Here is the infamous Buffet Bench I created. I bought this at a local auction, and thought "what in the world am I going to do with this?" It was so hideous that I couldn't see it in my house, so I pondered for several weeks. One morning, when putting on my shoes, I thought.... A-HA! I can turn it into a bench to sit on while putting your shoes on. A definate plus with all the storage for all the hats and gloves etc. So... here is the transformation!

Step 1:

Here is the before picture :) Kinda ugly, Huh??

Step 2:

First step was to take the funky legs off of this beast. Sorry... I get a little crazy when I'm working :)

Step 3:

Next was to start sanding. Enough to take the old stain off, and rough enough for new paint to stick. Using a mixture of electric sanding and hand sanding, it came out pretty well.

Step 4:

Next step... PAINT! I used a mixture of techniques. Brushing on several coats of chocolate brown milk paint, and several coats of Dark Tung Oil.

Step 5:

So, I needed to add some detail work. I found 2 beautiful vintage French prints, so I uploaded them to my vinyl cutter "dude" and picked them up several days later. Now I could get started. I had him cut it opposite, so it created a "vinyl stencil". I took the cabinet doors off, and adheared them to the cabinet doors. Painted a couple coats of cream milk paint, and peeled the vinyl off, and viola!

Step 6:

Now on to the upholstery. I found this beautiful French inspired print, bought 2" eco-friendly foam, and got started. Spray adhesive on the bottom of the foam then stick it to the plywood that was cut to fit the top of the bench. The adhesive keeps the foam from moving around. Stapled the material in place.

Step 7:

Lastly I put the drawers back in, cupboard doors back on, screwed the upholstery in place from underneath, attached the fancy frilly design to the back of the bench... and DONE! Hope you all enjoyed this step-by-step for the Buffet Bench. Remember, go green... DON'T THROW ANYTHING AWAY! Make it beautiful!