New mini project

Lately, I have been intrigued with the idea of trying to re-upholster a piece of furniture. Nothing big. No couches. Something small that might satisfy my curiosity as well as offer me some instant gratification before the interest wears off.

While I was driving through the alley the other day I spotted this bench next to a dumpster.

Oh, I know it does not look like much, but I think it could make a decent piece once it is recovered. As you can see, the covered seat was pretty nasty. I immediately removed that and measured the wood before I tossed it away.

Yesterday I went to Home Depot to try and get a replacement piece of wood. I had no idea how many rules they have about what size wood they will cut. I wanted to get the smallest piece possible and then just have it cut down. I found a piece for about $4 which was somewhere around 2 feet square. The sales associate explained that they could not do a cut that was under 12". (Something about pieces of wood flying dangerously amok). I was not going to argue a safety issue. I needed to buy a fairly large sheet of wood and then have it cut down. The cost was going up to $10. I really did not want to spend that much for a really small piece of wood on my mini project. He then waled over to the "scrap" cart and showed me a very large piece that could be cut down. (The scrap pieces are 85% off of the original price). I agreed. He then called over his supervisor to write up the sales slip before he cut since he needed approval on the paperwork. He was then reminded that they are not supposed to cut the scrap wood. The supervisor cut it for me and then said to tell the cashier that it was just scrap and I could have it. My budget was now still.....FREE!
I next went to the fabric store to find a fabric to cover my seat. I was not blown away by anything. I had the foam cushion piece cut for me. That cost me $6. I also made the mistake of "perusing" while I was in the store. ( I will discuss that tomorrow).

Today I was looking through my fabric stash to see if there was anything I might want to use. So far, I think this is the front runner. It is a heavy vintage bedspread that I was going to use to make purses. I think it might look nice. The budget would then stay at $6. I will post an "after" photo when/if I ever finished this little project.