Coffee Table Bench

Do you remember my quest to make my living room feel larger? The culprit was that old black coffee table that was cramping my style and condensing my living space. How did I solve this problem? Two things. One: Remove the coffee table. Two: punish the said coffee table by turning it into a bench.

On a serious note and not because I feel the need to punish inanimate objects, I wanted to re-purpose the coffee table because it's a nice solid piece of furniture and I wanted a bench anyway in my kitchen. Speaking of that kitchen. It is coming along very nicely and I only have two more projects to complete before the grand unveiling! In the mean time though, I'll give you a sneak peak of the area I added the completed bench to.

 Now, let me show you how to punish a coffee table.

First, you may want to paint that coffee table. That's a great place to start. Fortunately for me, my coffee table was already painted thanks to projects I had on my nesting list from last summer.

After painting the table and allowing it to dry completely, you will need a board to attach the cushion to. I had a nice little hardwood board that was the perfect size...where else but my basement, a virtual treasure trove of building supplies! Don't even get me started! Anyway, cut your board to size, basically how ever big you want your cushion to be.

Next, I flipped the table over to expose the underbelly of the beast. I want to drill some pilot holes through the bottom of the table so that my screws that will hold the board in place slide in with ease.

 With eight pilot holes to hold the cushion board in place, I then centered the board on top of the coffee table and  temporarily attached it with clamps.

Here's the tricky part: I had to center the board on the table and mark the position of the cushion board so that I can remove it to add the padding and fabric. Using a white paint pen and with very small marks, I mapped out where the board would sit when it came time to put it back on.

Center the board and foam over the wrong side of the fabric.

 Start with one side, preferably the longest side of the board and begin stapling. Make sure if there is a pattern, like my stripes here, that everything is straight. Staple the opposite side pulling tight, but not too tight, as you staple the fabric to the board.

The short sides require a fold to make it look nice.

Continue to staple until everything is secure.

When the cushion is complete, it's time to move it back to the coffee table. Center the cushion in the confines of the marks you made earlier.

Clamp the cushion to the table and flip over. It's now time to attach the board.

Screw through the pilot holes and flip back over. Remove clamps and now your board and cushion are nice and sturdy. Just something to be aware of, when picking screws for this project, make sure they do not exit out the other side of the board. Otherwise, you have screws digging into your butt, you know what I mean?!

I have a little drawer in my coffee table, so I took this time to add a little flare, by fixing a crystal knob on the drawer front.

I think this little addition dresses this little baby up just enough. It says "hey I like to be formal, but I also like to party" you know like a mullet.

 Here's my new bench in my old kitchen. My sweet checks are lovin' this one.