Coffee Table Bench

Here is another DIY I did back before I had the Blog. There are not any pictures on how to do it just the before and after.

I wanted one of those padded benches for the bedroom, but again the cost. I just couldn't spend $100's of dollars on one.

I scoured the Goodwill's and flea markets even Craig's list looking for the perfect coffee table. I was only willing to spend $20. You guessed it no such luck. A friend of mine had one sitting in her garage that she had empty pots sitting on. I asked if I could have it. I was told she had this coffee table since your oldest boy was 7. I am guessing the table is about 25 years old. Well she gave it to me. Even with crayola marks on the underneath.

Here are before pictures. Again please ignore background messes. Didn't know I would be posting for the world one day.

So, how did I transform this coffee table with the split wood down on side. Easy Peasy.

If you flipped the table upside down you can see where the screws are that hold this entire thing together. Unscrew them and take the top off. My husband then took the frame to the garage. He added some wood glue where the split was and placed a vice on it to hold it together. Left it like that for a day.

I then went to Hobby Lobby. Well now I know why those benches are so expensive the padding was not cheap. I opted for the 1 1/2 inch thick. It comes in a big roll and the cost was about $40. Don't forget the 40% off coupon. Then I started looking for the fabric. I believe I bought a yard. Your fabric size will vary by the size of the table and the thickness of the padding. Now to put this sucker together.

I took the table top and laid it face down on top of the unrolled padding. I then took an exacto knife and started cutting around the table. When that was finished I flipped the table top back over and glued the padding to it. I placed a heavy board on top of it just to hold the padding in place. It wanted to roll back up on me. While that was sitting I measured for my fabric and cut the amount needed.

This next part took two of us. Only because I didn't want a lesson on how to use the air staple gun. Flip the table top over face down on the center of your fabric. The padding should be well stuck after 15 - 30 minutes. We started on the end right in the center. Pull the fabric tightly around and staple in place. There was a little over hang from the padding but when pulled tightly gives the edges that round look. Just keep pulling and stapling. After we got the ends done. We did the sides. I kept looking underneath to make sure there was no wrinkles and that the fabric was pulled tight. Finally we stood it up on one end while he stapled the material to the underneath.

When finished stapling husband took it the garage and reattached the top to the leg frames. Afterwards I used wood oil and gave the legs a pretty shine.  I am still on the look out for another table especially one that has a really pretty ornate siding, but I am happy with my 1st DIY bench. This is the same side that was split in the before picture.

Not bad huh. Since the table was a freebie my only cost was the padding and the material. Total was about $35.