Potting bench from recycled bits

15 years ago

This is the potting bench my GC made me from a recycled kitchen sink:

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The sink came out of the kitchen he was remodeling for me. He gave me the aluminum frame from a workbench he was replacing. The tiles were all leftover from various projects -- I've had the field tiles for more than 10 years and even moved them from our old house. Can't let go of anything, I'm afraid! The faucet was supposed to go in our laundry room but it wobbles at the base because of a manufacturing defect so Ikea shipped me a replacement and said to keep the one they couldn't sell. Even the plywood under the tile was a used piece.

The bottom shelf is rescued shelving. The short pieces could rest on the cross braces of the frame. I had to buy a length of shelving for the upper that had to be self-supporting. We also had to buy the plumbing -- piping, connectors and the drains for the sinks. Then I added an undershelf basket (that I had to screw permanently into the plywood) for my handtools.

It's connected to running cold water. There's a short length of recycled garden hose that directs the water from the drains to my near-by tomato bed.

A useful tribute to the concept of recycling! I'm so thrilled with it!

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Comments (17)

imjustsam
15 years ago
That is fantastic. You could even use that one as a kichen island. Very upscale. I love it.
dust_in_the_attic
15 years ago
Wow! What a fantastic Potting bench and with running water too! Your recycling really came in handy with this effort. I love the whole thing.
Lona
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katishooked
15 years ago
Wow I'm jealuos. Of course I wouldn't have a place for it, But it sure is a great idea. Nice job.
jeannespines
15 years ago
imrainey - AWESOME! And your grandson did this for you! WOW! It's so functional...I love it! Way to recycle! You can spray as much mud & water as you want!!! It should last a long, long time! Enjoy! Jeanne S.
imrainey
Original Author
15 years ago
Not my grandson -- don't have any grands. It was the general contractor who was doing our kitchen.

Thanks for all the kind words. I am loving it. ...and looking for funky stuff to add to my garden. ;>
luna_llena_feliz
15 years ago
What an awesome potting bench! I always thought it would be cool to have a sink embedded in a bench and have it connected to the outdoor faucet. Tell your GC he did a fantastic job!
oldalgebra
15 years ago
It's a beauty.
cindee11461
15 years ago
What a wonderful bench!!! What a great use for recycled items!!!!
galcho
15 years ago
I want to steal this idea. Good job
kat4kittens2002
15 years ago
wonderfully fantastic!!
kathy
akup_a
15 years ago
What a great bench and your re-use of the water is a fantastic idea. What are the three cylinders on top? Are they lights?
Vickie
use2bcapecodr
15 years ago
Fantastic!!

You've done what I want to do. I found a bar sink, complete with faucet and drain, at a thrift store awhile back and have tried to find something to put it in to use for a potting bench. So far, I haven't come up with anything.

I love the bottom shelves you have. Nothing to rot or be dirty!

Lucky you!

~Sandy~
luvstocraft
15 years ago
Wow! That really turned out great. You are really going to enjoy having that bench/table for so many things. Luvs
sugarmaple
15 years ago
Very nice! I wish you many, many hours of enjoyable gardening here!

Colleen
caroleena
15 years ago
its great. i love that you have running water to it.
Dottie B.
15 years ago
That is awesome! I much prefer something like this than some old cheap sterile store bought one. I don't know what it is....I look at each piece and think about where it came from and how it was rescued from the dump and it makes me smile.
imrainey
Original Author
15 years ago
Yeah. It should hold up to the elements well and the grid shelving lets detritus fall through.

The tubes are solar lights so I can work in the evening too. I don't do a lot of potting in the dark but I had them so I put them on the bench and I live in SoCal where you don't necessarily want to be outside working on some days. ;>

Thanks for all the kind words!