Week 19: Chair bench

Posted by Newsroom Staff February 22, 2019

Do you love to Upcycle items?  Are you Creative?  Do you want to be creative but haven’t figured out how?  Come to our upcycle nights.  Held each month on the 4th Thursday.  This month we will be painting wood frame glass windows or making flower boxes out of file cabinets.  Upcycle nights are $20 per person and you take home what you create!  Register at https://www.roguevalleyhabitat.org/

Chairs to Entry Bench

Intermediate project

Time 3 hours

Supplies –

Rustoleum spray paint
Foam cushion
Upholstery Fabric
Allen wrench
Heavy duty stapler
Staples
Razor knife
Scissors
Screwdriver
Screws
Drill bit for predrilling screw holes
2 old chairs metal or wood
Sand paper
Jig saw
Circular or table saw
Plywood at least ½ in thick

This is a great project for beginners!  I pulled 4 chairs and a table from the recycle pile.  The metal chair and table frames were headed out!  Perfect opportunity to create a bench out of 2 old chairs!

  1. Take old seat cushion off.
  2. Sand chairs
  3. Dust off or wipe down.
  4. In a well ventilated area, Spray paint all areas of chairs.
  5. Allow to dry.  May need 2nd coat.
  6. Place chairs how you would like the back to be on your bench.  I chose to have the chair backs as sides of the bench.  You can also use the chairs as backs of the bench.
  7. Measure the Width and depth of the board you will need to create the bench seat.
  8. Cut out board.
  9. Use a circle or protractor to cut corners into round edges.
  10. Lay foam cushion on workbench. Place board on cushion. Trace board onto cushion.  Add additional ½ in extra of cushion all around edge of board.
  11. Cut out cushion.  Try to keep edges as straight as possible.
  12. Move cushion from workbench and lay out fabric face down.  Place cushion on fabric.  Place board on cushion.
  13. Wrap fabric around cushion and board, leaving 3 inches of material on each side.
  14. Fold over raw edges, working on one side at a time, us staple gun to staple fabric on board 1 inch from edge of board.  Adjust tension and fabric as you go. Keep fabric smooth by holding tight before stapling.
  15. Complete staple process on sides and ends before stapling corners.
  16. When all edges are stapled and pulled tight, you can now work on corners. Adjust material at corners and staple into place.
  17. When chair is dry, place cushion on chairs, center and clamp to chairs.
  18. Turn your bench over and predrill holes through holes in chair frames.
  19. Use screws to hold bench cushion to frames.
  20. Turn back over and add comfy pillows!

Projects that you see are all created with donated items to Habitat for Humanity in Medford, Oregon.  We would love your new and gently used furniture, couches, chairs, dressers, tables, sporting goods, remodel items  and so many more!  All items donated are then cleaned, upcycled, placed in our Restore for public purchase.  Through your support, families in your community and around the world partner with Habitat for Humanity to build the strength, stability and independence they need for a better future.

If you are interested in volunteering in our Upcycle workshop, Restore or on one of our partner home builds, please come to Orientation that is held on Wednesday’s at 4pm in our affiliate office. Or call (541)779-1983

See you in the workshop!

Deana
Recycle/Repurpose Manager
Rogue Valley Habitat for Humanity

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Skip to content