Move Over West Elm!

I apologize to any of you who follow me on Instagram {retroranchreno} because you’re probably all “been there, done that” with the subject of this post, but forgive me.  I couldn’t restrain myself from taking so many pictures.  It was just so much prettier than it used to be!!

Yup, that’s right…I’m talking about the bench for the end of our bed. 

I was very excited when I first laid eyes on this guy, well over a year ago.  The outdated fabric and beat up legs didn’t do it for me…but the size and price of this thing could not be beat.  For $20, I was sold!!  

And then along with most of my Craigslist finds, this poor thing was banished to live in the basement {first at our in-laws and then in our actual basement} just waiting patiently until I got around to transforming it.

The bench would probably be waiting another year if my mom didn’t convince me it was time to get it done.  During one of their trips north, we pulled it out of the darkness and got to measuring.  After figuring out how much fabric we needed, we went shopping.  Of course, nothing I saw was “it”, so I started looking online.  Once I laid eyes on the Islander Ikat Silver fabric from Fabric.com, I knew I didn’t need to look any further.  I submitted my order and impatiently waited for it to arrive.  In the meantime, my mom and I tackled the “fun” part of the recovering process {couch…sarcasm…cough}.  We ripped out all the old staples and removed the old buttons and fabric.  

Lucky for us, these staples came out MUCH easier than when we recovered my dining room chairs.  Phew!

After that it was time to find some new legs for the piece.  I could have easily sanded and re-stained the original ones, but they weren’t the style I was going for.  

Instead of thick, block-like legs, I wanted curvy, romantic ones…a la West Elm’s Essex Printed Bench.  During one of our numerous trips to Home Depot, I was able to pick these pretty things up for under $10 a piece.  I wasn’t thrilled to spend more money on the bench makeover, but I knew adding fun legs would put this project over the top for me.

At least I already owned the stain and sealer I needed for them.

Finally my fabric arrived and we got to recovering!!  After some thoughtful placement {taking pattern and direction into account}, sewing and button covering…I had myself a brand new bench!  

Or should I say Perny has a new bed.  I’m pretty sure he thinks this we completed this project just so he has another place to lay. ;)

Here is the breakdown of what I spent to make over the bench:

-Ugly CL’ed Bench - $20.00

-3 Yards of Fabric {with plenty left over to make pillows or something} - $44.94

-Legs - $36.00

-(2) Button Covering Kits - $3.94

-Upholstery Needle - $4.99

-Stain and Sealer - $0 {already owned}

-Thread - $0 {already owned}

Grand Total = $109.87

Okay, so this wasn’t the cheapest makeover, but it was way more affordable than if I bought the West Elm version brand new!  Their similar bench is priced between $299 and $349, plus a $30 delivery surcharge.  So in that case, I saved myself $219 – 269 on this project.  And while my bench isn't as perfect or professional, I still consider this project a major success! :)