A Turtle's Life for Me

Easy, family friendly recipes, travel tips and home DIYs!

Disclosure: As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I also participate in other affiliate programs and may earn commissions if you shop through the links used on this website.
You are here: Home / DIY & Crafts / Furniture Makeovers / Upcycled Bench for a Girls Room: Old Telephone Bench Makeover

Upcycled Bench for a Girls Room: Old Telephone Bench Makeover

This post may contain affiliate links.

Sharing is caring!

DIY Upcycled Bench for Girls Room: Old Telephone Bench Makeover for a Girls Room Using Paint, Wrapping Paper, Mod Podge and New Fabric.

Years ago, my daughter happened upon a sad little telephone bench in a Salvation Army store and had to have it! 

I think we paid about $10 for it.

And to be honest, it sat for a long time in our garage before we finally got around to planning an upcycled bench project for it.

An old and tired telephone bench in need of TLC sits in a garage before a bench upcycle project
An old bench before an upcycling DIY project

A couple of weeks ago, I got a spark of inspiration and decided to start the bench makeover.

We’d already completed her wooden desk makeover, and the Michael Jackson lamp. So it was the perfect timing to do an upcycled bench project for her room!

Note – this post was originally written in 2011. I’ve since come back to update it and provide more information about the project! My daughter’s room has since changed from the pink look, too – you can read all about it in the tween girl bedroom makeover post.

My Gorgeous Upcycled Bench for a Girls Room

Painting the Bench for a Fresh Look

I started by pulling apart the cushions. I found 4 different layers of ycukiness for my trouble, and new right then and there I’d need to reupholster the bench.

A detailed photo showing old and stained upholstery of an old telephone bench

After pulling the bench apart, I spray painted the entire frame white with a paint sprayer.

It really freshened up the look of it, and is way more suitable for a girls room than the dark wood!

A close up shot showing an old telephone bench being painted white

Upholstering and Decorating the Bench

Then my daughter and I started debating what to do with the rest of the bench.

What fabric would look best? Patterned or solid?

And what should we do with the small telephone bench desktop?

I wanted to spend the least amount of money possible, while still making a really cute bench upcycle my daughter would love. So we decided to get creative!

First, I came up with the idea of using wrapping paper and Mod Podge on the desktop.

An after photo showing an upcycled bench for a girls room. The bench is white, blue, and pink

I bought a couple years ago, and have always loved it. Add to that, it is pretty heavy duty, so I felt like it would withstand a bit of abuse.

I used 4 coats of Mod Podge and then sprayed the whole thing (frame included) with polyurethane finish.

For the upholstery, I found some turquoise fabric I’ve had for awhile. I just used a staple gun to attach it to the padded seat and back, and voila!

Upcycled Bench for a Girls Room After Shots

Here’s the DIY bench makeover in all its glory…we absolutely love it!

An after photo showing an upcycled bench for a girls room. The bench is white, blue, and pink
An after photo showing an upcycled bench for a girls room. The bench is white, blue, and pink

If you liked this project, please help me share it with the world by hitting the share button!

A Pinterest Pin with a photo of an upcycled bench project for a girls room. The text says DIY Bench Makeover - Upcycled Bench for a Girls Room

Reader Interactions

Comments

  7. Leslie says

    Hi there! I just found your blog from The Gooseberry Patch’s feature of you, and it’s great! It sounds like you LOVE your family and spending time having fun while being creative around the house, just like me! (Although you are far more crafty than I!) I took a sneak peak of your vacation post, and it looks like you guys took an amazing family trip. What a sweet family you have.

    I’ll be sure to come back and see what else you’ve got goin’ on here! Have a blessed day!!
    Leslie 🙂

    Reply

  10. Melanie @ bear rabbit bear says

    So cute! I love this idea so much. I have a hard time figuring out how to rejuvinate furniture, but this looks very inspiring.

    I’d love for you to link up to our “Crafts for Under Twenty-Somethings” Thursdays this week! It’s a blog hop specifically for kids and teens ideas, so your post would be perfect! I’ll hope you’ll come link up this Thursday.

    bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com

    Melanie

    Reply

  26. Jesse says

    Gorgeous! A little creativity really brings new life to old stuff. Sometimes we do need someone to somewhat partner with us on a project so we can get started with it.

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *