A Sea Sprayed Scalloped Bench

I love coming up with unique ideas for our home so today I’m excited to share a sea sprayed scalloped bench.

This post is sponsored by Saltwash® I’m a brand ambassador and really enjoy using saltwash powder but all ideas are my own. This post also contains a few affiliate links. If you purchase a product via a link I receive a portion of the sale, you can read my full disclosure policy here. Thank you for supporting our blog in this way.

Sometimes things take a little longer in our home to get finished than anticipated. Luke actually finished this bench in the summer but didn’t do the pretty scalloping until the other weekend. You know how life gets busy.

The little scallops make this piece, that and the pretty painted finish.

The colors are so happy. You all know this shade is a favorite of mine.

First let’s talk about the construction and then I’ll share how I got this gorgeous painted effect (it’s easier than you might think). 😉

How to Build a Scalloped Bench

Our bench is 6 foot long as I wanted it to fill the area under the windows in our sunroom. You can make your bench shorter by changing the lengths of the boards.

Materials

3 6ft lengths of 1×4
2 5 ft 3 inch lengths of 1×3
1 1ft lengths of 1×3
4 16 inch lengths of 2×2
1 8 ft sheet of 3/8th inch ply or a smaller piece jointed together (this is what we did).
Kreg Jig
Compound Miter Saw
Kreg Screw 1/4 inch
Ryobi Airstrike Nail Gun
Ryobi Jigsaw
Table Saw

Method

Cut the 1×3 inch and the 2×2 inch boards to length.
In the ends of each 1×3 board use the kreg jig to create pocket holes.
Clamp and screw the 1×3 into the tops of the 2×2 inch legs
- make sure the pocket holes are on the inside
- have the outside edge of the 1×3 flush with the outside edge of the 2×2
Stand up the frame.
Cut the 1x4s to length with the compound miter saw. Lay them on top of the frame, ensuring the same overhang on each side with a small gap between each board. Our’s was 3/8th of an inch. We used a piece of ply as a spacer.
Nail them to the frame with a nail gun.

Once the bench is constructed it’s time to do the scallops. Luke achieved this by making a template. You want to cover the whole of the 1×3 on the frame with the scallop detail.

To create a template take a foot long piece of ply and draw a straight line 2 1/2 inches from the edge. Take a compass and draw semi-circles along the line on the opposite from the edge. We used a 2 inch radius. You want to have three semi-circles next to each other.

Use a jigsaw or a scroll saw to cut the curved scallops in the template.

Cut a 6 inch strip of ply using a table saw.
Take the template and trace it onto the 6 inch strip of ply and move along the board in the same manner
Use the jigsaw to cut out the scallops.
Line up the scallops on the bench. It’s easiest to do the side ones first because the front needs to cover the side scalloping.
Use a nail gun to attach to the bench.

How to Achieve a Sea Sprayed Finish

This piece really looks like it’s been sprayed by the salt and surf of the sea. To achieve this look I used Fusion Mineral Paint in Azure as the base coat and some Picket Fence mixed with Saltwash® Powder.

I brushed on a coat of the Azure. Isn’t that blue just gorgeous?

Once dry I did a second coat but I put it in my sprayer. The top of the bench has small gaps so the sprayer could get into those hard to reach places. I used my new sprayer from Wagner for this and it worked perfectly. I did water the paint down a bit to make sure the paint would flow through the sprayer okay. I let that coat dry.

Usually with Saltwash you mix it with the base layer of paint but for this I wanted to do it differently. I mixed the Saltwash with warm water and added a little picket fence. I stirred really well and kept shaking the sprayer to keep the saltwash mixed in.

I worked in sections and found it helpful to pulse the trigger of the sprayer. I also had a paper towel in hand so I could wipe in case there were any splodges of paint. This gave a really cool effect to the piece.

The above bottles weren’t done with Saltwash using this technique but that’s how you would achieve it if you have some colored glass at home. I did spray glass last Christmas to look like snow and you can see that here:

Fusion Mineral Paint already has a top coat built into the paint so I didn’t put anything on it to protect it. If you distress your piece it’s a good idea to put some kind of top coat on (wax or toughcoat).

If you want to recreate this look at home. I recommend using a vibrant color as the white saltwash layer will tone the color down a bit. For those of you who want to try out Saltwash you can click here and use the code “SilverPennies” to get 10% off sample cans.

This bench adds so much to our long sunroom. Plenty of extra seating for friends to enjoy the salt air.

Of course, it being Christmas-time, I had to give it a sprinkling of Christmas. Here’s how it’s looking right now.

I made that coastal Christmas tree a few years back, click here.

Oh, and yes, my uggs match my bench.

I told you I love this color 😉

If you’d like to see more ideas with Saltwash click here.

If you enjoyed this post you might also like my eBook on painted furniture. It’s over 150 pages of tips and tricks. Good for a novice or experienced painter.