Meg vs. the Porch: Trial run for a rocking bench makeover

Saturday: Take a look at the rocking bench out back. Tighten up bolts if possible, and start sanding if it looks salvageable.

Here is the old rocking bench in question. I originally thought it was too wobbly to keep around, but I saw a new one at the hardware store, and it was of a comparable wobbliness. So I thought perhaps I should give this fellow a second shot.

I tightened up the bolts, added a missing nut, and sanded the tops of the arm rests and a few of the back slats, then I got impatient to see how it might look once stained (typical me). A while back I picked up this bad-boy from the mistint section at the Home Depot for 50 cents, and I figured this is as good a time as any to try it out, because I thought this bench would look good stained dark on our front porch.

I originally did a tiny section on the back of the arm rest, but then I liked what I saw so I got even more impatient and did a whole slat and the top of the arm.

I like that it is really dark but you still see the grain really well. Yay! So excited to keep on this project. I'll probably have to go get more stain, but I actually think my 50 cents will go pretty far here.