Between curious knobs, fanciful pieces and versatile paint options for everything from fabric to wood and back again, it’s easy to lose track of time at The Painted Bench, at 208 Ottawa Street North. “People get lost in here,” admits Melanie Anderson, the owner of this DIY trove. You can often see Melanie riding her bike to work now that the weather has taken a turn towards beautiful and sunny, and the sidewalk outside the shop is a tempting assortment of charming colourful ladders, antique seats and rare phone desks. Inside, you can expect beautiful one of a kind items that would brighten any living space, like the coloured glass egg holders that would also double nicely as vintage apperetif shot glasses we saw today.
Melanie also facilitates a lot of local learning from her shop. Coming up on June 16th, she is running a workshop specifically on decoupage and image transfering. For $90 + HST, everything is provided and you will leave with experience in techniques using Transfer Gel, Craqueleur and Gliding Wax.
One thing Melanie loves even more than helping to teach others is when loyal customers send back pictures of their completed projects at home. We’ll be sharing these before and afters with you in coming weeks. Today at the Painted Bench, Melanie let us peek in the basement, where an old favourite, a sideboard table, was getting a fresh coat and a new lease on life.
Maybe you can relate. Has your favourite romantic piece started to look a little tired? Here’s something that will blow your mind: the chalk paint Melanie carries can be used on fabric! This refinishing technique may come as a shock to anyone who hasn’t heard of it before, but apparently, as we’ve been told, you can paint ANY fabric! “Keep in mind however, painting fabric will change the feel of it,” Melanie explains. “Since you are not dyeing the fabric, it will have a stiffer, firmer feel. So, although many, many people have done this, try a test spot and feel it before painting the whole thing.” This is great news if you need inspiration for curtains, bedskirts, anything you can take a brush to. We love the idea of a homemade twister board on a sheet. What can you come up with?
The Painted Bench
208 Ottawa Street North, Hamilton Ontario
289.389.9281