Reupholstering an Empire Bench with Non-Traditional Materials.

One of my favorite things to do 

is to reinvent something in a unique way.

You know, 

take a leap of faith……

And pleasantly surprise yourself!

Here's a perfect example of a piece I had to rebuild recently,  

so I took the challenge!

I purchased this old antique upholstered bench at a yard sale.

It was covered in an old raggedy gold velour…

It had a glorious wood frame with lots of detail

But boy was it a mess!

I had to take everything off….

 

I removed the springs.

(Easily made 7 times my investment on this piece by just

repurposing the springs into candle holders…added some

fabric scraps and ball candles and put in my booths.)

But I digress. 

Back to the bench.

One of the sides had a broken frame 

so I wood glued it.

Then I removed everything from the seat. 

The original stuffing, burlap, etc,

I left the upholstered sides 

because they were still in good shape..

I rebuilt the seat using scrap lumber pieces, and

painted the frame in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Cream.

 After the cream paint had dried, I dry brushed an overcoat of Paris Grey

and then I distress sanded. 

 I rebuilt the seat with layers and layers of batting.

Here you can see the frame after I added dark wax

to all the nooks and crannies…

(Sorry for the dark photo…I was working late…)

Okay, on to the finish!

I found this awesome printed canvas rug at Ross.

I decided to use this for the upholstery.

 

I stapled and trimmed the rug…

(and treated myself to an IPA…)

And instead of using traditional gimp, 

I decided to just fold up and glue the raw edges.

Then I used galvanized roofing nails 

to adorn and secure the edges.

Getting close….now to the sides…...

 I used a grey and white ticking to upholster the sides,

after adding a layer of batting.

Then I used gimp to edge.

And it's done!

It's in my booth at Greenwood Antiques & Uniques.

$249