This weekend I completed a project that I have had on the back-burner for a long time. I bought this bench nearly a year ago at Goodwill for about $10. It's really sturdy, and I knew it would be useful for us. Our living room has limited seating, so it's a great extra option for when we have a lot of people over.
The bench had been sitting as-is in our living room for a year, and on Saturday I finally decided I was over it. The most ridiculous thing was that this project took me a total of 30min (excluding drying time). I've lamented it before, but why do I always put off the easiest projects?
Even though, I am not under the delusion that the internet needs another bench makeover post, I'll give you the run down of how I did it (just in case anyone needs the motivation to tackle something easy they've been putting off).
Step 1: Take it a part. Most of the time, you will have to unscrew a few things to get the seat off, but I was lucky: the top just popped off.
Step 2: Give it a light sanding. Since I was staining and I like the look of imperfect wood, I didn't feel the need to get too intense. I just lightly sanded the entire bench enough to get the sheen of the previous stain off.
Step 3: Stain it. I gave it two coats with a wet cloth wipe down in between.

Ta-Da! The fabric is actually a coffee bean bag. My bff Emily works at a coffee shop, so she hooked me up with a few awesome bags. (Em, I finally put them to good use!). I love the way it looks with the stained wood and I also love that the color of the fabric won't look bad if it gets a little dirty. I would blame my kids for getting things dirty, except... I don't have kids.
Love this, it looks pretty easy to do but totally makes a big difference! I really like the added interest of using the coffee bag!
ReplyDeleteThis looks awesome!! I definitely need to start acquiring some household Goodwill finds. I will keep this DIY in mind.
ReplyDelete-Becca
Yay I'm so glad you finally did it, Ash! It looks great with the burlap coffee bags! :-)
ReplyDeleteYay I'm so glad you finally did it, Ash! It looks great with the burlap coffee bags! :-)
ReplyDeleteYay I'm so glad you finally did it, Ash! It looks great with the burlap coffee bags! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow it turned out great and what a good thrift find.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh this is SO cute!! I love the burlap and the darling stenciled design you did!
ReplyDeleteJessi
http://haircutandgeneralattitude.blogspot.com
Such a great idea! I love the way it turned out!
ReplyDeletexo,
Angela
I love how it turned out! I need to DIY my chairs, they need a new look.
ReplyDelete-Vogue&Heels
www.vogueandheels.com
Superb DIY! It has totally transformed the look of the stool, I would use it in a conservatory if I had one!
ReplyDeleteI love this DIY, it looks so great! I am toying with the idea of painting my piano and bench...
ReplyDeletelove this makeover... i totally thought i was already following your lovely blog! but it just let me sign up again! yaay haha
ReplyDeletexo Jessica
www.NewlyLoved.com
Fun! I have an old chair in my house I want to reupholster but I have no idea how to go about that! Maybe I'll just recover the seat cushion, I could at least staple it over the old fabric, that'd be fairly easy! Good tutorial!
ReplyDeleteGreat DIY! I love it. And that is so cool that you used a coffee bag.
ReplyDeleteNikki
thefashionablewife.com
This is such an easy way to fix a old looking chair. Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeletehttp://between-friends-fashion.blogspot.com/
Cute little makeover! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a wonderful idea, it makes such a difference.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous idea. I love the finished product. Great job, Ashley =)
ReplyDeleteLOVE how this project turned out! That fabric makes the whole bench :)
ReplyDeleteloooove it!
ReplyDeleteYou're just so fancy!
ReplyDeleteHey, it looks fabulous and it's definitely more of an intense project than I could handle - staining? stapling? forget about it!
ReplyDeleteChic on the Cheap
Love!! You do the best diy projects!
ReplyDelete