for summer reading

for four years, we have been sitting in a turquoise porch swing. it had sentimental value since it had been my grandparents, yet it was not conducive to reading or very comfortable. through those four years of grad school, i wasn't conducive to (extracurricular) reading or very comfortable so we were actually the perfect pair.

since graduation twelve days ago, a comfortable place to read has been on my mind. last week, i knew that a loveseat would find my porch, though had no idea what style it would be. this weekend, i took the porch swing down, mopped the porch, had a garage sale and waited for the place to sit.

it was found in pretty bad shape, although it was sturdy and undamaged. all it needed was a new support seatboard, paint and new cushions. since my screens and screen doors are painted black, i knew that a black stain would be perfect for this settee.



minwax polyshades is a super product which is both a stain and polyurethane. it was super easy to use. drips were easy to clean up, if done so immediately. when it started drying, it became more like a polyurethane and harder to clean up. oil paint scares me. stain does not. i like something that i can wash up with water (yes, messes) and this stain was easy to paint with. the paintbrush still needs to be cleaned and is in the freezer in a sandwich bag, ready for the next project. (crafty wording can make anything less ghetto.)

to reupholster the old cushions would have been expensive. with the garage sale money, i went to target in search of cushions that would fit and would blend with the house.



we are extremely happy with how this project turned out. in a week and two days, summer reading can crank itself up and now we will have a comfortable place to do it.