Meant to Be

A while back I saw the most gorgeous and creative porch project I had ever seen, and I wanted to copy it immediately. Please go to this site and you will see what I mean. I didn't have to do any searching to find a pretty close version of the wicker bench that they used. It was actually just meant to be...
A while back when I came down to Southern California to visit my boyfriend, before I moved, I went over to a garage sale on his street. As I was walking up, two women were carrying away this beautiful bench. I was bummed that I hadn't gotten there sooner, because it would have been perfect. The story picks up a few months later when I moved to that neighborhood. I was walking over to another garage sale (I like garage sales) and noticed what I thought to be that very bench for sale again. I asked the woman if she had bought it at a garage sale in the area a few months back, and she had. It's like it was meant to be taken home by me. I was so happy, and purchased it for only $30! Not it sits in the front room because it is so damp at night. I need to find a weather proofing method for wicker so that it can actually live on the back patio. Any suggestions?

Also, just to prove what a great deal I got, I found this one at Target and it was priced at over $100. Oh how I love a great garage sale find!