The winners of the Shaklee giveaway are:
Kendra @ My Insanity
Woodards
Mandalyn @ The Mommy Princess
Lil Eskimo@ Lil’ Eskimo in Texas
Anne @ Anne Strawberry
Faith @ Faithfull Mama
Sunnie75
Winners you have 48 hours to contact me at tnbfarrant@yahoo.com.
I found this piece of furniture about a year ago at a yard sale. It has been sitting at the foot of my bed waiting for its turn in line to be made beautiful.
It is actually meant to be used as a TV stand for a large television.
It was made by IKEA, but is no longer in production. It is called Oppli and used to retail for $129. I found it for $15. However, it is not solid wood, but rather, laminate pressed board.
But that is okay, I loved the fact that it is sturdy, has wheels, is very wide and has little compartments to put baskets inside. So what if it is a TV stand?…I can solve that problem 😉
I took out the two media shelves and then I sanded the entire “bench” down with 180 grit sandpaper. I was very meticulous and got in every crease and crevice. Then I put two coats of primer on it and let it dry overnight. Then I painted it using Dutch Boy’s Refresh Line, in Antique White. I did not paint the top since it was going to be covered in fabric.
Using my electric knife I cut the foam to size.
Next I covered the foam with some batting to soften the hard-edged corners, then I placed my fabric on top of the batting. Trying to keep the fabric as straight as possible, I stapled the fabric underneath the top edge
After I stapled it all around, I trimmed it as close as I possibly could to the staples.
Because this isn’t really made to be a bench and because my son sits on this and watches TV I decided to cover the staples with some trim I had on hand. I used my hot glue gun to secure the trim in place.
I added some baskets and the box that I covered last week to the three openings.
The striped fabric coordinates with the pillows on the bed. It is a Waverly Print. It is part of the Harmony Spa collection. Yes I know I need a headboard…it is on that list I was talking about 😉
Now it is the perfect place for my son to watch his morning show because mommy is too lazy to get out of bed and wants another half hour of sleep and have a snack.
And yes my bed is high…I like being the Princess and the Pea.
ohhh beckie! I love how it turned out! You did a great job.
gail
How nice! I've thought about using one of those for a bench.
OMG why didn't I think of this 6 months ago! We used a cheapy TV stand at the foot of our bed (just because it didn't have anywhere else to go) for ages before finally giving it away. Now I miss it because I don't have anywhere to put stuff except for on the bed – I so could have done this!
Wow! That turned out beautifully! I have a little laminate nightstand that I'm going to paint up and turn into a kid kitchen. I was planning on sanding it first too. Glad to hear that it worked well for you.
Love this post! What a good idea and well executed!
That looks so great! I love the fabric colors!!
Love it, Beckie!!! I have the exact same IKEA coffee table/entertainment center (got it for free from a friend who was moving to the States as I moved to my apartment in Germany)… and we use it the same way! Well, at the side of our bed not the foot, BUT if Amy hadn't moved so far away from me I would have traded her more violin lessons for sewing and had her make a similar cushion for the top. LOVE!
looks great! you know what else you could do? you could plop a strip of that rubber grippy drawer liner stuff on top of the 'not-bench' (what is it really even called??), under the cushion, to keep it from sliding without marring the not-bench with glue/nails/staples to keep it on and to keep your son from shooting off and howling from the concussion and bleeding on the floor as this would most certainly make you have to wake up. Yuck, that would not be good at all-um, for your son of course…totally all about him and not the extra sleep that we NEED in order to "be a nicer mommy" (that might be the way i like to justify the "turn on Dora and shhhhh, please" morning moments)
Sweet! Keep it coming. We are moving in a week, and I am going to be all over this site while decorating. If it were me, I would have just sanded it and spray painted it. Why the primer? Educate me. I need it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Oh Beckie, what a great find and what a great job you did. I should give you a (small) list of things I have been trying to find, you seem to hit some great things with your yard sale finds and your road kill. Love that fabric.
That is an awesome idea! I love it, and I think the morning snack so mommy can stay in bed longer is an even better idea 😀
That looks amazing. Totally cute. What a great idea. I'm sure your little guy loves it as much as you do … but for different reasons! Love your bed too. Love that it's so high!
You rock…seriously this post couldn't have come at a better time. I scored a super sturdy laminate "bench" for the foot of my bed on craigslist for free the other day. I planned to sand it and paint it but didn't know the best way to go about painting laminate! This will essentially look exactly like yours does…it has the cubbies and everything! Don't know if I'm gonna upholster the top or just make a cute toosh pillow for it. Maybe use it for an impromptu changing table for middle of the night diaper changes! I'm giving myself all kinds of ideas!! 🙂 Thanks!!
This looks fantastic!!!
How awesome is this? I have a shoe bench from Ikea that I was wondering if I could do this with! Now I know I can! LOVE it!!
It looks SOOOOO cozy!!!!!! I took an old bookshelf from Target, slapped it on it's side and put a body pillow on top of it. Perfect fit!! My husband thought I was psycho, but he's getting used to me! :)))
that came out really great! I like it a lot!
p.s. I think it was so nice of you to respond to my blog comment!
Great improvement over the $15 find. It looks really nice and expensive!
Wow! I love it. You are so creative, and come up with the best projects. I always see these little 'stands' on craigslist! Now I have another project on my 'to do' list! thanks for sharing!!
~Kelli
You are so creative!!! I would of never of thought to do something like that! It turned out great. Nice job!
Bonnie
I LOVE it!! and I love the colors in your room!!
Our bed is super high too. I have to climb over the foot of the bed to get onto it. Great job on your bench!
Great idea! I really want a bench like that at the foot of my bed.
I LOVE this!!!!!! I have stalkity stalked you with painting doorknobs and other things, I just wanted to make sure that you know that you rock!
So…why sand this and use the über-primer on the TV stand? I have a (what I think is) laminate VHS cabinet that I'm dying to refinish. 🙂
Hey I was wondering.. did you staple the top and then put it on the bench.. you know how ikea has the pre drilled holes with the thingy you put in the whole to hold the screw/bolt.. well i was wondering how to do this and still be able to put it on the base. OR did you just staple it in place?
did you staple it in place? or did you remove the top staple it, then put it back on. if it was the latter.. how in the heck did you do it?> wondering because of the predrilled holes ikea makes to put the thingy in that holds the screw/bolt… i am doing it to a tv stand that I am turning into a toy box/window seat with bookshelves on either side to create a reading nook for my daughters room… so if you could tell me how you did it that would be GGRRRRRREEEEAAAATTT!!!! (imitating tony the tiger- hehe)
I love you! I wish we were neighbors or sisters or something. I just found the Saarinen Tulip table knockoff that Ikea sells for $179 for $20 at Goodwill and wanted to see how to paint it. You are awesome. Thanks for a great site.