this little gem has finally worked its way out of the chaos of my head to become reality!   excited to

share this with y’all.  SO, i have been wanting to upholster something for a while, and it being my

first intro into anything of this nature, i thought i would start out kinda simple.  (then simple turned

to amateur, then to, lets wing it! , you know how it goes)

so i had this cedar chest that i used as my guinea pig for height length and depth… understanding of

course that if i needed, i would be flexible.

so i chose a nice piece of wood at the lumber store, had it cut it into 4 pieces.  brought it home

and used my little portable blade to cut all the lengths and then quickly sanded them before

getting started.  now, i am not a seasoned carpenter, and i always gravitate towards the “easy” and

“industrial” look…which most of the time (for me) means you see the nails and screws and mess

-ups very plainly.  but i like that, it gives it a feeling of “WOW!,you would never find THAT in the

store!” with that said, i kinda misjudged my resources, and ran out of wood, so the dividers spaced

in between don’t go all the way to the back.  but as i said, i kind of like the mistakes…and the ability to

“make do” with what i’ve got.

after assembling the box…i turned it over and put on the casters.  i think they add a nice touch.

NOW, inside the 1 inch lip that borders the perimeter of the top of the bench, i measured a board

that would fit snug inside.  i believe i measure 1/2 inch smaller than the lip on all sides.  for this i

chose a piece of plywood to mount my foam to.  i used a spray adhesive to adhere the foam to the

plywood.  once dry, with my yard of fabric a staple gun and the foam on the bottom, i slowly

tugged and gathered the fabric taut to the plywood and stapled once in the middle on each side

working my way around the whole board. the corners were a little tricky, and i devised my own

way to make it work.

FINALLY, i turned the board over and layed it right inside the depressed groove i created within

the lip. voila! no nails! just gravity and a little extra planning keep the board in place. and now i will

tell you the reason for devising that little crafty step…once you tire of the design (if you are anything

like me it doesnt take long) you can pull the board right out, and re-upholster the top again to fit

your new mood/color/style!

another reason for those “oh so precise” dividers, was to fit the PRANT box inside.  i had a

couple extra hanging around after my last trip to ikea, and thought it would be neat to

measure and fit those in.  i have to say, it makes it look a little more official…and a lot more

stylish.  its a good lesson to use what you have, and dont be afraid to make it your own!

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GIVE-AWAY!

on another note, there is a give-away for two yards of my fabric (of your choosing!) over

at www.owensolivia.blogspot.com.  she is featuring my fabric today, on her blog, so go

over there and check it out!