I am SO happy with how these turned 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!
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
ReplyDeleteAww, 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!
DeleteIf 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
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
ReplyDeleteThanks mama! I'll have to come by this weekend to pick up the backing to finish these off! xoxo
Deletethe 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?
ReplyDeleteThank 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!
DeleteI'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!
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!
ReplyDelete- Karla
I'd be more than happy to! Thank you for the sweet compliments :-)
DeleteLovvely blog you have here
ReplyDelete