Table to bench makeover

I've been itching to try out one of those table-to-bench makeovers that keep popping up all over the blogosphere. And I found the perfect table to do it with.

It has solid wood legs with beautiful detail. The top, however, seems to have been replaced at some point in time. It's made of wood pattern laminate-covered pressboard with some crazy kind of brown plastic edging. So there were no feelings of guilt about butchering it if the whole bench thing didn't work out. Plus, it was free.

 I unscrewed the top and pulled it off so that I could paint the base. Glossy black, of course.

I picked up a piece of firm, 4" thick foam to use for the seat. I had a hard time deciding between 2" and 4", but decided to go for the thicker one. While I plan to use it as a coffee table (with a tray on it so you can put a drink or food down on a steady surface) it will be handy to have for extra seating. So I wanted it to be comfortable.

To cover the cushion, I cut the fabric about 30 cm bigger than needed to cover the top and sides of the foam so that I had enough fabric to wrap it around and under the table top. Then I put the top on the table with the foam and a layer of cotton batting (to soften the squared edges of the foam) on top.

I used the same fabric that I covered the kitchen stools with, so that the pieces coordinate. I put the fabric on the table wrong-side up and pinned and marked the corners so that I could sew them and get a nice, neat, fitted corner.

After sewing the corners, it was a quick job to flip the cover right side out and staple it onto the table top. I did this with the top removed from the table, and then reattached it to the legs after the covering was complete.

I planned to put this in the family room, but I have it in the living room right now. I like it out there, and we don't have a table for that space yet as our old living room was far too narrow and crowded for a coffee table.

I have a small tray to use on it right now, but am keeping my eyes out for something larger. I'm not worried about balancing drinks on the tray as the material is an outdoor fabric, so it'll clean up well if something happens to get spilled on it.

Not too shabby for a couple of hours work!