i’m totally crazy about d*s reader michelle goeke’s before & after. michelle isn’t sure about what this piece was before (a child’s desk or vanity without a mirror?) but decided to bring it home after spotting it on the sidewalk in a pile of trash. michelle thought her new street-find would make a great entry way bench for her brooklyn apartment so she decided to spruce up her freebie. after painting the piece the same color as her walls, she changed out the hardware (with knobs she had from a desk), cut a board of scrap wood to fit on the top and then cut a 1″ piece of thick foam to size. once the foam was cut she wrapped it with batting and stapled on $4 worth of fabric and- tada! a brand new piece of furniture. the piece is a big hit with michelle’s cat boozie and it’s a big hit with me, too. you can’t beat a great makeover like that for under $10. thanks for sharing, michelle!
38 Comments
Again, this is not something I could have imagined myself! What a beautiful transformation…
Michelle, GREAT work! You definitely had a vision and it shows!
I absolutely love this! Why do I never find such lovely pieces of furniture on the street? I must be looking in all the wrong places!
AMAZING! Is there a particular way to “wrap” the batting around the foam? Does it need to be secured or is that done when the fabric is stapled on?
Oh wow! I love how friendly and upbeat it is now.
(I note the floors are nicely refinished as well. :P)
Wow, and to think someone was discarding it, if they could see it now. It is adorable.
What a beautiful job! I like the purse that is sitting on the bench, too :) Nothing like good accessories to wear while sitting on an amazing renovated bench!!!
wow! i love it!
Nice work Michelle! I’ve been meaning to get a bench in my entryway, but now you’ve inspired me to be a little more creative when I search!
great idea and great vision!!
This would have been equally cute if you’d painted it red. Very nice!
I guess I have to the voice of dissent, even though Michelle did an excellent paint job and chose well the fabric for the seat. This is a solid oak piece, probably from early 1900s – I have seen incredible gems in NYC sidewalks through the years. If anything, I would have used transparent stains (they come in all colors) so you have a contemporary look but the wood grain still shows.
So beautiful! And agreed NYC sidewalks are perfect for spotting hidden treasures. I found my coffee table and office hairs on the street.
A+ job! one of the best before & afters i’ve seen in awhile.
What a wonderful transformation! I love that the provenance and original purpose of the piece are a bit of a mystery, and that it fits its new function perfectly!
You obviously have a great eye for fashionable design! The only thing missing is your little kitty Boozie–I expected to see her sprawled across the bench like a diva as if she owns that new bench!
Wow…I’m impressed. The vision, the creativity. Michelle can come spruce up my place anytime!
Fabuloso! Molto bello! Ciao ala Booze!
Very impressive!!!!
Dios mío, te ha quedado MONÍSIMO!!!
Thanks everyone! Selena, to answer your question: I stapled the batting to the underside first, then stapled the fabric over it.
Absolutely GORGEOUS! I’m seeking my own entryway bench, actually, and I hope it turns out to be half as beautiful. Great work, Michelle.
Fabulous job, Michelle! You’ve got a great eye. Now.. when can you come over and help me transform my aparment? Ha ha.
LOVE it! :)
Why ruin a great piece of wood?
I’m always impressed by these before & afters, how someone can see such possibilities in another person’s garbage. Amazing!
I’m on the side of “Why ruin a great piece of wood?”. This reminds me so much of the 60s and 70s when all sorts of lovely wooden furniture (and character houses for that matter) were “modernised”. In 10 years’ time someone will discover this bench, strip off the paint, spend forever finding old drawer pulls, and curse the vandals who put paint on it.
I personally love the transformation. I’ve been wanting to find a coffee table to turn into a bench, and I only hope I am so lucky as to find one on the side of the road that’s as great a piece as this one.
WOW! It turned out wonderfully, Michelle! I understand some people cringe at painting wood, but personally, I think that type of oak furniture is hideous left as-is. A great transformation!
There’s plenty of that kind of wood furniture to go round… It looked more like 1970′s than 1870′s to me. So I wouldn’t consider this “ruining” anything!
I would never have painted that piece. The wood grain has so much more personality than the white.The old hardware had more personality, too. I certainly have seen wood pieces that I wouldn’t hesitate to paint–this just isn’t one of them.
I love the idea of adding a cushion to make it into a bench, though.
Spot on. Also the picture is well styled.
I love the bench. The crisp white paint allows the shape of the piece to dominate, rather than the wood grain. I love the curvy cutouts under the drawers. While the old pull have character, the new simple ones suit it better. I understand reasons to preserve the finish on a real antique piece, but sometimes what looks old, is really a more modern repro and not worth fretting about saving the orginal patina (and in this case I think she made the right call.) I also love the fabric.
Wow! so cool. really love this category, “before & after”. Good work! ;-)
It must be s0 satisifying to be blessed w/creativity and to have the discipline and talent to use it. Very nice jib, Michelle!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
This is so lovely!
Now…I get being a furniture purist, I really do, and I feel like if that is one’s own personal philosophy, then great, you keep that wood un-touched. But that is just it, it’s a personal preference and last time I checked, we weren’t living in a furniture police state. Why get so bent out of shape at other people’s design/decor decisions? It’s furniture, and it is meant to be enjoyed….so if Michelle will best enjoy it in it’s renovated state, then it isn’t ruined and it is still serving it’s purpose……….besides, before, it really was quite ugly, and those knocker -type drawer-pulls, *shiver*. I love old furniture, but this before was just odd.
I really love this! So creative. Ignore the naysayers, I think one of the above posts was right, looks 1970′s ish to me. Really not a fan of oak anyway, so hide that grain with crisp white paint. This is just so lovely, & the fabric makes it even better. Guess the only thing I would have done different is the drawer pulls. I love the old glass knobs, they would have looked nice with this, but as it is it is still adorable. Again, I love it!
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