Coffee Table Turned Window Seat

I'm totally excited about this little window seat I just finished for our craft & game room. I had started on it before Christmas, then it got put on hold during the holidays & I finally pulled it out of the garage & finished it this week. I love everything about it! And the fact that it's the perfect size makes it look like it was custom built for this space. Here it is, y'all:

And here's the breakdown from beginning to end:

I started with this unbelievable $5 coffee table that I came across a couple of months ago at Half-off Day at Goodwill. (I had already removed the glass inserts when I took this pic.)

I knew right away it was the perfect candidate for a future as a bench, especially because of the shelf underneath. There was so much potential I could hardly stand it.

So, I brought it home, sanded it, & gave it a couple of coats of Anjou Pear from Sherwin Williams. In case you missed it the last time I gave this tip, I'll share it again: for certain projects I save money & buy the color sample quart at Sherwin Williams, which is around $4. I know this is frowned upon by most paint experts, but I've done this on several projects & my local Sherwin Williams guy is the one who first suggested it to me. I usually only use the sample paint on projects where I know the painted finish won't get a lot of contact or abuse. Another option is to add a clear coat or finishing paste over the paint to give it more protection. For this table, I did a light glaze just like I did on my TV console here.

For the fabric for the cushion, I used a trusty canvas drop cloth from Lowes. The 4'x5' size was plenty of fabric & only cost $5.

Then I measured out the size that I needed to cover my 3 inch foam, plus an extra allowance for stapling underneath.

To get the stripes on the canvas, I ironed it smooth, then measured out & taped off the stripes with painter's tape, using the same painting method I used for my painted canvas rug I posted about last spring.

To create the bench top, we used a thin piece of particle board that we already had as the base. Plywood would probably be more ideal and more sturdy, but since we already had this on hand, we just used it. And since our coffee table had the holes where the glass had been, my husband also made some braces for reinforcement. (Isn't he cute?)

After that, I just wrapped the fabric around the foam & board & stapled it. Then, we screwed the bench top to the coffee table top & it was done!

Hope y'all like it. Throw pillows are coming soon! And I'm still dreaming of all the possibilities for underneath. And I think I have finally made up my mind about curtains for this room as well. Lots more fun coming up!

Thanks for stopping by-- I'm linking this up with a few of these parties.