the sink, pour a bag of potting soil in it, and pot something!  How cool will that be???

And with that....I am linking to Debra's Common Ground Vintage Inspiration Friday!!  Please stop in to see her beautiful Valentine's Day inspired porch.  I am in love with the bulbs in the red/white transferware.

As for the little changes to come....I'm making a few changes to my blog page with the help of Karen Valentine.  I've been wanting to make some changes here and there now that I've lived here in this room for a little while.  That's what we designers do, right....rearrange and then rearrange again?  Who better to give this tech-challenged blogger some pointers than Karen, who did my page design in the first place.  So I've started cleaning house a bit to make some room.  Please let me know your thoughts as you start seeing the changes.  I value your opinion!
Wonderful weekend wishes to you!!