Monday, July 5, 2010

A Hand-Me-Down Bench

A little fact about me; I LOVE learning about my family's history.  I could look into genealogy all day long and never get bored.  I'm the girl that could sit and listen to my Grandparents for hours talking about their parents and their childhood.  I jut love all that stuff.  So when I get an heirloom from one of my grandparents I treasure it.

Well, several years ago now I inherited an heirloom of sorts...my Gramma gave me a sewing bench/stool....even though I didn't own a sewing machine.  So as you could imagine the little bench just sat and sat -- it moved from room to room and then house to house.  I always had it in the back of my mind to redo it, but never did.  Well now that I have a sewing machine (thanks to my ultra sweet hubby!) I for sure wanted to use the little bench.  Especially when I found out the bench used to be my Great Grandma's, and then my Gramma's and now mine.  I thought about all the little things my Gramma had sewn for me over the years and imagined her sitting at the same bench working away....and then I imagined her mother using the SAME bench.  Maybe not exciting for you -- but for me -- I couldn't be more excited!

But the little hand-me-down bench needed a little recovering -- it was just looking a little plain and well, a little sad.



The coolest thing about this bench is it opens up and has tons of storage for spools and bobbins and such (sorry no pictures!).  I began by removing all the staples that held the vinyl fabric onto the bench.

Now this is where it gets interesting.  As I removed the fabric and pulled it off the frame of the bench....a picture of five children fell out.

Hmmmm....who are these people?  I honestly have no clue -- but I'm SO excited to bring the photo over to my Gramma and Grampa's to find out.  I seriously felt like I was in a movie..or a really bad soap opera -- well, minus all the glamor.  I was in the hot, dirty garage in my paint clothes, hair a mess and listening to my husband's cranked up music while he washed his car.  I'm guessing had this been a scene in Hollywood, I would have been in some hot-off-the runway, impractical outfit; hair just perfectly styled; neatly taking my fabric off of my bench, in my immaculate workshop/craft room...oh, and some strings playing in the background.  Not one thing in that kind of scene is like me -- my projects are usually include a disaster area that looks like a tornado came through.  Although, I must say, I much prefer real life!

So for now I have no idea who these people are -- even my dad didn't know.  So it's a mystery for now.

But back to the makeover (that is of course why your reading, yes?).  I decided to recover the little bench and paint the legs.  I scored some FABULOUS savings at Joanne's on my fabric -- I found a remnant that was just perfect for my bench and the best part is -- it was $3.49 -- oh yes, that's right -- $3.49 for some wonderful fabric -- I love a good deal!

Reattaching the fabric was pretty easy -- I just stapled the fabric on the inside and pulled it taut.


Didn't it turn out perfect??  I'm LOVING my new bench -- I can't wait to use it! 


Total cost for the whole thing?  $3.49 for the fabric and $2.10 for the elastic around it.  $5.59 total (plus I get a hopefully interesting story when I find out who's in that picture!)


I'm linking up to these parties today.





46 Hand-Me-Downers Shared:

Decorchick! said...

Looks great Amanda! Love that fabric! Can't wait to hear who the mystery kids are. haha.

Great job! :)

Nikki@KreativeKnack said...

Oh! This is cute! I just scored one of these too, and just took the fabric off yesterday! ...but no interesting finds for me :) Love the fabric! Come over to my place soon, to see how mine turns out ;) Have a lovely day!

Katie Olthoff said...

Adorable! I'm really curious about who those people are, too!

And I like your new header, but you spelled project wrong. :)

Pam - @diy Design Fanatic said...

Very cute Amanda! Now it has personality!!!

Alison @ Welcome Sunshine Home said...

I love the bench redo. It's got some sass now! :)

Nana's Fun Stuff said...

Oh Amanda it turned out so cute!!! What a special keepsake. I look forward to hearing who is in the pictures when you find out :) I just love finding out the stories behind things. Have a great day!! ~ Hugs Laura

Unknown said...

Cute bench and interesting story! Link up to our sister sister party if you have a chance,

Thanks,
Amanda
http://blog.kuzakscloset.com/2010/07/sister-sister-sunday-what-we-cant-live.html

Bette said...

that bench looks great. I am intrigued to find out who is in that picture too. If you have a chance come check out the newest addition to our family. He is a cutie if I do say so myself!

Elizabeth said...

So cute, Amanda...great job!!

I, too, love to listen to family history, and HAVE spent hours on the computers on ancestry.ca...I have found out so much about my family's history! Honestly, I was getting excited reading about your discovery. :) Keep us updated!

Fonda @Southern Scraps said...

Thanks for sharing. We have one of these benches in the family that belonged to my aunt. I'd like to bring it to my house, but it's a pretty horrible fabric/color. So glad to know how easy it will be to redo!

Pam said...

Your newly covered sewing bench is lovely. Also lovely is the fact that you are reusing something your Grandmother once used. Keeping things useful and in mind is the best way to honor hand me downs. :) Following along now. Pam @ Sallygoodin

Meredith said...

What a great looking sewing bench, and with history! I am fascinated that a picture fell out; I can't wait for you to discover who those people are! Thanks for sharing.

Becca at One Girl said...

What cute fabric! LOVE IT

Nancy said...

how neat?

When you put on the new fabric, did you slip in a picture of your family?

Vanessa said...

I love that fabric! Awesome job!

Jensamom23 said...

You will spend many happy hours using that stool with all the memories. You did a terrific job making it your own. What a treasure to have...and a mystery to boot!
Blessings!

Unknown said...

That fabric is adorable..where did you get it?

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple said...

I love how it turned out!! The fabric is just great!

Katie said...

That is so neat to find that picture in there! I love the new fabric!

Cassie Bustamante said...

that looks sooo cute! i love the bold fabric!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

awww, how cute your bench turned out, and so sweet that it has been in your family for so long.
gail

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

Oh, how cute! I would definately like that in my house!

Desiree said...

what an adorable little bench! great job :-)

-Desiree

Recaptured Charm said...

Turned out fantastic! I had an Aunt who use to hide money in her furniture..lol As nice as it is to find a long lost picture, too bad it wasn't a few hundred dollar bills! At least it will be a memorable project when you discover who the children are!
Lisa

AUDRA said...

love it!

KimMalk said...

How sweet. It's fun that you found a mystery photo, too. I'd love it if you liked up to Fabric Fun Thursday :).

Nikki said...

You always have the cutest fabric!!!!! Thanks for linking up! :)

Kelli W said...

Very cute! I love the fabric you chose!

Unknown said...

You did a great job! Thanks for joining us for Anything Related #14!! ~Bridgette

Stephanie Cameron said...

How interesting! I hope you are able to find out who they are!!

Emily @ Finding My Aloha said...

This is fabulous! I love the fabric so fun! Kuddos to you for stepping outside the box and giving color and pattern a chance! :)

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving me a little note! I love hearing from you! You were so encouraging!

Mark and Ashlie said...

What a difference! Thanks so much for stopping by and linking up to Sister Sister today! Come back on Sunday!

Leslie said...

OHHHH so cute! I love how adorable this bench turned out! Thanks for linking up to Hoo's got talent!

mle said...

Great makeover - Love the fabric on the bench! Suspense & intrigue wrapped up in a sassy little number... sounds Hollywood to me!: )

Claudia Almandoz Gerbolini said...

AAAHHHHH!!!!!!! I love, love , love this. It´s a wretched shame that where I live buying old, wrecked furniture is expensive. That´s one of the things I miss about living in the States. Thanks for inspiring!
Clau
http://handmadeconamor.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

What a fab idea and a cute little stool!

Hannah
http://youngancrafty.blogspot.com/

Julie @ Frugal and Fabulous Design said...

Amanda, I am constantly amazed at your projects! When do you sleep?

Thanks for linking up to Fab Friday!

Jess said...

Just wanted to let you know I featured this today on Favorite Things Friday! If you would like a Featured button stop by and pick one up! Thanks!

thriftytickle said...

Super job, so cute! I love sewing stools. I did a makeover on one too which you can see here.
:)

Nicole Joelle said...

That's so cute! I want one :)

Yanet @ 3 Sun Kissed Boys said...

I like the fabric. Great job!

Paula said...

Double WOW! You did a fantastic job on the refashion, but I'm hooked on the story of that picture! I've just spent two days researching my family history online and you unexpectedly find a gem of a mystery while recovering a stool! Wow! I like one of your commenter's idea...put in a picture of your family!

Unknown said...

I love how this turned out, so nice to hear about your family as well. Great job!

Megan said...

so great! I love that there is a history behind it too! I'm featuring your project tomorrow on crazydomestic.com. Feel free to grab our "I was featured" button!

Just me... Bigbee said...

What an adorable tranformation! My in-laws have a bench that is VERY simliar. I think I will share your transformation with my mother in law... maybe she'll let me do a little updating to her bench :).

PS- Great blog- I just became a follower.

Brittany H said...

Adorable. I love easy recoveries like this. inspiring since I'm on the beginning level of DIY. don't even have a house yet... but I can't wait til I do so I can do awesome stuff like this!

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