We begin this project by removing the lid, since it’s the last piece of the bench that we’re working with.

Now we're ready to prep our surface. Smooth out any rough spots with a medium grit sanding sponge, then go over the piece again with a fine grit sanding sponge. Remove any residual dust with a damp cloth. Sand the lid, too!

Open your lightest shade of stain and give it a good stir. For this project, we used a 2-inch, angular Purdy White China brush to apply the stain.

Next, open and stir your darker shade of stain. In this project, we used the darker stain for the outer frame of the bench. You can use the same brush - just make sure it's clean.

Once the stains were applied to the exterior of the bench, we also stained the interior to give the piece a professional, finished look. This step is optional.

While the bench dries according to the information back of the stain's label, start prepping the lid. Sand and stain the exterior, as described above. Once dry, tape the edges of the area on the interior of the lid. Prime, then apply two coats of paint for optimal coverage.

Now that the stain has dried, apply a clear coat to seal the wood. Once it's completely dry, reassemble the lid and call it a day!