Surprise! Another Caned Bench
I had just finished my bench a couple weeks ago when my sister brings over this little cutie. She found it curbside, a victim of the Ellicott City flooding (make sure you check out the video) in late May. It was about the same size as my last bench but it looked to be upholstered differently. I accept the challenge.
Compared to much of Ellicott City, this bench didn’t fare too badly, he looked like he had been standing in a few inches of water since the finish was totally removed from his toes. His top would have already needed replacing whether he had been in a flood or not.
The seat was noticeably saggy probably due to the ripped webbing on the underside.
Unscrew the top from the legs. That old stained fabric had to come off along with the webbing.
The fabric was really old and stained, held in place with tacks, not staples, but it wasn’t original. There were old tack holes signifying a past even older cover.
The padding wasn’t salvageable. There was old cotton batting covering some kind of hay padding.
Well looky there. all along I thought I was upholstering a bench that had the padding all the way to the edges and here the bench was just like the caned seat bench I did a couple weeks ago. The original caned seat must not have lasted very long before it was upholstered considering the finish on the wood.
Might as well finish this bench the same way I finished the last.
All the tack holes had to be filled in with Wood Filler
Sand when dry.
Cut a 1 inch board to cover up all the old caning leaving a nice border around the edge.
Using that board as a template, but adding an extra half inch to the width and length mark and cut your one inch foam. The extra quarter inch on all sides will keep the fabric from wearing against the sharp edge of the board.
For a nice rounded edge, trim off the edges on top of the foam.
Cut quilt batting large enough to wrap around the foam and board leaving a couple inches for stapling on the underside.
Use a few staples to tack in place.
I had this fabric leftover from a couple of kitchen stools I recovered recently.
Cut your fabric about the same size as the batting. Start stapling from the middle, pulling tight and alternating sides as you go, work your way into the corners.
If you have stripes on your fabric, make sure they’re straight before stapling.
I liked the cording around the last bench so much I decided to give this bench the same treatment. It didn’t hurt that I had just enough leftover fabric and cord already on hand.
Staple the cording in place.
I painted the bench with two coats of white chalk paint…
…then I sanded the edges for a little distressed look. Finish the chalk paint with a coat of clear wax.
Screw on the seat from the underside.
The bench on the right is the one from a couple weeks ago. The bird print makes more of an impact but the stripes would go with more of my decor.
Pick your favorite and start upholstering.
Stay inspired.
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I love the outcome of both benches. The tip on adding cording was so helpful. I think the cording really adds a special note (excuse the pun to piano bench) and enhances the look.