The Steen Style

I am so excited about this makeover – it is a piece we received from Conner’s grandma! In addition to the bar cart we got from Memaw, we also received this side table that was used in her formal living room. Years and years of family traditions happened in that room and it is an honor to have a piece from that special room.

This is the table. It sat next to the two chairs Conner’s family always sat in at Christmas. The chairs are low so the table is low as well. After looking over it, I realized this would be a perfect bench/footstool! I really liked the shape of it and knew the top would be great covered with foam and fabric.

I keep seeing pictures of console tables with stools layered underneath and I love that look! This table gave me the perfect opportunity to recreate that image but it would need a little update to really make it what I wanted it to be.

I started by turning the table upside down and spray painting the bottom with several coats of pure white paint. What I wasn’t expecting was the brass trim on the bottom to come off – whoopsies! There were only two small staples holding the brass piece on the table and I guess the weight of the spray paint made it pop right off.

After putting on another coat of paint so the newly uncovered bottom would be white as well, it was time to upholster the top. I really wanted to try and tuft it (there are some amazing tutorials online!) but after looking at how the legs were attached and their position, it was going to be a nightmare to start with this table as my first tufting experience. So, I went with the ol’ foam, batting and fabric with no tufted buttons.

The foam I got from Hancock’s was 2″x22″x22″ but the top of my table was 20.5″ so I laid the table upside-down on top of the foam, drew an outline with my marker, then cut off the excess. Once it was cut, clearly not in a straight line!, I laid out a piece of batting, followed by the foam, then upside-down table and stapled it all together. I definitely wanted to do the fabric separately so I could make sure it was as straight and tight as possible.

Once the foam and batting were attached, I started stapling on the fabric. Going one side at a time, I pulled as tight as possible and stapled at random. The corners were done as best and carefully as possible, tucking and folding to make it look as nice as possible. I think this step is up to each person – you have to decide what type of fold you like best and just go with it! Hopefully you can recreate the same fold on each corner – always my biggest challenge!

Side note: My mom has been kind enough to let me borrow her air-compressor with staple gun for the past 6 months and man, has it come in handy or what?! Thanks, mom!

Here is a top view of the fabric after I stapled it onto the table. It has some really weird shadow – sorry about that! I really love the colors in this fabric and the pattern. I purchased it from my new favorite online resource – Tonic Living. It was only $9.95/yd, heck of a deal!

This was a pretty easy and quick project, always my favorite! Here is another shot of the sofa table with side table before…

And the after! Love it!! I’m happy I picked a fabric with some really good color to it. I’m always drawn to my favorite color palatte of grey, tan and white so bringing in other colors makes the living room a little brighter!

Here’s a little cost breakdown for this super quick DIY project: table – Free, fabric – $9.95, foam – $14.99, batting – Free (already had it on hand). Total cost – only $24.94! Now that I’m looking at this – I need to really do something about those cords from the lamp. Anyone know the best way to tack them down to the legs on the table?

Linking up to:

Home Stores A2Z Tutorials & Tips Tuesday

The Shabby Creek Cottage’s Transformation Thursdays