Recover a bench cushion for a simple DIY transformation

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!

Finished - recovered bench cushion - AMerryMom.com

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.

Bench-before-

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.

Recover a bench cushion - fabric - AMerryMom.com

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!

Recovering a bench cushion - AMerryMom.com

Please ignore the ugly green carpet in these photos. That makeover is still on the to-do list!

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.

Recovering a bench cushion - AMerryMom.com

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! Bench recovered

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! Recovered bench cushion with new pillows - AMerryMom.com

This project is linked at some of these link parties.

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