Oh the things my husband gifts me with…should I be offended? Nope! Not me! These kind of presents get my restyling DIY imagination going. He picked it up at a yard sale. It was pretty filthy, but it had great bones for a DIY bench makeover. Even the hinges on the lid were in pretty good shape.

I removed the lid and set about scrubbing the rest of the bench. Since there were gaps between leg corners and the seat frame it was easier to clean with the legs removed. They came apart so easily. That was a welcome change compared to a lot of the furniture makeovers I have done. No fighting for an hour with a screwdriver or trying to hunt up the perfect hardware to replace missing pieces.

The DIY Bench Makeover

I love the rustic, western, country look so the destiny of this bench was already set. After sanding the wood surface I gave everything a couple coats of black paint.

That black surface then got a good distressing with sand paper. I adore this look. It never seems to get old for me.

To put the cherry on top, so to speak, it was time to move on to reupholstering the lid and cushion. I made over another bench last year that has since sold. You can see it HERE. I used a denim fabric from a recycled futon cover. Futon covers in good shape are a great resource for large pieces of fabric. I had plenty left over to recover this bench…and probably a half-dozen more. 😉

I carefully removed all the staples and fabric from the existing cover to use as a pattern guide and to get a good look at the cushion. Surprisingly the cushion was stain-free, comfortable and still had a great shape. It even passed the “smell test”.

After recovering the lid top with the denim fabric, the old fabric cover on the bottom of the lid also became a pattern with the same denim fabric. I did use a little glue on the bottom of the lid to prevent the fabric from falling victim to the sag of gravity, and under the edges to prevent fraying.

It looked fantastic, but not quite the DIY bench makeover I was envisioning. It still needed a little something-something.

I had been working on some jean seam coasters and those seams just “seemed” (Ha!) to be calling me. I cut a seam for each edge of the lid and attached with glue and upholstery tacks.

Yep, that gave the bench the character I was looking for.

Enjoy!

More Farmhouse Bench Love!