Not Quite the Bench I had Envisioned

Two months ago I rescued this piece of furniture from my parents house. Having removed the hutch from the top half of their office desk, it was now discarded to the garage and was awaiting trash pick-up. I happened to stumble upon it before garbage day and hauled the piece back to my house, determined to make something great.

(On a side note, I'm convinced that minivans are the mommy version of a pickup truck. The hauling capacity is quite impressive once you fold down the back seats.)

My intentions were transform the desk hutch into something like this lovely bench by A Shade of Teal. source

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Or check out this hutch and desk turned kitchen island by Haute to Sew. source

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These two examples were my main inspiration. I felt that my parents' old desk hutch could be something great, if I just gave it a little DIY love.

However, having minimal furniture renovation experience, I was extremely intimidated by this project. The only furniture project I've ever done was our concealed kitty litter box - transformed from an old sink vanity. (Read about that project here).

For weeks, I parked in the blazing heat, while the "landfill rescue" enjoyed the shade of our garage waiting for me to find the time and courage to begin this project. Motivated by the abnormally hot summer, (and my desire to reclaim my indoor parking space) I finally began my renovation project last weekend. But it DID NOT go as planned.

My idea was to create a bench by removing the backboard and cutting down the sides to suitable bench height. Then I was going to remove the curved arch and add a few stabilizer boards before priming and painting the bench white. My plan was to use the finished piece in the craft/guest bedroom for extra supply organization. 

However, as I began working on Saturday, I quickly realized what I failed to notice during the two months it sat in my garage: Aside from the thick top piece, the remainder was not nearly as sturdy as I thought it was. It would need a lot of reinforcement if I wanted to continue as planned. At that rate, I might as well build a bench from scratch.

Now, after a two month detour, this old desk hutch is back where I first found it - in the trash pile.