A year or so ago, I got this wild hair to build a box that I could paint. It would live under the little side table in the living room and just be wonderful.
Well, after I completed it, I was unsatisfied. It wasn’t as wonderful as I imagined it would be. And not just because my box-making skills were so-so. But I kept it around because I had spent time on it, sweated over it and shelled out money on the materials. So despite its lackluster-ing, it was part of the house.
Up until about a month ago, that is.
I finally found a way to make it better. And I got to reuse this guy: one of four pillows MJ and I received as a wedding shower gift almost seven years ago.
Sometimes, as a family, we eat dinner or dessert or snacks around the coffee table in our living room. (Gasp!) In front of the TV. (Double gasp!) I know, we are animals.
Before there were children about, MJ and I used to eat most of our meals around the coffee table. (Take a deep breath….Gaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssp!) We could lounge on the comfy furniture and since we didn’t have much to do in the evenings back then, we watched TV. Things are a wee bit different now. Now, we act like respectable people and eat at the table. But on the rare occasion, we do like to relive the old days.
While MJ and I can reach the table or balance plates on our laps real classy-like, Love Bug is too short and too small. We had been using a chair from her little table but when it wasn’t being used, it was in the way and annoyed me.
Cue the light bulb.
I decided I would reconfigure the box into a sweet little spot for Bug to sit. The old box would have a new life and then it would slip under the side table to be out of the way. A win-win.
Now the renovation.
I took it out all the screws of the old box and using the dimensions of the pillow case, I cut down the sides.
I put the resized box back together again with more precision than last time. Not perfect, but better. Using some texture paint, I added lines to create a faux bead board look.
After the lines dried, I covered the whole thing in dark brown paint and a clear protective coat.
For the cushioned lid, I nabbed this foam pad at Walmart for $3-something. Like the pillow case, I cut down the foam pad to measured just a little wider than the lid.
I carved off the upper edge of the foam to form more of a cushion shape.
As you see, I worked really hard at making it perfect.
On the new lid, I adhered the foam pad to it using spray adhesive.
I cut a small square out of the back of the pillow case to remove the old pillow. In doing that, all the edges were still connected which is what was needed to cover the foam. Then I cut diagonal lines from the center to each corner, leaving a good 2-3 inches of material between the end of my cut and the corner. (Of course, the most challenging to explain part doesn’t have a picture.)
I covered the foam and board with the pillow case and pulled the triangle flaps around to the underside. Using my staple gun, I stapled the red material into place, making sure I was pulling each side evenly. Because the pillow case was square and I made the box to fit, I was able to use the case itself as a guide. The fluffy red front was pulled down just a hint to the underside and then stapled.
To keep the lid from sliding off, I attached a smaller square board to the underside that fits right inside the box.
And here it will live, happily ever after.
Happy August y’all! May it be less steamy than July.
Take care.
-amy c
