A bench is a great way to add extra seating at the dining table. We have an Ikea Bursta bench in our foyer that we use for extra seating. The bench lives everyday in the foyer under the Captains mirror gallery. With the addition of the brown/black mirrors, I started to feel the space looked cold and hard. I needed to soften the foyer bench. There was too much brown/black in the space.
I thought I would never love anything more than my dining chairs slipcovered with a tablecloth, until I covered the bench with the same tablecloth pattern. LOVE! This project was super easy and adds so much to the foyer.
Before creating the slipcover, I added some much needed cushion to the bench. Instead of going with super expensive high-density foam (4″ thick runs $50+/yd), I purchased a roll of 2″ thick low-density white foam. The 24 x 72″ piece was about $30, but with my 50% off coupon the foam was only $15. I also purchased a package of low-loft batting in twin size for $8.
I initially thought I wanted a 4″ cushion on the bench and planned to double up the 2″ foam I purchased, but it was too thick. When you are adding a cushion on to the top of an existing bench you have to be careful not to add too much height or your seat height will be too high. After testing both thicknesses, I chose to just use once thickness of the 2″ foam. The foam is super cushy and even with only the one piece you cannot feel the hard bench underneath.
I still wanted that thick, expensive look for the bench. With some kitchen clips I played around with how I wanted the cushion to look. Instead of just wrapping the fabric around the foam and stapling it to the underside of the seat, I opted to make a slipcover of sorts that would cover the entire apron of the bench too. This makes the cushioned part look deeper than it actually is. Plus, the slipcover can easily be removed for washing.
To cut the foam to size, I turned the bench upside down on top of the foam. I traced the bench seat onto the foam. I have heard electric knifes are great for cutting foam, but I don’t have one. For this 2″ thick foam I managed just fine with scissors. The edges are not perfectly smooth, but no one will ever know.
Based on my measurements from playing around with the full tablecloth and the kitchen clips, I knew how much fabric I needed. To create the tablecloth slipcover, I cut the tablecloth fabric 8″ larger than the foam slab on all sides
To fit the slipcover, I put just the foam slab on the bench. I laid the fabric over the foam wrong side up. I pulled the fabric tight at all corners and pinned. I stitched right along the line formed by the pins.
After test fitting the slipcover over the batting, I snipped the excess fabric out of the corners using my pinking shears.
To finish the bench cushion, I laid the low-loft batting on the floor. It was folded in half lengthwise to provide two thickness. I laid the 2″ foam slab on top. I turned the bench upside down on top of the foam slab. I pulled the batting up around the apron of the bench and stapled it to the underside of the apron piece. The batting helps cushion the bench seat and the apron. It also adds a little extra cushion to the foam. Since I fitted the slipcover over the foam without the batting, once the batting is added the slipcover fits very snug.
Now the bench is a statement piece in the foyer. The pattern is beautiful and the softness of the bench looks so much more welcoming.
The bench can easily be pulled into the adjacent dining room for extra seating at the dining table. I think it is one of the best seats in the house!
Sharing this project here:
Shabby Nest
Miss Mustard Seed
Tatertots and Jello
Addicted2Decorating
Home Stories A2Z
Miss Mustard Seed Favorite Furniture of 2011
Jackie,
I just took the time to sign up for Apartment Therapy so I could vote for you. I look forward to your posts every day. Your rooms are beautiful and so inspiring.
Thanks Lisa. You are so sweet. Your comments always brighten my day!
You make it look so easy! I’ll have to try this if I can find or make a bench.
Marti,
If you want to make a bench, check out this tutorial from Ana White:
http://ana-white.com/2010/12/easiest-upholstered-bench
I am planning to try it for a bench at the foot of our bed! If you make one please come back and share!
Oh my gosh I’m pinning this! I am going to be building a bench soon because one of our dining room chairs broke & is not reparable (at least I wouldn’t be able to myself) so I’m going to build a bench for one side of the table & I really want it to be padded & pretty like this! Thanks for the tutorial! Yours is lovely.
This is beautiful! I love the bench plain and even more with the cushioned slipcover!
I love how this turned out. THe material is so cute. I would love it if you could link this up to our linky party going on right now.
http://junkintheirtrunk.blogspot.com/2011/11/link-it-up-wednesday-3.html
Wow, they look amazing! very nice.
I love that fabric, it’s beautiful! The bench looks great with your table
How awesome!!! I’ve been wanting a bench for our dining room for a while, and this totally makes me want one NOW, hahaha :D Love your blog header too!
Just found you through the A2Z party… beautiful blog. I’ve enjoyed reading through your earlier posts. When you find the time I’d love for you to visit me!
A Happy Holiday to you and your readers!
You are just so smart. I love your ideas and on this one I have just the bench that needs covered. Thank you doll.
I love your blog and the colors in your home! I can’t stop reading and looking at the pictures! What an inspiration!! Just wanted to give a quick tip. I keep seeing how you talk about the cost of foam (your mudroom and here)..What I do is go to Wal-Mart, Big Lots, (or wherever)in the bedding section and buy the foam mattress toppers that are normally under 10 bucks for a twin or full size piece of foam! I sometimes even use eggshell toppers too and flip it over and use the smooth, flat side on the part closest to fabric obviously. I recover all of my chairs, benches, boards, etc using this cheat! :)
Sarah,
Thank you for the tip. I never even thought of the foam mattress toppers! I just can’t seem to justify the cost for that pricey foam…I’d rather put it towards fabric or accessories. Thanks again for sharing your idea…I am pretty sure you will see a post using mattress topper foam the next time I have a foam project!
i love your easy tutorials and you’ve done a great job with your home. keep up the inspiring work x
What paint is this along with your covers on Pinterest, please?
Do you have a tutorial on how to make the slip covers for the chairs as well? I love the coordination!
Kate, Here is the post on how I made the chair covers: http://www.tealandlime.com/2011/08/diy-dining-chair-slipcovers-from-a-tablecoth/