The workbench looks great now.

As a wood worker I am extremely jealous - what a steal!

I don't prefer the paint over the nice, aged wood. But it's a great bench!

Very nicely done!

Agree nicely done but if you sit at it, your knees aren't gonna be happy.

I doubt it would be very comfortable to sit there --- the height of the chair would make your knees bump the table, but if the chair were low enough for your knees to be under the work surface, the work surface would be at your chin. Not practical!

Comfortable or not, it is a great piece.

What an amazing steal -- $30??? But oh dear! What have you done? The patina on that bench was STUNNING. I am all for painting most things white...but this piece deserved to be left alone. Poor bench. :(

Am I the only one who think this great bench just screamed"kitchen island"?!? Im on the fence about the paint,I liked it either way really.

Just my $0.02, but if you want a crafting table, it's easier to start with a crafting table. You rescued a woodworking/shop table, but I really question the utility you'll get from trying to use that table in a crafting setting.

This belonged in a garage wood shop. It's hard to judge the condition of the worksurface, but the first picture didn't look bad at all. I suppose that the bench wasn't deep enough, and the drawers needed proper rails, but the top itself looked like it had ample space to accomodate various presses and jigs.

I screamed the f word out loud when I saw the after. That was soooo gorgeous before being painted. Ugh. None the less, congrats on an incredible score. It is so beautiful and I am sure that over the years you will find multiple uses for it, some practical and others just visually appealing.

I think it looks great and has lots of character.

What a great transformation! Love the character in the bench and the white with the dark stain looks great.

I think the bottom looks better especially considering the setting, but i do like how the top looked before. Great find! So jealous - I need a narrow workbench-type bottom (in the $30 range - which would be doable but i need it to be counter height so you can stand at it while you work) for a work table myself (got a narrow piece of countertop for a steal). Hopefullu I can get lucky and find something similar without having to just make it myself!

I surely hope the craft room was on the first floor! The gentleman that made it used 4by4 and 4by6 lumber throughout! Woodworking benches are designed to be stable: planing and chiseling require a rock solid work surface. They are made to work while standing, so I doubt that the new happy owner will do a lot of work sitting. Besides, sitting too long is bad for you!

Looks like they shabby (chic?)ed all the genuine character out of it. Clean it up some? Yes. Sand it some? Yes. Slop new paint all over it? Whyowhyowhy??? Hard to see the cool wheels in the after; hope they're still on it.

Next time anyone finds something like this that is rather unusual, well built, shows long term character, you're not likely to come across another; not even a modern replica, step back from the paint brush and live with it's originality for a while!

Beautiful!

What an amazing score! But like previous comments, I am sad that you painted it. I am all about painting wood, don't get me wrong. But that piece was so cool as is. I also agree that it would be a great kitchen island however if you are like me and have no room for an island, you have to do what you have to do!

I would never find an old piece of wooden furniture, paint it, then post it on Apartment Therapy. No Way. :-)

That's just sad! This would have made a beautiful rustic kitchen island in all it's glory just as it was. Why...oh why, people??

Painted wood makes me sad. Painting should only be a last resort for wood that is beyond restoring.

Am I the only one who wants to the know the craigslist back story? lol...

I'm with Lenabug. I hope nothing I've ever done shows up here.

Well at first I was thrilled to have been featured on Apartment Therapy... but wow! Some of your comments are harsh! THANK YOU to everyone for your nice remarks. For those of you upset that I painted the piece, I supposed I should have included more "before" pics in my original post. The base of the bench is constructed of about 15 year old 2x4's and dirty plywood. It was far from glamorous or "aged beauty". It was more like a 1990s garage build that'd had potting soil thrown on it and some car grease. None the less, we are all allowed our own opinions!

The workbench has been perfect so far. You're right - it's not a spot where you'd want to sit for hours, but that's fine by me. I have a tendency to stand while I make things... and as a workbench, it was never intended for sitting.

Thanks Apartment Therapy for featuring my bench! If anyone wants the full story, feel free to read it here:
http://craftedniche.com/2012/11/09/workbench-makeover/

Thank youWhat an amazing Score & Re-Do-LOVE IT!!

for your beautiful re-do! I seldom comment on blogs, etc.-ever! BUT, I purposely registered so I could comment here!!! I think this bench/craft table looks AWESOME! Very clean, fresh, and modern- BUT it still has the rustic appeal that we like!! I personally feel bad for "craftedniche" here because -IT IS a gorgeous piece and what a nice accomplishment/acknowledgement to be featured on Apartment Therapy - I hope she/he knows & remembers this! Perhaps all of the negative commenters have never been told "If you do not have anything nice to say...." I cannot believe the energy these people used up to write a negative comment her too, for what?? What did you gain as a commenter? Is your work featured here too? Lets be a bit nicer & conciderate to each other. Thank you!

Love the after! The wWhite paint is transformational!

Our 1970s midcentury modern raised ranch was built with cedar ceiling, cedar subfloors, cedar plywood paneling. Previous owners had let the roof leak so there were water stains on the ceiling that the previous owners had tried to cover up with dark brown paint. As soon as we could afford it, we had the whole house painted white. Ugly wood deserves a coat of white paint. :-)