Call it a compilation of all the crazy projects I've come up with over the years. Call it a how-to for things around the house. Call it whatever you like :) It's what I do everyday. My blog is really just a way for me to share what I've learned over the years about home improvement, interior design, organization, diy, crafting and home repair. And most importantly it comes from always working on a budget and forever wanting to fend for myself when it comes to anything. I hope you enjoy (and learn a few things along the way :)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

My furry bench :). Converted from a rolled arm piece.

Or how to convert an ugly, stained rolled-arm bench to a funky, furry wow piece.


So this is another Pinterest inspiration. If you look at my boards you'll see where I pinned a furry bench and posted how it inspired me to finally update my gross, old, stained rolled-arm bench from my attic. I showed it to my daughter because I thought it would look awesome in her room and she was sold. Both funky and fun.

First stop was the attic to get the old bench down.  You can't see the gross stains in this pic, but trust me they are there.


Then to the fabric store to get the fur. Luckily my first stop was Joann's, and they had what I needed. With my 40% off coupon, it was a whopping $7.20 to do this whole project.



Now we both agreed that the rolled arms had to go, so that is the only reason this project took very long. Normally you just staple the fabric on and done. But I had to figure out how to get the rolled arms off.

I started by pulling off the fabric on the arms.


Low and behold the rolled-arm form was simply stapled onto the main frame of the bench.


So after removing the six staples on each side they simply came off.


There was a lot of fabric and foam removal as well, because I needed to use it for patch work. When the rolled arms came off, they left a hole at each end that needed to be stabilized and covered to match the rest of the bench.


Luckily a piece of wood from the arm fit in the hole to support a piece of seat-cover wood. Using a few nails on each side I was able to stabilize the piece of wood to use as support. For the seat cover portion I had a couple of pieces of flat plastic I cut to fit and nailed in from the top on each end. Simple enough.


Now I had to pad the two ends to blend with the rest of the bench. Using the foam from the arms, I folded them over twice and stapled it on.


I then used the scrap fabric to cover the foam so the whole piece felt the same end to end. The white fur is slightly transparent, so I didn't want the color behind the fabric to be different anywhere and potentially show through.



And then the easy part. Cover the bench in the fabric. Staple underneath side to side to keep it tight as you move to the end and corners. Then trim the excess fabric and done. Step back and be wowed by your ridiculously cute bench!


Ok well vaccum first because when you cut this fur it sheds like a cat :)

Happy reinventing your old piece!