Use What You Have

I've been working on a few outdoor projects this summer, in addition to the never ending list of things of things I want to do inside my house.  One of my favorite projects so far is this potting bench, which I just finished. Here's what it looked like before, just after I picked it up:

Excuse the black hose lying in the background!  I picked that from the neighbor's trash that morning, and hubby purchased a $1.82 hose repair coupling the next day to fix a little damage.  Two seconds later I had a nice new~to~me, heavy duty hose to replace one that always seemed to kink.  But I digress...

On the potting bench, every board on the upper and lower shelves had to be reattached and I had my lackey husband cut a new brace and shelf to replace the warped one that came with the piece. I did all the reinforcements myself, and tightenen all the fasteners and bolts. (Take note of that drab red door in the background, because it got a facelift this week too, but that's another post.)

I added a hose reel to one side, and cup hooks across the front of the new cedar shelf, to hang tools, keys and implements.  I really enjoyed working on this project, and it inspired me to google potting benches to see what others were making.  Here are a few noteworthy projects you might be able to make using what you already have around the shop...

I loved this fabulous Pallet Potting Bench from Digginfood.com...  What a great idea, and pallets can be found pretty much all the time for next to nothing. I know I have enough lumber behind the shed to make several of these, and I bet they'd sell on Craigslist...  I report back and let you know for sure. ;-)

Here's another from Re-nest...

And don't even get me started about all the amazing buildings and fences made from pallets on this website.  Seriously, I need a truck!  I'm now planning an addition to my storage shed after seeing how easily this went together. 

Inspired yet?  If not, just know that I reworked and sold this potting bench in a week's time, and on my own schedule.  Use what you have to get what you need.  It just makes sense!