The Adorable Thrift Store Find That Belongs On Your Kitchen Countertop

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A decorative riser placed strategically beside your sink has the power to elevate not just the soap dispensers and sponges you put on it, it also has the capability to boost the visuals of your counter. Ready-made risers already exist for this purpose, and most have a pretty standard design that somehow includes a platform that stands on legs. However, if you're looking for a piece like this to give your sinkside a bit of personality, it pays to think outside the box.  Take that cute doll's bench made of wicker and wood that you happened upon at a thrift store. It might be just the thing you need to make a riser to go with your beautiful kitchen sink decor. 

To be fair, not all of these little numbers are made of wicker and wood. Doll's benches are made to be decor in a dollhouse. There are about as many styles of benches in the doll world as there are in the "real world". This is important to mention because, if you can manage it, you'll want to choose an item that doesn't clash with your kitchen's decor – if you can find one.

Additionally, not all dollhouse furniture can be put near a water source without first having been treated with polyurethane. This sealant protects wooden (and even wicker surfaces to an extent) from water damage. If you're using a dollhouse bench as a riser, you'll need to treat it with Varathane Water-Based Crystal-Clear Ultimate Polyurethane, or another kind of sealer of your choice. Sponge brushes, some rubber gloves, a few Yelanon Non Slip Furniture Pads, and some scissors are helpful, too.

Before you place the bench beside the sink, treat it with a couple of coats of the polyurethane and cut some non-slip pads down so that they'll fit on the feet of the riser. These two steps protect it from water damage. Once everything is dry, you're ready to style it. If you're into a minimalist aesthetic, placing the bench by the sink and a sponge and bottle of pump soap on top of it may be all that's required to level up your decor. However, you may want to employ the Rule of Threes to the display to make things more visually interesting. 

To work with this interior design rule, you'll need three items of differing heights. This could be the dollhouse bench, a bamboo soap holder, and maybe a decorative bottle. Near the sink, this display holds a couple of sponges (in a soap dish), a bottle of pump soap and a small brush on the bench. To elevate other areas of the kitchen, like the area near the stove, a bench riser could be used to hold salt and pepper shakers, with something like this RiJinDuoJin Hand-Painted Ceramic Olive Oil Bottle being placed to the side.

Finally, some dollhouse benches are backless and resemble picnic benches. If you want to use one of those in your display, consider gluing two of them together. This creates a wider base, giving you more surface area for things to sit on. To make this, run a strip of hot glue on each of the benches' longer sides and attach the two sides together to make a bigger bench.