How to Make a Tredy Bench From a Thrift Store Table

About two years ago, I acquired a table for free. It has scratches, a few chips, and the most useless fold out leaf ever. The table has since became a symbol for all that is wrong in the world, and I was instructed by my boyfriend that it had to go. I really liked the detail on the legs of the table, and I felt really bad throwing it out, so I decided to try and turn it into something more useful.

If you want to try this project at home this is what you will need:

1 x Old kijiji / thrift store / hand me down table

1″ thick foam

Fabric to cover the table

Staple Gun (and staples)

Paint

Step 1: Prepare the Table

The first thing I did was to take the fold out wings off the table (It had these awkward fold out things, that were just annoying), this was fairly easy using  a screw driver.

Once the sides had been removed, I began to pain the legs and underside of the table, while the table was on its back.

My cats decided when I was painting this was the best time to play.

The table had a thick coat of varnish on it, so instead of sanding it down and painting, I decided to just paint it multiple times. Once finished, I left to dry. I did not paint the top of the table. A few days (weeks…) later, I decided to cover the table in fabric to make it more of a bench.

Step 2: Get the Fabric / Attach the Foam

I got the fabric from a store in Guelph called Len’s Mill. I managed to find solid foam which was 1″ thick. I found this thickness to be perfect as it was thick enough to feel soft, but also thin enough to be able to staple onto the table, and to easily bend around the edge of the table. The fabric itself, is a black quilted vinyl, which was 12.99 per yard, and I bought one yard. I picked this fabric because I wanted something which was comfortable, but also hard wearing so that it could be used not only as a seat, but also as a table.

First, I put the foam on the ground and sat the table, in the center of the foam, face down onto it. I then curled the foam around the table and stapled it onto the underside. A staple gun makes this task very very simple. I purchased mine at Canadian Tire for around $20 and it is a very useful tool to have if you plan on re-covering any chairs, or anything like that.

Once the foam is stapled on, turn over your table and check that the foam has a nice tight fit, and is flat against the table. It should look something like the last picture.

Step 3: Attach the Fabric

Next stage is to do exactly the same procedure with the fabric. Make sure that you pull it as tight as possible so not to crease or leave it sagging. Once again fold over the edges and stable onto the under side. If you have any access fabric trim it off before stapling down. Flip your bench over and inspect your masterpiece.

The cats seem to love it!
For more information, as usual, check out my blog.