Top Menu

Re-Purposing a Playset into a Potting Bench

I wanted to begin this post with a pretty picture. And what better way than one with good memories! We were celebrating my daughter's 9th birthday with a Luau party. She is the one stretched out looking back guards on the play-set. I still remember the good surprise I gave my neighbors with the palm trees :) but that's a story for another post.
backyard decorated for a luau party

Well, fast forward 8 years later and this is how my back yard looked a couple of weeks ago :( As I told my husband, that's a junk yard! And  I'm pointing my finger at him for bringing stuff that didn't belong in here, like those gas tanks, the chairs...

Even the new pots! I had them in the basement but he was quick to put them on display :D  I guess that's his way to tell me to go and fix that space :/  So, that's what we began doing last weekend, and we started with the remains of the play-set.

Two years ago the swing set broke apart, at the time I used some of the wood to frame a mirror, create a wooden runner for the table and I even brought the ladder inside the house as decoration.

For this, the final part of the set, it was easy for me to visualize it as a potting bench, kind of two potting benches. Can you see it right here? Cut it in half, add front legs to both sides and voila...Two benches!

Easy, but not too easy ;) I couldn't have done it without the man's help. He was in charge of unscrewing free most of the parts, and let me tell you THAT was the hardest part! Those screws were so rusty they didn't budge. He wasn't happy when I told him he couldn't damage the wood, but he worked his magic with those stubborn screws that kept spinning inside the dry wood. Some of them simply broke when trying to unscrew them.
The first part was to take off the connecting side pieces and all the vertical planks from the top part, the center support underneath the platform was also taken off.


At this point I tried to cut the platform in half, laying it on its side, but nope! I had to turn it the right side again to do that cut. This is how it looked afterwords.

Then we worked on attaching the countertop front support, the front legs, the lower shelf supports and finally the actual pieces for the lower shelf. That's the only part that required extra material. The legs are not the same length, because the bench is going to sit on a slanted space.

The shelf brackets were cut out of the table runner project, even the ladder was used. I measured, cut and put things together and the man did the pre-drills and drove the screws in.

Here the bench waiting for the shelves, the lower part of the set, the sand box, was used for this.

At the end of the day this is how they looked.

After shopping the garage this is the new look they sport.
damaged playset is used to create a potting bench


These green metal pieces and handles from the playset were also added.
metal parts of a playset used as decor on potting bench

 A small cubby, another re-purposed project was brought in too.
small pieces of wood look like books on potting bench

Wood remnants that I didn't throw away were placed on it , I like their different shades and patterns, and from far away they look like little books.

Some signs were added too.
garden sign on potting bench

I love the tones on the wood, I was thinking on painting it, but no, I'm just going to leave it like this, showing the passing of time, lots of great memories. :)
repurpose an old playset into a potting bench

Now I have to work on what I want to do in the open space. I'm trying to decide between a brick or wooden patio, what would you choose?

Thanks for stopping by!









33 comments :

  1. So creative, my friend! You are the queen of re-purposing. Your new potting bench looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhh como crecen los niños , a mi me da penita ver a mis niñas ya unas adolescentes ,,, bueno como me gusto la transformación de esa zona de juego... Mi sueño es hacerme una zona dejar din llena de macetas ,, me gusto mucho que hayas dejado la madera así tal cual ,,se ve el paso del tiempo ,,, eres realmente sorprendente con tus ideas
    Besos

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing potting benches! I could not see them in the playset as you did, but wow, what a great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is awesome! I would have never thought of that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is simply fantastic! Love it!

    Jake's a Girl

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brillant way to use that!! You are great that way!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cristina that is one serious repurpose project holy cow! So clever to make the ever useful potting bench which would also be a great summer buffet for those backyard parties! You're too smart.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cristina, you are amazing!! They are both such beautiful potting benches too. Genius!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a super great idea! Your potting benches looks gorgeous. Happy Mother's Day!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Impressive! The benches look great - I love how you used the ladder and other pieces inside the house too. Now that's using you noggin! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Your vision is so inspiring Cristina! This is amazing, I love every single repurposed detail! Pinned!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Way to go girl!! You have gone and done it again. An awesome recycled project and an inspiration to many!

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a fantastic repurpose, Cristina!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a great idea. I can't wait to see the full redo of the back yard. It is such a cute potting space.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! You really did repurpose that set. It looks great and the styling is wonderful. I'd go with stone or brick for the patio because is lasts longer and doesn't need any real maintenance.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Simply amazing! your innovation is just staggeringly creative!!!!! LOVE IT dear, hope you had a wonderful Mothers day!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think that is so clever! An inspiration. Now I wish I had an old playset! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  18. too awesome! love this upcycle :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Just gorgeous ( showed it to John in the hopes he'd feel guilty enough to build me one - no luck ) and I KNOW my limitations lol - I could decorate it but I can't build it!
    I'm jealous !
    XOX

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is so great. Makes me wish I had one to tear down.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Talk about recycling..wow..y'all did a great job. Now I'll be eyeballing our swing set that my grown kids grew out of but the grandkids still use. They might be mad at me if I start taking it apart. LOL

    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great project and I love the shelving above the potting benches. So fun and useful!
    Miss Bloomers

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a great idea! I featured it on sulia :) And thank you for linking up to Monday Funday! xo Jamie

    ReplyDelete
  24. This is awesome!! Love how you've repurposed a playset to create such an awesome potting space! Very cool :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh my goodness...this is such a NIFTY THRIFTY idea and I love it! Thanks for sharing at my party. I am off to share it on my facebook page.

    Blessings,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  26. How awesome! I have the same playset that I planned on removing this weekend, Now I can repurpose it!! Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love repurpose projects and this one's a winner. So glad you and the man stuck with the teardown because the re-build is wonderful. Best of all, you kept the old playset out of the landfill.

    ReplyDelete
  28. That is simply amazing! I loved how it turned out. Visiting from French Country Cottage.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Fantastico! Great way to reclaim a swing set.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I love this re-purposed potting bench! What a wonderful idea! :)
    ______
    Lee Ann

    Crochet...Gotta Love It! Blog:
    http://crochetgottaloveit.blogspot.com
    YouTube Channel:
    http://youtube.com/user/crochetgottaloveit

    #crochetgottaloveit
    #crochet

    ReplyDelete
  31. Very nice! I'm planning on building a potting bench too, someday. lol

    ReplyDelete
Copyright © Remodelando la Casa. Designed by OddThemes