I just had the lovely guys at Home Depot rip down a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood down into four 16" x 54" strips. The leftover pieces just so happened to be the perfect sizes for the legs of console table and and a bench. So with a couple of screws and wood glue, I threw the pieces together.

If you're looking at the picture above, you'll notice that there are a few extra pieces of wood thrown in there. Well, once I sat on the bench once it was put together like the console table, of course it didn't hold my 155 lb frame. So, I headed to HD, again, and picked up a couple of $2.00 1" x 4" pieces (and had them cut to size before I left). And with more screws and wood glue, we finally had supports for the bench that could hold not only me, but also the hubby. Yay!

But, it was at this point that Mr. Marcus told me that he would never sit on it if I didn't "get some soft stuff to go on top of it". So, I grabbed the fabric left over from the headboard project and started to think of how I could upholster this thing.

I promise you...the bench sat (sans soft stuff) for almost 2 weeks in our bed room. I knew how I wanted it to look, I just couldn't find the motivation (or the extra money) to do it. It would've taken 5' of 2" thick foam ($60 if I bought it at WalMart), a couple layers of batting (already had on hand), nail heads/upholstery tacks ($20), and a little spray adhesive ($4), and a SEWING MACHINE($$$!!!) Child, please!!! I know buying a sewing machine could be a pretty good "investment" considering how I love a good DIY project. But I wasn't willing to take the plunge on this project. Ruining the last little bit of fabric I had on hand was NOT an option. Now, if I went out and bought all of these materials, I would've been out of at least $85-$285; not to mention the time and frustration it would've taken to get the bench to look EXACTLY how I wanted.

Insert [here] a quick visit to the UPHOLSTER!

I was pleasantly surprised to find one actually in Poplar Bluff. (There are NO fabric stores, but we have an upholster...yeah.) All I did was drop off the bench and fabric (after I gave the sides a couple coats of spray paint), told him how I wanted it to look and that I wanted him to add nail head trim. And $70 and less than 24 hours later, I got this!!!

Ain't it PURTY!?!?! I loooove it! And it doesn't hurt that its more than a little comfortable.

Now, you know I pride myself on being a cheapo. But in this particular instance, I thought that my sanity and patience were definitely worth the $70...especially, since I wouldn't been out of more money if I did it myself.

Aaaannnnddd...I know it wouldn't have looked this good...even if I spent every waking moment on it.

So, that's our newest addition to the bedroom. A big thanks goes out to Jeff Allen at Ellison & Allen Furniture, here in Poplar Bluff. He was super nice and couldn't have done a better job. We've had it for a few days, now, and Mr. Marcus has given his two thumbs up. I'm glad his butt approves. So do you guys have a thing about sitting on the bed? Do you have a special place to put on your shoes or throw your clothes at the end of a long day? Share and share alike!

Xoxo

Coco