Ugly Craiglist Bench Makeover (AFTER!)

Heads up: Those reading on Google reader have already seen this post because it accidentally published the other night when I meant to publish the "before" post. So, if you've already seen this, sorry. If not, keep reading!



The ugly craiglist bench got a coat of primer and some spray paint before the summer ended last year, but I have to tell you I wasn't very motivated to work on it after that. The seat that had been on it wasn't going to work after reupholstering, so Sam needed to cut a new bench top for it. It sat in our entryway, painted but without a seat at all, for the entire winter.

I had bought some fabric that I liked in the remnant section of JoAnn's for less than $5. That was a bonus - almost made up for the 10 bones I blew on the ugly bench. I just needed to buy some foam for a cushion and Sam needed to cut the plywood board for the seat.

Finally, in February, we got down to business...



Sam had to concoct a way to keep the bench top from slipping right off whenever anyone sat down. Remember, it had been a piano bench with a lift up seat.



We decided on this configuration since it would allow me to easily cover the plywood with fabric and wouldn't be too difficult for Sam to get a snug fit.



I cut the thickest foam out to size (electric knives are handy for cutting foam, by the way). I then cut a slightly-smaller-all-the-way-around piece from thinner foam and put it on top to give the seat a mounded shape.



Next, I laid the plywood and both pieces of foam over some cotton batting and pulled the batting taut over the foam, folding corners in a mitre, stapling with a staple gun along the underside edges as I went around the perimeter.

I did basically the same thing with the fabric, being careful to arrange the print in a way that would look good after I was done and trying to get decent mitres on the corners. Eh - pretty good. I flipped it over, fit it on the bench, and there you go!



Not bad.

Certainly better than it was.

I still think I spent entirely too much for this project. I had dreams of a $3 bench makeover that would send the blogosphere into a tizzy of thrifty style. Well, maybe not $3, but lower than the $35 that it actually added up to. Still, I like the way it turned out. I like the color and the fabric with the rug. The cushion is nice and high like I wanted. Not perfect, but, overall a good outcome.





I hope that sweet old lady put my ten bucks to good use ;)