Monday, May 23, 2011

DIY Bench, The Finished Results

Happy Monday,

I have to update you with one of the projects that we actually finished this weekend. The DIY bench, and if I do say so myself there's a big Whoot Whoot in order here (I'm doing the victory dance).

Let me start by saying that it did turn out beautiful, but I did have to er...re-do the bench. Yes, I said re-do the bench. I never claimed to be Martha Stewart people, I simply try to make beautiful things happen. My problem with this project was my lack of patience which honestly my husband told me not to rush. I lovingly pass this advice on to you. When you rush you have some slight oversight on details and things just don't work out. I originally used 2 sheets of 24" thick foam for my 15" wood which I wrapped around the wood to create a nice little fold which I thought would add comfort. Well, it ended up looking all lumpy and bumpy and  had weird bunches of foam here and there. I tried to ignore it and put pillows and things on there telling myself no one would notice and would still marvel at my genius (not that I like to toot my own horn). Well once I finally conceded to defeat, my husband again said "why don't you just re-do it?". You've spent all this time on it, fix it and make it right." Ah Ha! Why didn't I think of that?

I had to remove each and every staple so that I could simply trim off all the extra foam and make it the same dimension as the wood. I did this with a razor knife and it was super easy and took me a minute at best. After that I re-stapled the material and now the bench is a true dream. The only other change to the original directions as seen here: http://thecubaninmycoffee.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-bench-for-little-girls-room.html was that I did in fact add the material for backing. It definitely makes a difference by smoothing your foam and giving you a nice shape to your bench.

Here are the results:








I think it turned out pretty well. I didn't use upholstery fabric which would change the smoothness of your bench. Mine is a bit of a linen and is pretty thin. I did use scotch guard so that I can spot clean it. I also tried to keep the costs on this as minimal as possible, but you really can use what ever fabric you want and keep in mind that the thicker it is the less wrinkling you will have ate your edges. I simply can't wait for the move and to get this in my daughter Isabella's real room.


Let me know what you think, and if you use this tutorial please link back to me and share your results~

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