A Fun, Quick & Easy Project

I have this adorable black & white cat named Abby.  Abby is slightly overweight....like she weighs 22 lbs!!!  Abby is  now 9 years old, and is having some problems getting up onto the higher places that she loves to snooze on, especially my bed!!



I decided I needed something for her to get onto that was just slightly lower than the bed, so I started my search at the local thrift stores for a bench that I could put at the foot of my bed.  I have to admit, I needed something to sit on when putting on my shoes!!!  Seems Abby & I are both getting old!!! lol!

I found this wonderful little bench, already painted white, with a little bit of paint chipped off here & there, which was perfect for my decor!  It was covered in this ugly dark purple fabric, but it was only $6.95!






All it needed was to be recovered!! Now, I don't buy too many things new, so I started to think of what I could use to cover the seat on the bench, when I realized I had purchased 4 chenille pillow shams a couple of months ago, and one of them would be perfect for this project!  I paid $2 for all 4 of the pillow shams. 

First, I took the screws out of the bottom of the bench to loosen the seat.



I removed all of the old staples with pliers, and removed the fabric that the seat was covered with, and was left with the cushion and the board.



I then turned the pillow sham inside out, and ripped the seams so that I had the front piece of the sham to cover the seat with.  Putting the sham over the cushion & board, I centered the design on the sham, and holding it tight, turned it over.  Using a good stapler, I started stapling the pillow sham fabric to the board, starting with one side, then doing the opposite side.  This keep the pattern on the sham even.  I then folded over the sides and stapled them, stretching them a bit to make sure they were snug.




After it was all stapled, I had a perfectly covered bench seat, ready to be put back on the bench frame.





I then turned the bench over after making sure the top matched up perfectly with the frame, and put the screws back in the bench, tightening them to make it secure. I now had a bright, new bench that matched my bedroom perfectly, and all for the cost of $7.49 and about 1/2 hour of work!!  So easy, so simple.





This system can be used to cover benches, footstools, and even dining room chairs! If you want the chenille look that I got, you can find chenille bedspreads at the thrift store (use the remainder for pillows) or spreads or pieces of one can be purchased on ebay for very small amounts.  Otherwise, look through the pillow shams, draperies, throws etc at the thrift stores for a fabric that you like.  No need to go to a fabric store and spend big bucks!!! :-)