This little hose holder was just too cheap, too easy, & too cute not to try and make. I absolutely love it! And CLEARLY...I was in desperate need of something to hold my garden hose. My two favorite gals over at Shanty 2 Chic were the master minds behind this one. You can click here for the step by step directions, which I followed. Again - SUPER easy. 

I scored over at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, finding my 4x4 for only $4, so less than half of what the girls had paid for a new one at Lowe's. The metal hose holder was purchased at Meijer for about $8; I had the 2 square pieces in my scrap wood pile in my garage, and the cute finial was about $2.50 over at Menards. 

This bench is EASY + INEXPENSIVE and is the perfect, casual addition to any room! Whenever my mom comes to spend the night, she goes to a closet in our basement and pulls out a folding chair, so that she has a place to set her bag. And it's taken me four years to fix that problem! Now our guests will have a larger (and cuter) option to use for their belongings!

I found the plans for this bench in Ana White's book, The Handbuilt Home - 34 Simple Stylish and Budget-Friendly Woodworking Projects for Every Room. You can purchase it on Amazon or check it out from your library (which is what I did!). It's filled great ideas. You can also view her plans for the Rustic X Bench here on-line. We (yes, my husband assisted me with this) modified it just a tad, using some scrap wood we had in our garage for some of it. This is more of a decorative accent bench, as opposed to something you'd use daily at a table, but it's sturdy & stylish - a win + win for me!

I lightly sanded it, then spray painted the edges with black paint. I then painted it with white chalk paint, sanded the edges (so the black would pop out a tad) and then finished it with a clear wax, giving it a rustic look. VERY easy.