Wednesday, July 3, 2013

X Bench Makeover

Say hello to my little friend(s)...


Last week I mentioned how I'd been lusting after a pair of x benches for our space, but had all but given up on the idea of them, since every bench I found cost hundreds of dollars.  I'd stopped looking for a while, and then found a pair of these guys from Target for ~$50 each.  It was a no brainer to buy them and make them over since the cost of spray paint and fabric is minimal.

I am SO happy with how these turned out...


Especially considering how they started out...



Not attractive...


The dark faux leather was so bad in person... and when I say "so bad" I mean "SOOO BAD".  The leather was rock hard, super shiny, and had no give - it was like sitting on a slippery brick... but I saw past their sad exterior, and whipped them into shape quickly.... here's how it went:

Step I: detach the cushions from the base.  Easy peasy...

Step II: Spray the bases the color of your choice (I went with Rustoleum's trusty gold spray paint - never fails my friends) - while the paint dries on the bases, head upstairs to gleefully rip off the faux leather from the plywood using whatever tools at your disposal.

**This was actually the hardest step for me since the manufacturer really stapled the hell out of each bench.  I was left with lots of bits of leather and random staples I couldn't get out, but it's fine... no one cares about the underside...

Step III: Throw away horrible faux leather and breath a sigh of relief.

Step IV: Lay out beautiful new fabric that you will be covering the cushions with, and cut the fabric to size (leave ~3-4 inches around the sides of the plywood and foam)


Step V: Staple fabric securely to the cushion starting with the sides, and finishing with the corners


Step VI: Grab the fully dried bases from the garage, and re-attach the cushions to them (or in my case, get lazy on this step and vow to attach them tomorrow)

Step VII:  Stand back and admire your handiwork


What do you think??  Pretty good right?!

I fid that taking pictures of my projects is super helpful... it really allows me to see the imperfections that I want to go back and fix.  In this case, there is a bit of marred wood on the front side of one of the benches that I'll want to patch, sand, and repaint for a smooth finish...

I also see now that I'll want to trim down the extra fabric from the bottom of the cushions and that I really do need to reattach the cushions so they sit flush with the base - easy fixes, but you get the idea overall!

Big picture, these benches under-went a major overhaul!  I think it's a huge change from dark-and-sad to light-and-bright.


So let's recap costs and savings for a minute... the two benches cost ~$110, the fabric was marked down to $30 a yard, (I needed just 3/4 yards which came out to $22), and the two cans of spray paint were $14.

All together, this pair of benches cost me $146!

It's not the least expensive project I've ever done, but considering I'd been seeing single benches for $200 each, it's $146 compared to $400.

Pretty dang good if you ask me!

9 comments:

  1. These are amazing! AND, I think I need a pair for our new entryway...August and projects galore can't come soon enough. Thanks for the inspiration! Do you have any tips for making the corners look so nice? xo

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    1. Aww, thanks! I did the corners really by trial and error - I had a bit of practice when I re-covered the dining room chairs, and explained a bit about how I pleated them... I like to start on one side and do more of an accordion pleat to the other side - I think it ends up looking neater, and just pull it as tight and flush as you can. I also used A LOT of staples to keep the corners secure, so when it's flipped over, you hardly notice the corners at all!

      If you want to see how I did the chairs' corners, the link is here :-)
      http://cuphalffull-sf.blogspot.com/2013/01/re-upholstered-seat-cushions.html

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  2. How to fix the bottom. Pick up the left-over dust cover fabric (from the headboard project) and staple it neatly to the bottom of the benches. BTW my clever, crafty little darling, they look lovely. xoxo Mama

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    1. Thanks mama! I'll have to come by this weekend to pick up the backing to finish these off! xoxo

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  3. the benches turned out amazing! 2 questions, did you sand the wood any before spray painting? and is there any way my lazy butt could just put new fabric over the existing vinyl without stripping it first?

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    1. Thank you! Like you, I'm pretty lazy and didn't bother sanding the legs down. It probably would have helped, but I think they look just fine!

      I'm also sure you could put fabric over the existing vinyl if you didn't feel like stripping it all off, but I'd recommend putting a layer of batting down first so it's a bit softer!

      Good luck!

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  4. This post is great and your house is really beautiful. I saw the last post as well and I don't think you need to change a thing. Makeover my house for me any day!

    - Karla

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    1. I'd be more than happy to! Thank you for the sweet compliments :-)

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