House Week: # Three

We used to have a metal and glass coffee table and I liked the airy feel of it, but it was relegated to the basement when Ellen became mobile. I searched for a padded ottoman or a bench with storage, but then remembered that I had this bench upstairs that wasn't serving much of a purpose. It was yet another hand-me-down from my parents. I used to be annoyed by the mish-mash of furniture we had in our house, but I'm appreciating it more and more.

The fabric on the bench had seen better days and only became worse with Ellen's dirty fingers. I decided to recover it in a more child-friendly fabric.

I loved the old nailhead trim and it took a long time to pry each nail out. I saved them all, hoping to salvage them, but in the end I just didn't have that much patience.

I ordered this faux ostrich leather from Your Auto Trim in the Paprika color. I got the suggestion from Little Green Notebook - I'm always getting great DIY ideas from her! I should have ordered the swatch card first because the color wasn't exactly what I wanted when it arrived, but it is fine.

I cut the piece of leather about the same size as the piece of blue fabric I removed. I borrowed my neighbor's super duper staple gun and stapled around the edges, as close as I could get to the wood frame. Finally, I cut off the excess leather very carefully with a utility knife, right at the edge of the frame.

I forgot to take any pictures of the process with the nailhead trim - my hands were full and it was midnight! I got the nailhead trim at Joann - it is very affordable and easy to use. Basically, it is a long strip of 'faux' metal nailhead, and then you hammer in an actual nail about every fifth spot. This was simple for me to do by myself and really helped to secure the leather to the bench - it was much thicker than the blue fabric I removed and individual nails probably wouldn't have worked.

The corners were tricky - I normally would have folded the fabric inward around the corner, but the leather was just too thick. This has held well for several weeks, so I think it will work.

I like the final product. In the end, I don't love the nailhead nearly as much as the old vintage-y individual nails, but I felt like no one would notice but me. And, well, now all of you.

The best part though? I can just wipe away Ellen's fingerprints and Erik's footprints with a damp cloth!