Reupholstering the church pew...

It feels nice to finally have my dining area finished.  It was a battle that took all summer long, but I think it finally paid off--I've been eating in there if that counts.

;) 

I really wanted this area to be more open and inviting and I wanted to create a space that was original and unique--and I guess I wanted to incorporated a lot of spunked up furniture in the area too.

Because...that's how I roll. 

:)))

 So here's the skinny on the pew.

I got it last April and for about five months it sat in my dining area. It clashed with everything; and it had that nice dingy old church smell to it.

very zesty, I tell ya....

I would apologize to people when they would come over. Hunk finally told me to just get my hiney in gear and reupholster the sucker.

When I finally decided to reupholster it I decided to keep the original fabric on the benches for two reasons.

 First, pulling all of the staples out of the original fabric was totally not worth the effort. Second, because the original fabric was thin, putting another layer over the top of it didn't seem to make it too bulky.

Basically a win-win for all.

 Once I started started stapling the new fabric on the benches I used my trusty Stanley Staple. Total necessity for anyone doing at-home upholstry.

This stapler can be picked up at any hardware store and make sure to get staples that can be used for reupholstry. Sorry, I don't know what size I used, the box just said that it could be used with furniture.

Obviously, I am not a professional.

;)

 When stapling, I started from the center and worked my out. This way I pulled all the bumps out of the fabric and I was able to stretch the fabric to the corner to give the benches a more clean and finished look.

When I got to the each corner I stopped stapling about three inches from each corner.

 I stopped stapling before I got to the corners so I could cut and fold over the corners so the fabric would have a more finished look. When I cut the fabric I made sure to cut it straight across. The piece that I cut off ended up looking like a triangle. (My scissor angle is kind of off in the picture).

 Once I cut the tip of the corner I then used my staple gun to staple at the center of the corner.

 The bulky areas on both sides of the stapled area were then folded across and stapled down so they would lay flat.

This was my first corner, I promise it got better as I went along. My eighth corner looked awesome, go figure my camera battery would die at that moment.

And after multiple paint jobs, pinching my leg with the stapling gun, and lots of fights over the blue paint I finally finished my lovely pew.

And if you were curious my paint colors for my dining area are:

Martha Stewart Wrought Iron

Martha Stewart Sultana

Martha Stewart Popcorn

Thanks for stopping by!

Check out the table transformation here