Have you ever found yourself thinking, “I wish I had a small bench, with a cushion on top and storage on the bottom”?
Today I was in our living room looking at a small bench that I already had. There was nothing wrong with it. It was structurally sound. It matched our decor. But I had had it awhile and was ready for a change. I also wanted something with storage in the bottom so that I could stash away more of our crap prized possessions, that I’m not decorating with at the moment.
Well, you know me, if I need something I usually figure out a way to make it…and that’s just what I did.
Isn’t it FABULOUS?!!!!
Ha! Fooled you! That’s the before shot. 🙂
I found this piece the other day and had to lug it home in the back of my Civic (you’d be amazed what all I can cram into that little car. It’s like Hermione’s magic purse in Harry Potter!) Now, as I tend to grab and then inspect when I get it home, I didn’t realize until I started looking at it, that there was more things wrong with it than the obvious. Yes, I knew that there were 2 drawers and a handle that were missing, but that didn’t faze me. I could just cut it down and make a 2 drawer nightstand instead of a 4 drawer chest…and that’s what I set out to do.
Unfortunately, one of the drawers was broken, and after much cussing and throwing of tools patiently trying to repair it using Gorilla Glue and nails, I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to fix this one. So I sat down on the front porch and cried and screamed like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert decided on Plan B. Yes folks, even at Clif Creations, we sometimes have to have a Plan B (and C,D and E). 🙂
Plan B…cut it down to a 1 drawer piece and turn it into a small bench with storage in the bottom.
Here is the piece after it has been cut and the top glued and clamped into place.
Next up I painted it with two coats of chalk paint. When the hubs and I were at Lowe’s the other day, he bought me a $5 can of oops paint that appeared to be a really pale pink. I decided to use it on this piece, and after two coats it looks more white than pink. So, it’s either an optical illusion, or the rose colored glasses, that I require everyone to wear here in The Dream House of The South, are really working! 😉
Because I want all of my guests to have the utmost level of comfort when they are in our home (especially in their booty area), I knew that the seat would require something plump. So I pulled out a piece of foam that I had in the shed (it’s actually a piece of our old Memory Foam bed), and got to work.
I have found that the easiest thing to use to cut foam of any thickness is…a Black & Decker electric meat knife!
And now a word from our sponsors:
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We now return you to your regularly schedule blog post:
That’s right kids, an electric meat knife will cut through that foam like butter…meat, butter…I’m hungry all of a sudden…I wonder what the hubs is making for dinner…
Oh wait, where was I? Oh yes, the foam seat. I measured the top of the bench and then cut the foam to that size. Then I got to work making a removable slipcover out of a pink and white ticking fabric. (I don’t do tutorials on sewing, as it is too hard for me to explain with photos, but there are numerous tutorials on the net.)
What do you think? I wanted the seat cushion to be extra thick so that it would be more comfortable.
The ticking fabric is really versatile too, and will go with just about anything. Cause everyone knows that at The Dream House of The South, we LOVE pink! Well, at least I love it…the hubs just tolerates it. 🙂
Keep creating!
Clif
Clif Creations 