Benchin'

I am super thrilled that after four years, over twenty trial and errors, and a huge pile of cords..I have FINALLY figured out what to do with the random space beside our fireplace.

This space beside our fireplace was too small for any chair, too short for any book case. It is also where our cable, satellite, and internet are all housed. So basically it was a weird corner full of cords (and usually a dead bug...or three). My inspiration came from my friends fireplace. They had a space where the brick was continued to the wall. She too was lost...and then she came up with this.

After she did this I basically coveted her weird bricked area. I still can't figure out how the previous owners of their house used this area...but I love what she did with it.

So I picked up the phone and I called this guy....

My Pop is the bomb. He can build/make anything...so who better to call when you need a bench built. He said "Get me the measurements and I will build it this weekend". I measured away...only making one mistake. Pay close attention to this part....when measuring for a custom bench please remember that baseboards stick out further than the wall. Yes, I am a dumb dumb and measured from the brick to the wall. That made my bench about an inch too long. Lesson learned...now I am one step closer to being the bomb like my Pop.

Building the bench took him all of thirty seconds to build...the hard part was painting it. This could have taken less time if my helper would stop laying down on the job....

Memphis is a loyal companion...but a terrible painter. She leaves ear and tail prints everywhere!

After painting the bench all I needed was a cushion. You can do these several different ways, but I opted for a wood bottom, foam, and fabric. I knew that this bench would be climbed on every day and a sewn cushion would become misshapen. I purchased the wood at Lowes...they will cut it for you there. I wish I knew the type of wood I purchased...but all I know to tell you is that it wasn't a thick heavy piece of wood. (I know, I know...bad blogger).

Next I ordered fabric and foam. My personal favorite fabrics are the premier prints. They are heavier fabrics and seem to hold up the best in our house full of boys. The prints are precious!!

I ordered two yard of this FABRIC and this roll of FOAM. There was enough fabric left over to make some throw pillows from. 

This part is so simple you are going to wonder why I mentioned it to you. You take the foam, spray glue it to the piece of wood and cut off excess. Then lay it foam side down on the back of your fabric. Then wrap it like a present and use a staple gun to attach the fabric. Make sure you pull the fabric REALLY tight. That is the most important part. This part will be harder if you have stripes, you have to make sure that everything is straight or it will look wonky.

Since my pattern had straight lines in it, I triple checked and made sure it was lined up straight. Pulled the fabric super tight, and viola....

So, remember when I said I was a dumb dumb and measured wrong?? I had to call my Pop back....the bench WOULD NOT fit. You can do one of two things here...do it the right way and cut the bench down and make it the right size. This would have required me to trim my cushion down and repaint...and Memphis was not up for helping again. So we just removed the baseboard on the side. This only works because I do not plan to remove the bench when we move. If I change my mind we will have to add baseboard back. 

Chubby loves the bench. He thinks it is his new bed...and he loves finally being able to see out of the window. The window overlooks our driveway so he watches for people to come home.

I have added storage baskets to hold Xbox items, remotes, and random junk. My favorite part...it hides all of those ugly cords and modem! We replaced the flooring several months back, we will be adding shoe molding soon, and I will add some molding around the front of the bench so it will match.

All said and done the bench only cost us less than 60.00!!! If you have questions about how to actually build the bench you will have to ask Pop, he is the professional LOL!