How to restore a wooden bench with a rug (and without a sewing machine)!
Over the years I have reupholstered my benches using rugs instead of regular upholstery fabric.
I recently shared that I started a mini makeover in our bedroom…I’m trying to do as many small projects as possible without spending any money.This little bench makeover has worked out great !
I have a long upholstered bench that I have loved for years. I like the length and nice color of the legs, but the burlap type fabric has discolored with age.
Recently there was a bench in the basement.
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It came out a year ago from HomeGoods but has no brand name. Sorry, I can’t provide it for you!
my plan was to replace it This faux leather bench At the end of our bed we had:
I love it too, but the all metal legs were a little busy here. It was in. 🙂
I’ve been wanting to recreate this bench for a long time, so I’ve been looking for thicker upholstery. I didn’t find anything that had the look I wanted.
We needed a fabric that could withstand the use of both us as well as animals. Having used rugs to cover bench tops before, we had those in mind as possible fabric options. .
About a year ago, I found the perfect $15 thin rug at IKEA.
I’ve been thinking about this project every time I put my rugs in storage and touch the scratchy burlap, but I finally got around to this easy DIY recently. 🙂
My father gave me that little tool many years ago. It’s one of my favorites. I use it everywhere!
If the bar doesn’t go under the nail, use a hammer to hit the bottom. Once I had a few decorative nail heads out, the rest pulled off fairly easily.
You can also use pliers to remove such nails, but be careful not to damage them.
Once the old fabric came off, I quickly vacuumed the foam before starting to apply the new fabric over the bench.
The rug was already hemmed on all sides, so I put one of the finished edges up and reattached it with a nail head.
I don’t use it as much as I used to, but I like the simpler look. I saved all my nails in case I needed to use more.
Instead of being upholstered exactly like before (only covering the top section), I realized I liked the look of wrapping the fabric around the front and back of the bench.
I hope to get an electric stapler gun someday, this one is cheap and does the job!
I had support boards running under the benches, so I was able to use fabric scissors to snip off a bit of the rug and attach it around them.
Is the underside of the bench clean? not exactly:
Will someone lie on my floor and watch it? no. 😂
I love wrapping fabric around the long sides of the bench! For the non-hemmed side, I folded the fabric and hammered in the nail heads.
Reupholstery Tip: If you use a stripe pattern like this, be careful of the lines when pulling the fabric to the other side to avoid rippling the fabric.
Do not pull the fabric too tight when attaching it around the bench.
The rug cover holds up beautifully. Durable enough for animals and their claws, yet soft and comfortable to sit on.
Much better than the previous scratchy dough.
And there is still a lot of dough left for making pillows. 🙂
We really like the softer, simpler look…and since we bought the rug a long time ago, we think this is another free update!:
we absolutely love it! This room was very ‘settled’ with just these small changes…but with a few more things in mind.
I love moving things around and refreshing spaces! And these easy DIY makeovers were an easy way to redecorate this room.
Have you tried these bench reupholstery ideas? Great as a beginner’s do-over when starting a do-it-yourself project.
