I'm Crafty - Occasionally!

I'd had this particular project in mind for months at least, but knew I probably wouldn't have a chance to do it until my break between semesters. I am fitting it in with a lot of other cleaning and such now, but I was so excited that I had to do it.

What did I do? I took this:

And turned it into this:

I found the coffee table with my MIL at a tag sale right before hubby and I got married, it cost all of $4.00. We were extremely low on furniture at the time, so we picked it up and took it with us to our first apartment, where it was used as a TV stand. In the process of moving to military home #2, we acquired an actual TV stand, and we had another (slightly nicer) coffee table already. I had seen this idea somewhere, either on Pinterest or a home decor blog, so I investigated it and kept it in mind. After our stuff got here in late October, I decided I should definitely attempt the project - but I didn't have any time to do it until now, before school starts back up again. I'm only going to briefly go over the steps - if you want a more in-depth how-to, I highly recommend the blog I ended up referencing: this post on Vintage Junky.

Detail shot of the reason for the bargain price

I started with what you saw above, out in the backyard since I spray-painted the table. Luckily, yesterday afternoon was rather warm for January, so it was a great time to be out in the backyard.

I used a spray paint color called "Oil Rubbed Bronze" because I read Young House Love and Sherry loves that particular paint. If it's good enough for YHL, works for me! In person, and dry, it reads as a chocolate-y brown with a metallic shimmer, for me at least.

After giving the table the night to dry outside, I completed the rest of the work this morning, inside, where I could hear the TV while I worked. It's also chillier today, so the timing worked out great for me. In the photo above, I put the table on top of some foam so I could cut it down to size. I wasn't sure if the utility knife I had would work, but it wasn't too bad at all. I made sure to keep the knife away from the floor, aided by the drop cloth and trash bags underneath.

After cutting the foam, I sprayed it and the table with spray adhesive, and attached it to the top of the table, which you see above. The next step was to lay the table on top of the batting and cut the batting to size, allowing some extra to fold around the edges of the table.

At this point, I also put some extra batting along the sides before folding the main layer over that. The author of my instructions on Vintage Junky had done that, so I figured it couldn't hurt. I used a staple gun to attach both the extra batting to the sides and to fasten the main layer onto the bottom edge of the table top.

After I trimmed away the extra batting, it was fabric time! I'd definitely spent some time really trying what to think would work best, and even after I chose this fabric I was second guessing myself. At the end of the day, I really like the effect and how it works. The main thing I've changed is that I'm keeping the bench in the main living area instead of the guestroom - more seating and the colors actually go better!

Anyway, back to the task at hand. Using a striped fabric, I had to make sure to line it up straight. I just sort of tried my best and then double checked after I'd stapled once in the center of each side. Luckily it worked out and it doesn't look askew or anything like that! I more or less repeated the process of stapling the fabric as I had done the batting, trying to keep it pulled taut. I fiddled with the corners a bit as Vintage Junky had, and while they're not perfect, they're not awful either.

After I cut away the excess fabric, I used a glue gun to attach this trim. I'm really glad I did, because otherwise there would be jagged fabric edges all over the place and that would not be ideal.

Although there are small imperfections here and there, I really really love how it turned out. I feel good about re-using something old, about being crafty, and the decor/function of having the bench in our living area. Not to mention, I've gotten TONS of positive feedback on Fbook, which honestly surprised me. Definitely a self-esteem boost for me, and I'm glad it wasn't a waste of effort or money. In the money department, it wasn't bad, especially since I was buying some supplies for the first time - spray adhesive, spray paint, sandpaper, and even a glue gun. I did already have the staple gun, which was nice. Even with all those supplies that I'll use again, the total cost was definitely under $100, and possibly under $75. I also had a lot of fun to boot! Who knows, maybe I'll take on another project or two this year... Pinterest is pretty inspiring, after all!