Greetings friends, how’s your Wednesday this fine September?  I just adore September, do you?   Both my birthday and my anniversary take place in this glorious month ~ only May and October can compete in my book. 

I was picking my kids up from school yesterday, and a gust of wind was blowing.  Leaves were twirling in the breeze having just fallen off the trees, and I caught just the hint of autumn in the air.  It’s still warm as can be, but I noticed that the leaves around here are just starting to turn.

Don’t you love that feeling?  That moment when you feel the seasons changing.  That smell in the air, that moment in time that only happens once a year.  I treasure it.  I take a deep breath and try to make a memory.   *sigh*   

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I spent yesterday purging a bin filled with over 50 magazines . .  very old publications of BH&G, Country Living, Traditional Home, and Martha ~ all my favorites.  But only after I ripped out all the articles I found to be inspiring! 

I lugged at least 20 pounds of old paper to the recycling bin, and that felt sooooo great!  Now I’m inspired to style a fall mantel, but I’m convinced more than ever that I can make it happen mostly with what I already have in my yard, plus what I presently possess in my autumn stash from years past.  This year’s fall décor will be very simple indeed.

But today, as part of the Fantastic Feature series, I am so pleased to share Kristin’s beautiful bench makeover!  You all know I’m a fawning fool for a distressed Frenchy antiqued piece (soooo my style) and this bench surely fits the bill.   Today, in the spotlight is Kristin from My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia.  

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Happy Monday all, hope you had a fantastic weekend !  Last week, you saw the upgrades in the dining room, and one of those changes included this trestle bench that I found on Craigslist a few weeks ago. 

The bench was the perfect size to add seating to our dining space and very sturdy too since it is solid wood.  However, I wasn’t using any maple tones in the room, so I decided to give it a new look.  The bench received a two phase transformation to arrive at two different looks.

Here’s a reminder of the bench ‘Before’:

Here’s the first new look I gave this bench:  

And another different style achieved by adding a washable cotton slipcover:

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There’s a little saying that goes through my head every time I see woodwork that is extremely unattractive.  I don’t know where I picked it up.  Was it during those embarrassing days as a teenage cheerleader?  Is it from a movie? The little ditty goes something like this:

“U.G.L.Y. You ain’t got no alibi, you ugly, yeah yeah, you ugly.”

Sometimes you own see a piece of furniture, and at that moment it strikes you.  You simply must grab some paint and transform the piece that very instant.  When I feel the need, the need for speed, I turn to my trusty spray paint. 

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Last week, I picked up this dowdy bench with really great lines at a local thrift store.  It was $12.  I transformed it this past weekend with fresh paint, a bit of silk, and some custom fabric covered buttons.  If you want to know how to create a custom tufted seat, follow the tutorial at the end of this post.

Here’s the Before and After:

The first thing that had to go was the original fabric.  Ewwww.  The bench seat was easily removed with a screwdriver, but those side cushions were another story.  I thought they would simply peel off with a little tugging.  I was way wrong.  I had to take the end of a hammer to them, and the inner stuffing completely disintegrated in the process.  Pliers were necessary to get the green fabric off.

The paint had yellowed, so I decided to prime it and give it a fresh coat of white paint.  Then I gave it a good coat of spray paint in RustOleum’s ‘Heirloom White’.

Once the bench’s wood frame was completely painted, I recovered the bench with some fabric and a staple gun in some pale green silk.   [That’s “lemongrass” colored silk from Joann’s Fabrics – it was on sale for $8 for 2 feet.] Note:  If you are tufting a cushion, make sure you drill your holes through the seat cushion before you cover with fabric.

Tufting Tutorial for a Bench or Cushion

Supplies:

1. Screwdriver to create holes in seat cushion
2. Long needles (called Decorator Needles) from craft store
3. Thin twine or embroidery thread (regular sewing thread is not strong enough)
4. Button cover kits
5. Staple gun and staples

Once the bench had been covered in fabric, I created the custom buttons with the scraps of silk leftover and some custom button kits.  These kits make it very simple to use your fabric of choice to create custom buttons for tufting with the same fabric you use to cover your seat cushion.

Thread your decorator needle with the thin twine or embroidery thread.  Push the needle up from the bottom through the pre-drilled hole.  Once you come up on top of the cushion, thread your needle through the button.  Push the needle back down through the hole and pull button tight to fabric to create desired amount of tufting.

Use your staple gun to secure the thread to the underside of the cushion.  Staple the thread once, then pull the thread in the opposite direction, and staple it down again.  Secure with a knot.

One final problem with my bench was covering the marks from those previous side cushions.  Rather than creating my own side cushions like I did here and here, I chose to keep the sides open and airy.  I covered the marks from the previous cushions with hot glue and some simple gimp trim.

Bench $12, Primer and Paint $6, Fabric $8, Button Kits $7, Needles $4, Embroidery Thread $1.  Total = $38  Isn’t it amazing what a little paint and fabric can do?

Isn’t it amazing what a little paint and fabric can do?