Hello all! To get things started with my first official post, I would like to share a project that I completed a couple months ago. I was not anticipating sharing and- making an amateur mistake- did not take photos of the entire process. Thankfully, I did take some which will be displayed below as I describe the process!
Knowing I was going to move into an apartment soon and wanted to have some sort of bench/ottoman to match my furniture I decided that I wanted to do some custom upholstery. I had previously made some cute pillows with some fabulous fabric from Joanns Fabric Store and wanted to stick with that print for the next project.
I found an old piano bench in the garage with was pretty humble- the top of the bench was completely missing and it was in need of a good cleaning. Thankfully it was extremely sturdy which convinced me that it would be a great bench....! Right?!
I first sanded the bench to get the waxy/ stain/ finish off. I'm not exactly sure what the wood was coated with but it reminded me of 70s style- which simply won't do. I used a flat, belt hand held sander to do the smooth portions of the bench. The legs of the bench were curved and detailed so I had to sand these parts by hand. I used to the roughest sand paper I could find.
(Go here to find a similar hand sander: Belt Sander)
Note: I don't know if I would use a belt sander for future projects- I felt like it was difficult to use and I made some indents in the wood. I think that an orbital sander or simply going over it quickly with harsh sand paper by hand would have been better. With the belt sander I tried to get all of the varnish completely off- which isn't always necessary if you're going to spray paint after like I did).
As you can tell from the pictures, its obvious that I sanded until I reached "virgin wood". I think this would make stripping the paint easier in the future but typically I would suggest just roughing the finish up so the spray paint and primer will adhere better.
I decided to go with spray paint to cover the bench frame. I started with a spray paint primer that I bought from Michaels craft store for about $3 after coupons and savings.
(See a similar spray paint primer here: Spray Paint Primer)
For my peeps who have spray painted before- please skip this section. If you haven't, please read!! I HIGHLY suggest using some sort of facial mask while spray painting. They are relatively cheap (maybe 5 for $3) and can be reused. The fumes from spray painting can be harmful and this is a way to prevent short term annoyances like headaches and odors as well. Also- paint in a well ventilated area. If its winter open windows or the garage you are painting it. If its summer try to do it outside.
After I let this coat dry as directed I painted a satin black on next. I did two coats (or more on spots when needed). The key to making spray paint look nice like it does on pinterest or other blogs is to APPLY IT IN LIGHT STROKES, at a reasonable distance away from the item to be painted. This is just one of those things that practice makes perfect.
Anyways, I left this dry and continued on to make the seat and cushion. I bought a large piece of thick plywood from Lowes and had the fiance help me cut it to size. I bough upholstery foam at Joanns- this can be expensive without a coupon and is purchase by the yard. Measure the length and width of whatever your upholstering and then determine how many yards are needed. (I usually get more because I eventually use the leftover foam for other projects!).
The foam comes in different thicknesses and increases in price for thicker foam. Choose one to your liking- I love the thicker foam simply because its more comfortable.
Next, I stenciled the wooden top's outline onto the foam with a marker and then cut the foam to size with a bread knife (it really works!).
Before I glued the foam to the board with Spray Adhesive I decided to make small holes in the wood for tufting. I am not going to go into the tufting process here but here are some sites that describe in detail how to do it:
I had help drilling the holes! :)
Next, I sprayed the adhesive and applied the foam. Theres no "right brand" adhesive and because I was going to upholster the fabric to the board (helping keep the foam in place) I wasn't overly concerned about it.
Spray Adhesive I Used bought at Joann Fabrics.
After letting it sit for a day or two, I nailed the board(with attached foam) to the bench frame. When cutting the wood board I allowed room for a small hangover (in other words, the wood board is slightly larger than the bench frame) where I would be able to staple the fabric onto.
Finally, I got my fabric and upholstered it on with a heavy duty T-50 staple gun! The fabric was purchased from Joanns and is interior decorating/upholstery fabric quality. It is a bit more expensive but is thicker than just standard cotton.
The finished product:
As you can tell from the top photo- the underside of the upholstery is not perfect, but for my first time I don't think its half bad.
I love the fabric and am excited to use it in my apartment in a couple weeks!
Please remember: If you are going to attempt a similar project, do not start upholstering to adhering upholstery foam to anything until you read a bit or atleast watch a youtube video on how to tuft!
Its an age of DIY- I'm not a professional upholsterer or tufter or painter and I don't think my project displays that I am. What it does display is someone who is trying to reuse things around her that are destined for the dump, and simultaneously someone who is trying to fulfill interior design dreams while on a budget.
I dare you to try something like this- the feeling of accomplishment is awesome!
Stay tuned for my next post on how I transformed some leftover wood pieces and fabric into some fabulous trays for my coffee table!!
Jordan
Have you upholstered anything? Spray paint? Share your stories, tips, and comments below!
Have you upholstered anything? Spray paint? Share your stories, tips, and comments below!
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