Frugal Furniture Friday - Bench and Ottoman

Hi Frugal Friends! Although my fashion love never dies, I've really be focused on two things lately, my business (fueling my style fire) and decorating/furniture redos. They are both creative and have been great outlets for me. I'm working hard to get our bedroom redone. I started it a long time ago. After lots of distractions and procrastination, I'm finally getting it all together. I still have one big furniture redo (our bedside tables). Did I mention that distraction and procrastination is a big issue for me? I redid a storage bench and an ottoman, using very different methods.

the finished projects

I started with reupholstering a storage bench that was a hot mess.

Flaming hot mess, right? After years of abuse and our dogs using it as a step stool to jump up onto the bed, I had to reinforce it with tape. I tried to get our dogs to use doggy steps. Didn't work. Those are sitting in the garage. Our oldest buddy would only use this bench. So I couldn't get rid of it. I told my mom about my plan and she said, that I could have some batting and gold upholstery velvet that she had left over. SCORE! Fabric is expensive. I pulled it out into the garage and stripped it down.

You can see why it was sagging. The stuffing was deteriorating and pushing through the webbing. Once I stripped it down completely and removed the top (sorry no photos). I could start rebuilding. I grabbed some 2 inch thick foam at the fabric store. I bought remnant pieces to save a little money. I put one piece on top of the webbing you see (green webbing) and covered that with the cotton batting from my mom.

I used the pieces I removed from the bench as my pattern. Then I covered the top and stapled it down. I cut pieces of foam to place under the green webbing. I wanted this bench to be super reinforced. My original plan was to place it back at the foot of the bed and I knew it would get tons of wear.

I reinforced again with more webbing (I cut strips of the fabric). I used the same fabric to cover everything (sorry no picture).

I realized after cutting that I wouldn't have enough gold to do the entire bottom portion of the bench. I went to the fabric store and found a black white and gold print that worked well. Using that fabric on each end gave it a nice contrast and kept it from looking like patch work.

I finished the bottom edge with a roll of nail head trim, which I just noticed in the picture above, is crooked on one end. All in all, I'm really happy with the results. I definitely didn't follow upholstery practices but it looks good and that is what is most important to me. There were some supplies left over. I have enough of the white, black and gold fabric to make a pillow and enough batting to do my dining room chairs, plus some additional nail head trim. Similar benches go for $150 and up.
Total cost: $45! 

Because I didn't finish in one day, we needed an alternative "step" for the dogs. Our older guy, Blue, was distraught when he couldn't get up on the bed.

How could I say no to that sweet face?

I remembered this old, sad, green, ottoman in {msL's} office. It was a hand me down from a friend many many years ago, along with a matching sofa and chair. The chair and sofa went to Goodwill ages ago. My intention was to use it until the bench was done. Well, the dogs and {msL} liked the size and the height better than the storage bench. So when I finished the bench, it went to the corner of the room and I was faced with a dilemma. I wanted to make them happy but I hated the look of this sad green ottoman. What to do?

Because of the style of the ottoman, I knew it would be a massive upholstery project that I didn't want to tackle. I thought of options, I've seen painted fabric but since it's dark green, black would be the only option. Plus, painted fabric wouldn't be soft and if I ruined it, things might get bad in my house. Then I thought of making a slip cover. That could also take tons of time. That's time I didn't want to spend. I'm not sure how I thought of it but suddenly it came to me.

The ottoman has this weird pillow top. It's indented between the base and the top. Why couldn't I just create a slipcover and attach it with some elastic, like a huge hair tie?! I went searching on fabric sites and didn't find anything I loved or wanted to spend $12+ a yard on. I measured the ottoman with an allowance for the indention and realized that I'd need a rectangular and it hit me. Why not use a tablecloth!? It could be a good print and it would already be hemmed. Bonus! I searched and found a print that I liked and would work with our bedroom. I grabbed elastic from the fabric store and  measured the indented area.

I cut the elastic and sewed the ends together, reducing the length by a few inches to make the fit tight.

I laid the table cloth over the ottoman and centered it.

Then I added the elastic band and started tucking and adjusting the fabric. It was a little long on the ends and the corners but tucking and adjusting helped it to fit.

Hands down, the easiest slip cover EVER!! It took less than 10 minutes from start to finish! When it gets dirty, I can just pull it off and throw it in the wash. Slipcovers range in price from $18 (in really blah fabric) to $85 and up.
Total cost $24!!

It's even dog approved, as you can see by the indention. We'll be using the storage bench as our new hamper. I'm now hunting for a basket that is the right size to fit inside.

Frugal (Home) Fashion Friday - Buffet Makeover

When I moved into the house we own now, I did lots of redecorating and slowly acquired new furniture. It was a move from the town house I'd owned as a young 20 something to a more grown-up single family home. I wanted it to look stylish and sophisticated. My budget was tight so I purchased some second hand pieces from thrift stores and individuals. This buffet was one of those pieces. I bought it for about $30 from a colleague. It's a solid, well built piece (solid wood, dove tail drawers, good quality). The finish was worn in places and the drawer pulls had been replaced with some polished silver pulls that didn't work so well with the style of the piece. It's been on my project list for years. I finally decided to check it off the list.

My first try at painting was a disaster. Even though I cleaned the dresser with denatured alcohol, the paint bubbled and looked awful. I wiped it off and sanded it down. One day I was reading my favorite design and DIY blog, Little Green Notebook. Jenny wrote about the primer she uses when painting furniture (Zinsser primer). I used the water based primer since I was planning to use spray paint for the buffet. I primed the entire buffet (with the exception of the inside and the inside of the drawers. I used a roller on the flat surfaces and a brush on the spindles.

Once the primer was completely dry, I began painting. I should have taken Jenny's advice and gotten the primer tinted. That would have helped to cut down on the number of coats I needed.

I searched for hardware that I thought would look good but in the end I just decided to paint the hardware I already had. Once again I turned to Jenny for advice. She paints hardware often and I used her tips. Instead of the gold spray paint she uses, I used, Rust-Oleum Britght Coat Metallic Finish in Gold. It gives a great color, not too yellow and a bright metallic finish. I primed with Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer first. Once it was dry, I followed with several coats of the Rust-Oleum gold, until I got the finish I wanted. Then I finished with a two clear coats for protection.

I love spray paint because as long as you shake well and use even strokes, it is pretty much fool proof. It's forgiving. If there is a drip, you can wipe it away quickly and then even it out with the next coat. I decided on a deep red and chose Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2x in Colonial Red. I wanted a glossy finish and it delivered.

I decided to add a clear gloss coat to the top of the buffet and the lower shelf. Those areas will get the most wear and I thought they needed extra protection. It gets tons of use when I throw parties. I use it for serving drinks and appetizers. Once the hardware was dry I reattached it and I'm thrilled with the results.

A little paint and a boring buffet has new life. My total cost was about $65 with plenty of paint leftover for other projects.

Happy Friday Real Girls!

 

 

Note: I did not receive any compensation from Rust-Oleum. I just like their products and wanted to pass on these tips to you.