DIY Upholstered Bench – November’s FFFC Contest (Sponsored by Minted!)

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was compensated in the form of a product. All opinions are my own.

I just finished my first project with upholstery!  I built a bench following plans by Ana White from a couple of 2x4s and used this gorgeous fabric from Minted.  That’s right, Minted carries fabric.  That’s something I did not know about until very recently!

The new bench is my entry for this month’s Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest.

The Fab Furniture Flippin’ Contest is a monthly furniture decorating contest.  Each month there is a new theme and a new sponsor. November’s theme is “Take a Seat” and November’s sponsor is Minted!

Minted pairs with indie graphic designers and offers a variety of products including cards, art, and home decor items.

November’s fab hosts are Colleen from 58 Water Street  and Stacy from Anastasia Vintage. Our fab hosts kicked off this month’s contest with upholstered pieces of their own. Be sure to check out Colleen’s and Stacy’s upholstered projects. If you are a blogger and you are interested in participating in future contests, please send an email to info@fabfurnitureflippincontest.com.

First up, I am going to cover the steps I took to build the bench and then I will describe the steps I took to upholster the bench.

Building the Bench

I followed these really easy bench plans by Ana White for this project.  It took a couple of hours to build the bench base.

Step 1:  Cut the boards to the appropiate length.

I used a Japanese handsaw to cut the 2×4 boards down the correct lengths.  I used a mini circular saw to cut a 16″ wide piece of plywood.

Step 2:  Taper the bench legs

For added character, I used a jigsaw to taper each leg.

Step 3:  Create pocket holes

Next up, I used my Kreg Jig to drill several pocket holes into the boards.

Step 4:  Assemble the bench

I screwed the boards together with pocket hole screws and some well place clamps. (That pesky warped wood.)

Steps 5  – 8:  Sand, Prime, Paint and Seal

Originally, I had my heart set on staining the bench, but the aqua color complimented the fabric in a way no stain could.

Upholstering the Bench

I love the look of diamond tufting and I found this really awesome tutorial on how to do diamond tufting over at Addicting 2 Decorating.  I don’t think I deviated from her steps to tuft my bench.

Step 1:  Glue upholstery foam to the plywood

People aren’t kidding when they say upholstery foam is expensive!  Fortunately, I walked into the fabric stored equipped with a 60% off one item coupon. I used a spray web adhesive to attach the foam to the plywood.

Steps 2 & 3:  Draw diamond pattern on to the foam and cut out 1″ squares

I tried using a pair of scissors to cut out the squares, but I found a knife more effective at the job.

Step 4:  Cover the foam with batting

I covered the foam with one layer of high-loft batting.

Step 5:  Tufting!

I drilled screws with washers into the plywood to tuft the piece.

Step 6:  Finish the sides

Folding over the sides was a bit tricky, but I started to get the hang of it towards the end.

Step 7:  Cover the screws with buttons

I covered the screws with a craft button cover kit and fabric scraps.  This step was a bit tedious, but definitely worth the effort.

Step 8:  Attach the upholstered top to the bench base