Playroom: Seating Bench Part 2

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day and were able to enjoy some quality time with the ones you love!  Spending time with my family was numero uno for this gal and just enjoying each others company...sappy I know, but I can't get enough of my family.

Last Friday, I left you with the transformation the Expedit shelves have taken in our playroom and the next step we were planning for the bench.

I am so excited I have to show you the bench seat in all its glory....don't worry I will go through the step-by-steps of this beauty!!

To assemble the bench there were a couple of options...one being to sew and since sewing is not my speciality I decided to go the route of stapling the fabric to a MDF board.  From start to finish, the bench took me less than 30 minutes to complete.  The longest part was lining up the foam/MDF board to the right spot on the fabric.  So step one, lay out the fabric print side down.

Step two and three, lay down the foam and then the MDF board. 

Now it is just a matter of pulling the fabric tight and getting your staple into the MDF board.  My hubbie helped hold the fabric while I stapled....definitely helped having the extra pair of hands!!

For the next step, I decided to trim the remaining fabric and then fold it over and staple again - I didn't want this fabric to move!!  As you can see, it isn't the prettiest, but the fabric is definitely secure with both sets of staples.   

For the ends, I treated it like I was wrapping a present :)  Again, not the prettiest, but it gets the job done.

  

To prevent the bench from sliding, my husband secured it to the Expedit shelf with 2 1/2 screws.  Now our wiggly little girls have another spot to sit in the playroom and I put a big fat check mark next to this project as complete!!  

Can I just say I was jumping up for joy when this baby was completed and couldn't wait to see the look on my girls' faces when they woke up the next morning.  And because I am so in love with this little area in our playroom I have to show you more pictures :)  

I went on a little shopping trip to Target this weekend - well actually it was just to pick up a prescription, but since I was there I had to stop by the dollar section!  And boy am I glad I did, I found the silver tins that already had the chalkboard labels on them.  And what makes them even better...when I got up to the cashier I found out they were on sale for $0.50!!

And of course, the right side of the bench can't be left out!!

And just for good measure, here is the full picture again!!!

Stay tuned for another exciting project in the playroom we completed this weekend!!  If you follow me on Instagram you got a sneak peek!!  :)

With much love,

Kristin

Playroom: Seating Bench and Toy Storage

About a year ago I found some major inspiration for the girls' playroom and ever since then it has been evolving into a functional and kid friendly space.  There are still many things I want to do in the playroom, but all in time right?

One of my first major purchases at Ikea was for two Expedit bookcases that I had seen on one of my favorite organizational blogs IHeart Organzing.  I had the perfect corner spot in the playroom for these babies so off to Ikea I went.  Here is where my excitement to have the benches completely blinded me from measuring the space where I planned to put them.  Once I had the benches assembled, I realized that they wouldn't fit in that corner of the playroom.  So onto plan B, I moved them to the other corner in the playroom.  Don't worry I found another use for that other corner, by making it into a reading nook.  You can read more about that here.

We were all ready to move forward with this design.  My husband had built a piece to go in that corner spot and the plan was to put a seating bench on top made of MDF, foam and fabric to make it a more cohesive unit.  Well, while I was on a hunt for the perfect fabric we moved the units to go along the wall with the window.  We would still make it into a seating bench, but this design gave us back one wall for the girls' play kitchen.

I apologize for the not so great photo - I wasn't able to get both benches in the picture, but hopefully you get the idea.  They were in this arrangement for a while and then I had another idea.  I thought maybe I can frame the window with the Expedit shelving units...this meant purchasing another one, but what can I say I love these units!  So here they are in their final resting place....at least for a while.

I cannot express how much I love the Expedit series, the uses for these shelving units are endless.  We actually have two more in our office that are on each side of our desk (another inspiration from IHeart Organizing).  I am super pleased with the current arrangement in our playroom.  I was able to bring out our games and some more books into the playroom.  I was also able to put out the kiddos coloring books and crayons instead of hiding them in a drawer that we always forgot about.  It is very functional for our space to have it all in one spot.  I feel the girls are playing with their colors more and our reading time has expanded to include lots more books.  I do plan to make a labeling system for the bins so it makes finding the toys they want easier as well as clean up can go smoother.

  

While the shuffle dance was going on in the playroom, I was able to find the perfect fabric for the bench seat.  I also purchased 3" foam from The Foam Store - actual name no joke!  My husband purchased the MDF from Home Depot so now I have everything I need to assemble this bench seat.  I am no expert at sewing, but I can manage a staple gun.  

Stay tuned for a step-by-step process where I will make sure to take lots of pictures as I attempt to make the bench.  Wish me luck!  I wish you all a happy Friday and most importantly to enjoy your weekend and Labor Day!

With much love,
Kristin