A few months ago, I got this cute bench for our dining nook. I knew that I needed to do something about the fabric since my 3 year old sits here, and I finally took the time to re-upholster it! This was a project that only took a few hours including time to paint the legs. I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner!
Yes, it got pretty gross first! Time for something that I can wipe down quickly!
how to upholster a bench
Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:
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- Fabric- 1 yard (I got a white pleather that was $11 a yard)
- Grey Chalk Paint
- Clear coat Satin finish
- Compressor with a staple gun
step 1
Remove the legs off the bench. Put the fabric under the bench seat and center the fabric. Start stapling the fabric to the edges. Put in one staple on each side of the bench. Make sure to pull the fabric tightly as you go. Continue with stapling all around the bench.
step 2
For the corners, fold the fabric into a triangle and cut it off 1/2″ from the corner of the bench. Tuck them into the corner and fold them flat. Watch the video for this step- it shows it much more clearly. The video is around 1 minute long and I made it with captions so you can watch it on mute.
p.s. the fabric got a little wrinkled before I upholstered it. Those wrinkles will smooth out with time.
step 3
If you’re going to paint the legs, this is the time to do it! I did two coats of chalk paint followed by a clear coat. I was never a big fan of this dark finish, so I painted it over with grey.
step 4
To finish off the bench, reattach the legs. Mine were put on with screws around the base, so I just screwed those back on.
after
Ta da! No more super dirty embarrassing bench! AND I can wipe it clean after every meal!
Lucy approves 😉
This was a super quick project- it took a few hours and we were able to use the bench right away. If you have a bench that needs to be recovered, just know that it isn’t that hard. I wish I had done it sooner!
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