In last Monday’s Get their Look post we featured a very nice relaxed kitchen which combined open shelving and contemporary fixtures & fittings with one-off vintage pieces. One such item was a lovely rustic work bench that took a prominent position in the space. As luck had it, we came across this old woodworking bench at auction the following day. With the potential that these items possess still firmly in our mind, we obviously couldn’t resist putting in a bid.

We already have a large work bench in our own kitchen, but you can never have too many! We’re confident that this one will look amazing after a bit of TLC. First off, it needs a good wash to remove the grime. Fortunately, there’s no horrible layers of grease, oil or tar – so that should be a very straightforward task with a bit of diluted wood wash. Then, we’ll let it dry thoroughly, make a couple of tiny repairs, then finally wax and polish. We can see that the wood has a lovely colour and grain beneath the dust and grime.

The finished piece will be perfect for the kitchen or garden room. The holes along one edge are ideal for knives, wooden spoons or other kitchen utensils… trowels and dibbers if it ends up with a more horticultural re-purposing. There’s plenty of space underneath for boxes, baskets or sacks too. This one doesn’t have slats sitting atop the cross stretchers. We’ll probably leave as is, but they could easily be added if desired.

Here are some more examples of these old work benches given new leases of life!

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