Thrift store upcycles are par for the course when it comes to cheap and easy DIY projects. However, a talented woman named Alicia recently took it a step further when she found an abandoned table on the side of the road and did something magical with it.
The table was in horrible condition, but she decided to take on the challenge of revamping it anyway.
Her whole project was first shared on Hometalk, and we have to say, it definitely got our attention!
Many people look at an old furniture item and see garbage. However, an expert crafter only sees potential. With Alicia’s skillful crafting, she took the dilapidated table and upcycled it into a beautiful bench for the corner of her home.
It was the perfect conversion!
The before and after pictures are something that you have to see for yourself.
To start, the piece of furniture was in pretty bad condition. Not only was it missing the glass pieces that fit on top, but it also had scratches and deep marks all over it.
Basically, the only thing left was a simple frame.
In order to revamp it, Alicia knew that she was going to have to start with the scratches.
She sanded everything down on the frame to get a fresh start. Then painted over it using a layering technique that covered up any remaining imperfections.
The next step was creating the cushion.
She used a typical foam cushion, likely from an old couch or something. She had to take three different types of cushion pieces and fit them together to make a rectangle. Then she attached them together using a layer of fabric and adhesive.
An additional layer of fabric was applied on top to smooth out any of the bumps and imperfections due to the mismatch of cushions underneath.
After it was all tightened down, it came out looking fantastic.
Now came the challenge of installing the cushion on the bench.
If Alicia just set it on top, it would be prone to sliding. No one wants that! However, she realized that if she used a couple of bolts, she could make what she calls a “drill hole bolt hold”.
In the bottom of the cushion, she attached four bolts which then slid down into four holes in the table frame below. That way, the cushion could be taken off with ease, yet, wouldn’t be able to slip off on its own.
The painting of the legs and frame were done separately to make sure that she didn’t miss any spots.
Then they were attached back on. Her layered painting assured that all of the leftover imperfections were completely covered up. However, she purposely didn’t paint inside the engravings on the wood. They were left their natural color so that they would still stand out.
After 24 hours of drying time, she went over everything with a clear wax to finish it off.
The end result was nothing short of incredible.
No one would ever guess that the little bench used to be a table.
Specifically, according to Alicia, it’s a “French custom multi-purpose bench” now. French country-style benches are typical in farmhouses and rural abodes in France. They are typically crafted from natural hardwood.
Alica’s French bench fits perfectly in her corner and looks amazing! While we haven’t personally tested it, we’d imagine that due to the size of the cushion, it’s probably quite comfortable to sit on too.
It’s a project that with a little bit of time and effort, anyone can complete. Next time that you are thinking of throwing out an old furniture piece, you might want to reconsider. After all, as this story goes to show, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.
Check out an additional picture of the beautiful table to bench upcycle below.
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