$3 Garage Sale Table Frame Goes Bench

$3 Table Frame Turns to Bench
Hi DIY’ers! Today, we are going to share our $3 garage sale table frame we turned into a bench. As you all know, our daughter is getting ready for her own place, and we are starting to put the pieces together for the big move in. At a garage sale, we found a $3 table frame treasure! The old metal table frame that was silver and gold, was turned to bright and beautiful family project!
Needs List:
-Old table frame (We found ours at a garage sale)
-Steel Wool
-Paint with Primer (any color you like)
-Clear spray sealer
-Gray Spray Paint (you can use any color you like)
-¾” Plywood 2 ft x 4 ft long (hardware store or scraps from the garage)
-Mod Podge Glue (or your favorite adhesive glue)
- 2 ft x 4 ft piece of 5 inch high density foam
-Batting
- 4 sheet metal screws
-2 yards of fabric (your choice – when you go shopping don’t forget your coupon to have an even bigger savings!)
What we did:
First, scratch the metal table frame with steel wool so the paint will adhere better to the slick surface. We also had plastic circles we had to pop out of our table that we also rubbed with steel wool. We then spray painted the circles with RustoleumⓇ Paint and Primer in one in a Metallic Nickel color.
After scratching up the surface, we hand-painted the frame using BehrⓇ Paint and Primer in one, in the color Hazelnut Cream (the same color we used in the ottoman project) because Crysta decided she wanted paint strokes in the piece giving that wood look. When the paint was dry, we sprayed the piece with a clear sealer so the paint has a protective layer, protecting it from scratching. Then we hammered the plastic circles back into place after painting silver.
To get our bench top we cut a 2′x4′x3/4″ piece of plywood (Crysta’s first time cutting wood). We had to trim about two and a half inches off so our foam and plywood matched the same dimensions. This also gave us about a one inch overhang on each side so we could easily attach our fabric which you will see in later steps. After the wood and the foam were the same length, we secured the plywood to the metal frame by drilling holes in both the wood and the frame and attached using sheet metal screws. With a metal frame this is important so the two pieces (the wood and the metal) have a better bond.
We secured the wood, and then glued the 5 inch high density foam we purchased from Joann’s Fabric that was ½ price (we love a sale!). We used this foam to top the plywood seat, covering the foam with white batting so the green foam color would not show though the fabric (sometimes the white foam is hard to find).
Last, we added our fabulous fabric of chevron print of grey and cream. We purchased the fabric from one of our favorite craft stores, Hobby Lobby for $8.98 a yard (we had a whopping 40% off coupon lowering that fabric down to our price range), using 2 yards, we covered the foam and stapled under the 1” over hang, giving us this beautiful finished bench.
With all materials the total cost of this piece was under $40, and to think, it all started with a $3 garage sale find. Thanks for stopping Hello I Live Here – Happy projects!
Linda