Don’t you love DIY projects that are a easy and inexpensive? This bench makeover was a snap to complete and cost me less than $11!
I originally found this bench in a garage and knew it could be a handy addition to our front entry. Best of all, it was free! I just needed to figure out how to recover a bench cushion because the fabric had seen better days.
I had never recovered any type of furniture before but my mom assured me it wouldn’t be too hard. I’m glad I listened to her because it really is an easy DIY project! From start to finish, it took me about a hour to recover the bench cushion.
Luckily for me, I found a nice upholstery fabric remnant that I liked – for only $5.19! Score!
When I spotted the fabric at Hobby Lobby, I didn’t have any measurements for the bench with me so I wasn’t sure the fabric would be big enough. The remnant was just 2/3 of a yard. But the price was right so I decided it was a no-brainer to give it a try. It was meant to be, because the fabric turned out the be the perfect size to recover the bench cushion.
The only other item I needed to buy was an upholstery stapler, which was $7.99 at Hobby Lobby – before my 40% off coupon. My total cost for the fabric and stapler was just under $11 with tax. You can’t beat that price for a furniture makeover project!
When I was ready to attempt the reupholstery process, I was pleasantly surprised that the cushion came out of the frame easily. I just turned it over and pushed it out from the bottom. It didn’t even have any screws to remove!
I used a flathead screwdriver to remove all the staples, then pulled off the old fabric.
After I ironed the new fabric, I spread it out on the floor with the “wrong side” facing me and centered the cushion on it.
I pulled the fabric snugly around the cushion and began stapling in the middle on the long sides. Working my way around the cushion, I kept the fabric taut to as I stapled it. My light duty stapler uses 5/16″ staples. It worked well to attach the fabric to the bottom wooden side of the bench cushion.
The corners were the trickiest part of this project. The front edge and corners of the cushion are exposed so I had to make sure the fabric looks good. (The sides and back corners are hidden.) I ended up folding the sides up like gift wrap to keep the exposed front corners of the fabric smooth. I folded the fabric down as flat as possible so I could staple through it without too much bulk in the layers.
When I flipped it over, the recovered bench cushion looked great! I popped it back into the frame, and it was good to go!
I may decided to paint the frame at some point, but for now I’m happy with the cushion makeover. The bench is handy as a convenient stopping point in the entry. There’s room under it for a couple of baskets to store kids’ shoes.
My DIY project to recover a bench cushion was so simple! It just needed some pillows to go with it. I had pillows stashed away that were the right size but didn’t match so I made new pillow covers for the perfect finishing touch. I’m happy with this DIY transformation!
This project is linked at some of these link parties.