Once upon a time I had a tv armoire. It was getting old and showing its’ age. Lot of bumps, knicks and other unprettiness. It was 10 years old and not the greatest piece. Probably 70% particleboard and veneer, 30% wood. I had tried to sell it twice on Craigslist with no bites. It was too heavy to even take to the curb in the hopes that someone would have pity on it (or me) and take it away. It was totally controlling the layout of my living room and I wanted it gone. Yesterday.

I was in the beginning stages of building a banquette for my kitchen, tossing around how I would get this project done. I planned on buying some cabinetry to build a bench with a back. Then one night I sat on my sofa sketching out some ideas and I happened to look across the living room at my tv armoire. The width was perfect, the depth was perfect and with some careful cutting the height would be too. I double checked my measurements and then called up my brother just to make sure this was feasible and to make sure he had the tools to make it happen. I got the go-ahead and we got to work cutting the cabinet into two pieces. 

I filled all the holes and sanded the entire piece to get it ready to paint. One coat of primer and three coats of glossy white paint and I had a bright and shiny new bench.

I replaced the hardware with some that matched the rest of my kitchen and then it was on to the fun part, fabric!

I decided on a geometric pattern with a lively color to brighten up my slightly dark kitchen. A Target Threshold tablecloth ended up being my fabric of choice.

With some help from my father I built the back of the bench. I wanted a tall comfortable back to add plenty of color and comfort to my kitchen table.

With some foam and my new fabric I upholstered the back and then attached the back to the wall.

The very last step was adding a cushion. I ordered some high density foam cut to size and created a no sew bench cushion. There were a lot of steps involved but very worth it! Follow the links to see how each individual step was completed.