This is my final No-Spend January Project recap and it’s one of my favorites! Yes I know it’s now March, but life happened and I’m just getting to sit down and write this up.  I’d had this project in mind for a while and had gathered all of the supplies we’d need over several months. It was just a matter of actually spending the time to put it all together.

We started with the legs, which we picked up unfinished at the hardware store for around $7 each. I decided to stain them with an oak color we had on hand and then did a light coat of rose gold paint to give it a little sparkle and depth. The hubs created this genius holder so I could do the whole leg at once and leave it to dry! It’s just a piece of scrap lumber with holes to hold the threads on the tops of the legs. (Notice my last no-spend project there in the background?  You’ll see the pedestals mid-painting in the background in one of the upcoming pictures too!)

Next we attached the legs to a simple box structure the hubs built based on the dimensions we’d taken to fit the foot of our bed. He used scrap 2×4’s for the frame and a piece of plywood for the top.

I’d found a huge section of foam for just $3 at a rummage sale, which was a much better bargain than the pre-cut pieces that sell for $25 or more and weren’t the right size. We cut a piece of the foam to fit and used spray adhesive to attach it to the top of the box frame.  And as you can see behind the bench, there’s still plenty of foam left over for future projects!

Since I planned to upholster around the sides of the box, I wanted it to have a bit of cushion too.   A layer of batting accomplished that and made the edges of the foam less square. We realized the next few steps would work better without the legs so we removed them and stapled the batting down on the underside of the frame, pulling it tight as we went. It took us a few tries to figure out exactly how we wanted to wrap the ends, but we finally figured out the method that involved the least amount of bunching.

Next came the outer fabric, which had been a shower curtain I picked up at good will for around $4. I chose this material because it seemed to have a bit more tear resistance, which was important with three dogs and a cat! We stapled down either side of the fabric avoiding the staples from the under layer of batting.

Just like the batting, we tried several methods of folding the ends before deciding on one that kept the lines of the fabric straight. We had to cut a bit of excess fabric from the folds to keep things smooth, but the end result turned out pretty good.

Finally we reattached the legs by cutting holes where the threads attached to the frame and screwing them back on. (Notice that antique table we’re using as a work bench?  I snagged that just before Christmas for $20 and plan to refinish it as a nightstand for our guest room!)

Now we have a custom bench along the foot of our bed, which is the perfect place to hold all those extra pillows each night! Which also keeps the fur babies from using it as a launching pad onto the bed!  🙂