Oilcloth Covered Breakfast Nook Benches: DIY

Happy Friday! I can’t believe it is already the weekend again. I thought it was Tuesday for most of the day yesterday, then some friends set me straight. It’s amazing how time just keeps rolling along, regardless of what we fill it up with.

This little project went from a thought crossing my mind to a finished product in about a week. It all began when I saw the adorable breakfast nook in this house tour. It was one of about a million things I loved about the house, and one that I realized I could incorporate-in my own way-into our little space right now.

We live in 950 square feet, so the dining area isn’t exactly formal. More like a swatch of rug-covered carpet (yes, carpet) that extends beyond the kitchen. I love my apartment to pieces, but have always had a tricky time fitting enough chairs between the wall of the kitchen and the blasted air vent that extends a good 7″ off of the wall under the window (in every.single.room.) Stationary benches were just the ticket to maintain/increase seating while using up about a foot less space. A grand idea. And perfect in a small, cozy room.

I hunted for benches on craigslist for a day or two, and came up short. All of the “dining benches” were priced higher than I wanted to pay. And the regular “benches” were usually garden style, with arms and a back. I found this one at K-Mart that actually matches the style of our table really well, but I wasn’t totally sold on it. And then, one last search on craigslist pulled up these beauties. Okay, they are not beautiful at all, but $15.00 for two, how could I resist? (don’t mind the dangling sparkles. I left the Shiny and New decor up all month:)

The benches are well made of solid wood and the stain even matches our table somewhat. They came from a hotel remodel, and the upholstery was actually quite nice and new, just ugly. All I needed to do was cover the ugly up with awesome (and wipeable as an added bonus!)

With one and a half yards of this fun oilcloth I was able to cover both benches-in about 20 minutes. I simply unscrewed the seat from the legs, laid it face down on the inside of the oilcloth, pulled tight and began stapling. I did both short ends, then the long ends, and left the corners for last so I could fold them nicely-like a present- and tuck them under before stapling. New sewing, no measuring, no glueing. Just me, my screwdriver and my stapler.

Once I put the table and chairs back in place, couldn’t believe how much more sense it made to have a benches. They are comfortable, cozy, and bright. Not to mention the extra walking space that we now have on the other side of the table. It’s the best!

The family is so smitten, we all sort of want to sit on the new benches- so we do. Shoulder to shoulder is the new cool way to eat! (Don’t be fooled into thinking Dave and I enjoyed this delicious cake and ice cream together all romantic-like. I just put his out for the photo, then back into the freezer for when he came home from work a few hours later. My plate looked lonely by itself:)