You know those furniture makeover stories that start with an amazing find on craigslist … or the thrift store … or a garage sale … or some freebie snagged from the side of the road?  The ones that talk about the ‘great bones’ or an ‘interesting curvature of a leg’ but it ‘just needs some TLC’?

Yeah, this isn’t one of those stories.

Instead it’s about taking an ugly particle board and plastic laminate chest and giving it a rich, updated look with some paint, poly, and fun fabric …

This is what I started with:

Hard to believe I hauled this thing all the way to Chicago from New Jersey.  Must be some silly sentimental attachment because it was one of the very first-ever furniture purchases I made for my very first-ever grown-up apartment.

Since the surface of the bench was – for the most part – a plastic-like substance, I skipped the sanding and gave it a coat of this super-sonic-will-withstand-an-apocalypse primer from Zinsser …

… followed by two coats of the same black satin I used on the closet door …

I lightly distressed around the edges with sandpaper …

.. and then used some of the stain that I used on the stairs (see here) and wiped it over the distressed areas with a rag.  I immediately wiped it off with a clean rag.  I liked that you can see some of the white of the primer, but wanted to tone it down a bit …

After a coat of satin poly applied with a foam brush, I got started on the custom cushion and pillows …

The bench seat was made from two 15 x 17 pieces of foam I found at JoAnn’s.  The fabric, on the other hand, was a bit harder to come by …

…  I had to cyber stalk that Michael Miller pattern.  I kept hitting a “sold out” wall …

The pillows are simple envelope pillows that I stitched up.  The red and gray pillows were given a few felt-covered buttons for added interest.

In the end, the bench works perfectly with the new entry design (which you can read more about here) …

It offers a functional place to sit and put on shoes …  and provides a place to store backpacks out of sight.

The best part:  It gives this first impression of our home a great punch of color.

P.S. If you’re visiting from one of the link parties, then I hope you’ll click here and join me and five  incredibly talented bloggers in our collective “Imagine the Impossibilities” challenge.  It all culminates in a January 31 multi-blog link party … so you better get started.  No pressure.

Looking forward to learning more about your “impossibility” …

Linking up:
Jennifer Rizzo
Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic
Meg and Mums
Funky Junk Interiors
Domestically Speaking
Kammy’s Korner
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Savvy Southern Style
Primitive & Proper
Shabby Creek Cottage
The Shabby Nest
Homemaker on a Dime
A Bowl Full of Lemons
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