This is so exciting! My first tutorial on the blog! Anyone who has been in our house knows that I love to make things myself. I think it comes from the fact that once I get an idea in my head of what I want in a space, sometimes its hard to find exactly that thing or I'm not patient enough to wait and just keep looking until something close enough comes around.
So far, since we moved back into the house, I have designed and had Aaron build two ottomans for the living room and a new entertainment center/toy storage for the TV and the boy's toys. He is really great at the woodworking so unfortunately I can't give too much guidance in that department (though I will include pictures when I can). However, I can tell you all how to upholster things, and even do some sewing projects (I have made curtains and pillows and the like to go in the house and some stuff for the kids).
This project however, has been a long time coming, and I have changed my mind probably 15 times about exactly what I want and how I want it to function. We remodeled the entire house, but the entry room is the only room that remained more or less the same. We widened the front door so I could get the strollers in and out easier, but besides that, we weren't able to add anything substantial like a mudroom to help keep the shoe-coat-backpack-keys-etc clutter under control.
The finished product!
I built cabinets in underneath the stairs (they come down right at the front door) for larger items like stroller bags, extra shoes, coats, hats, etc, but its not the most convenient place to put things you use every day. I thought about a hat rack, or hooks, or bins and so on, but needed to figure out how to make the space as open, neat and functional as possible.
The solution to build a bench made the most sense; it gives everyone a place to put on shoes, drop a back pack, or look out the window at the garbage truck. It also is just high enough to put some baskets under to corral kids shoes (and keep puppy noses out of) and kick flip flops and sneakers under. Finally, it also meant I could get rid of the table that was next to the door and replace it with hooks on the wall to organize coats, backpacks, hats and dog leashes (so finally, things weren't hanging over the stair rails anymore.
Hondo exploring the new shoe storage!
For a while I kept making the design more complicated than it needed to be - I wanted a solid bench, almost like a chest, with a shoe shelf and cubbies for stuff - it got very involved. But then I was walking by a furniture store with Chanel the other day and saw the most lovely upholsted, tufted bench for the end of a bed and I thought, "That's so pretty! I love it! Where could we use that?" Well, I immediately thought of the front door!
This bench was not gonna work, it was like $800 and purple velvet. But the idea was in my head and I came right home and told Aaron what I wanted. Now I can give you a solid tutorial on how to UPHOLSTER the bench, but I can not really give any one a guide to building one - I leave that up to Aaron. These types of projects are always a team effort on that front. So you can proceed in doing the same thing in one of two ways: find a bench at a vintage store or resale shop and upholster it or attempt building one (I can say that this one was not difficult).
Aaron is quite adept at building me things that I come up with, but I really couldn't tell you how.
Step 1: Prep and materials
Once you have a bench you want to work with, you will want to detach the seat from the legs and remove any existing upholstery. If you can not remove the seat from the legs, I would suggest purchasing a piece of wood, cutting it to size to attach directly on top of the existing bench instead of trying to work around the legs - I promise it won't look good and you won't be happy with it.
Here is what you need for making an upholstered bench:
- 6 inch thick foam, cut to size (I buy the "green foam" at Joann fabrics)
- Quilt batting
- Spray adhesive
- Power drill
- 2-inch #8 deck screws
- 3/4 inch washers
- X-acto knife and serrated knife
- Heavy-Duty Staple gun
- Button Making Kit
- Super Glue
- T-Square Ruler or yard stick
- Fabric for upholstery
Before getting started you will want to pick out a fabric that you like and have it ready before assembling your supplies. To figure out how much fabric you need will depend on three things: the length and width of your bench seat and what size foam you are adding.
This is what Aaron made - the top layer of plywood is not yet attached to the frame and legs. After we upholster it, he will attach it with L-brackets.
Here is how you will calculate it: 1) measure the surface area of your bench (length and width, this case the bench is 54 inches long and 20 inches wide), 2) measure the height of your base (the piece of wood you are attaching the foam too, in my case it was 3/4 inch ply) and add it to the thickness of the foam you are adding on top (in my case, 6 inches), so my sides are about 6.5 inches high. Your fabric will need to cover the entire surface and generously tuck underneath to be stapled. So I would need a piece that is at least 60.5 (54 + 6.5) inches long and 26.5 (20 +6.5) inches wide, plus extra for stapling. Let's add a generous 10 inches to ensure you have enough to tuck into the tufts and staple: Now you need a piece that is 80.5 inches long, 60.5 + 20 (10 for each end), and 46.5 inches wide.
Most upholstery fabrics are sold on bolts that are already 50 or 52 inches wide, so I was going to be fine on width, so I calculated my yardage based then on the length I needed. 80 inches is 2.22 yards so I rounded up to ensure that I would have plenty of extra to make the buttons, I bought 2.5 yards and was ready to go.
The last things I would recommend doing (if you have kids or pets) and are making something that can't be washed, is to Scotch Guard it before working. Scotch Guard is most effective with two coats that are well soaked and dried between applications. So buy a can or two of Scotch Guard and treat the fabric twice and allow it to dry completely before starting. You can always add more coats later, after you have upholstered but this makes sure you don't miss an inch.
Step 2: Foam and batting
Now that you have your materials together and your fabric ready, you are ready to go. Take the wood base of your bench and place your foam on top of it and using a serrated knife (like a long bread knife) trim around the base to make sure its flush.
Then, using your T-square or yard stick and a sharpie you will want to make a grid on the wood and the foam to mark where you want your buttons to go. I divided the short side of my bench into four sections (6-4-4-6 inches) so there was an extra on each end. Then to ensure my buttons were evenly spaced apart, I made each end section start 6 inches in and then marked every 4 inches. Once the lines are drawn, mark with big x's or circles which intersections will have buttons - they should alternate like checkers. The outer two on the first row, then the center one on the second row, then the outer two on the third row, and so on.
Using your drill, make small pilot holes in the button spots on the wood base. Then, using an Xacto knife cut wide x's across the button spots in the foam and cut out a small circle in the middle (about half the diameter of your buttons) - See photo below.
These cuts will allow train the fabric to fold in the right places when you are tufting. It will also mean there is less resistance against your fabric and will be easier on the fabric long term.
Next, attach your foam to your base. Place the base, pilot holes UP, onto your work surface. Spray the top (the side with the pilot holes) with a light coat of spray adhesive. Then place your foam, button holes side UP also, carefully on top of the wood, making sure that your holes line up. You should be able to push your finger through the foam button hole and feel the pilot hole below it.
Finally, lay down the batting. Unroll the batting and play it on top of the foam in one layer. Trim off the excess with scissors - you will need enough to tuck underneath each side and be stapled to the bottom.
I poked my finger through each of the pilot holes and stuffed a tiny bit of batting in, training it so it wouldn't bunch when I added the fabric.
Step 3: Fabric and tufting
Next, you will lay your piece of fabric on top of the batting, exactly the same way. Starting in the middle, you will drill a screw with a washer down through all the layers into the pilot hole.
Aaron says to make sure your drill torque is LOW - "you don't want to drill through and rip everything, you want it to grab the wood and fasten" so go slow, especially at first until you have a feel for it. This will also let you get a sense for how deep you want your tuft - Don't screw the washer all the way to the wood.
Make sure you work from the inside out - so do the button in the middle and then the ones directly to its left, followed by the ones to the right, continuing to alternate until you get to each end. This will just make sure that your fabric is distributed evenly because each tuft will pull in a bit of fabric.
Step 4: Staple and trim
This part will probably require two people. Carefully, flip the bench over and have one person pull the fabric and batting over the side and onto the bottom of the wood, until it is equally as tight as the fabric between each tuft - you will be able to tell by looking. Then the second person can staple the fabric and batting onto the wood.
Just like before, start in the middle of a long side and work your way out.
I made one row of staples about an inch from the edge that went through batting and fabric. Then when it was stapled all the way around, I used scissors and cut the batting back to the staples (as shown above), but not the fabric. Then I trimmed the fabric to give my self enough to fold the unfinished edge under (like making a seam) and then adding another row of staples. KEEP ALL THE TRIMMED FABRIC!
At the corners, I folded the fabric like I was wrapping a gift and they came out great!
Step 5: buttons
After we were done with the upholstery, I cleaned up and settled down to watch some TV and make the buttons. The button kit will come with instructions on how to cover the buttons with your chosen fabric. In my case the fabric was a bit thick so I used some super glue to give the fabric extra hold.
Once all your buttons are covered, apply super glue to the back of each button and around the rim, then put some glue on the washer and screw head you are attaching it to. Then push it directly down onto the screw and washer - you will feel the metal back of the button hit the screw. Follow the directions on your glue, and hold the button down as long as the directions say (the Gorilla Glue I used said to hold each piece down for 1 minute and 30 seconds).
We have now had our bench in the front hall for over three months and only one button has popped off - due to a dogs nail getting stuck underneath and popping it off. It did no damage to the fabric or the button and it glued right back in and hasn't budged. If you are comfortable at sewing buttons, you can definitely sew these on and then secure with glue as well.
Step 6: finish the bench
Since Aaron made the bench, my last step was to stain the frame and legs and then attach the seat with L-brackets. I chose the Minwax Espresso stain with polyurethane. I applied three coats, according to the directions and allowed it to set overnight before attaching the seat.
I can't say enough how much I love having this bench. The baskets underneath keep all the shoes corralled - each family member has their own. Aaron then installed four hooks next to the front door to keep backpacks, coats, scarves, and the like to be organized. It worked out that we had room for four hooks, too - one for each person also!
