My pretty little Entryway & DIY Trunk Bench

My entryway used to be boring. It was nothing special. It didn't say, "Hello there, friend. Please come in and be very welcome." It said nothing. Sadly (as you may have figured out if you've followed me much) I forgot to take a before picture. So all you get is this:

This was my attempt at an in-progress picture:) Lots and lots of tape.

Ok, and here's the after!

Don't you love my stripey wall?

Here's the breakdown:

:: Shelf- Hobby Lobby, where else? It was waaaay more than I normally spend on ANYTHING. Normally $100, at 50% off, I couldn't pass it up. Also funny is the fact that two of my close friends bought it at the same time...we all saw it at the same time and each separately thought, "MINE!".

:: Bench- I know you are all wondering.  This trunk is from Goodwill. I found it a few years ago while I was off at school. I paid a whopping $10 for it (a lot of money when you're a poor student;). I had the great idea one day to turn it into a bench. I said to myself, "Self, you don't know how to work a jigsaw." So I did the next best thing to DIY---MYHDIFY. As in, Make Your Husband Do It For You. I love having a handy man. So I just asked him (kindly) to make something pretty out of wood and this is what he came up with!

All I can tell you is that it is 4" high. And that he used a jigsaw. That's the end of my knowledge. Although I do know that he used some of those screw-hole-filler-inner things. You know, so it looks all professional (unlike I sound). Here it is after the foot was attached:

Uh-huh. I knew you knew what I was talking about. Those things.

I actually really loved all the writing on top.

So then (silly me) I painted the foot AFTER we attached it. I do not recommend this.

Then we got to making the cushion for the top. I found this sweet burlap at the B (thrift store). When I brought it home, I didn't realize that it had this awesome stenciled pattern on it! I'm assuming it was for some type of embroidery or something.

It was a full circle, so I still have some left. I love it!!

So all we did was cut out some plywood for the seat, cover it in batting and then wrap it and staple. We did set this beast on top of it while we wrapped and it made a BIG difference in how tight we got the fabric.

This thing probably weighs 50 lbs.

BEFORE you upholster your seat, make sure you have holes drilled where you want your buttons to go.
After the cushion was wrapped, I picked out my cutie little buttons and, using crafting wire (really thin), "sewed " them on.. We used a straight piece of thicker gauge wire to act as an anchor on the backside of the board.

Aren't these to die for? I bought a big lot of buttons on eBay for $5.99 including shipping!

This is the cushion after it's been buttoned.

Oh goodness, it's love.

And here's the finished product!

Ahhh. Entryway perfection. Now it says, "Come in. Make yourself at home. Sit your butt on me and take your shoes off." Linking up to: