Bench Makeover

Finally - I finished this project.  It only took about 6 months and most of that time was spent getting my mojo up to do it!

I got this bench at a Richmond America Model Home Sale for about $30.  I liked the size and the legs, but everything else was wrong.  The cheetah fabric isn't exactly my style, although I. loved it and wanted to keep it.  It was really really dirty and scuffed. 

I ripped off the fabric and planned on just snipping off the buttons.  Little did I know that they were actually screws.  I had to do some more ripping apart - finally everything came off.  I spray painted the legs black.

Next, I covered some buttons.  Because I used upholstery fabric, which is thicker, even this was harder than I planned.  I think I broke about 10 buttons!

At this point, after getting a couple of buttons in it, I started to panic.  I was sure that it was too wrinkly and that I couldn't pull tight enough.   I thought I was dumb for doing this - and thoughts of  "why do you always have to re-do something, just go buy it," came in my head.

Good thing I persisted - I love the way it turned out.  The fabric is interesting, but still neutral. 

I stapled and stapled and wrapped the corners like a present. 

Bye bye cheetah print - hello beautiful clean bench!  And after it is put in place, I remember how much I love making something and the process is just as rewarding as the product!

It's been awhile - linking up here