My new project: Vintage steam trunk turned bench

We are at the tail end of a giant six-month renovation of our home. We moved in a few weeks ago and still ticking things off the list, an activity that is both satisfying and frustrating at the same time. Satisfying, because it’s always good to tick things off a list… frustrating because that list is still a mile long.

One of those things is to figure out seating in our new mudroom. I was originally hoping for a simple bench made out of reclaimed wood, but I’ve since had a change of heart. I’m thinking it’d be cool to fish out the old vintage steam trunk I’ve been keeping in the basement and use it for a bench instead.

My inspiration comes from this image on Pinterest. Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s going to go here, which is a mess right now, so please consider this the BEFORE pic okay?

Vintage bench to go here

Now all I have to do is:

a) Find the trunk in the basement. This will not be as easy as you think, considering the number of boxes that are down there right now. And they are piled up right to the ceiling. Ack.

b) Make pillows, because it’s the pillows that TOTALLY make the bench, don’t you think?

My only problem is that I’m not exactly very sewy. I think I’m going to have some issues with this part of the equation. That’s why I rounded up a few tutorials in preparation:

Now all I need to do is find my sewing machine! Stay tuned for my “AFTER” pic. Cross your fingers for me okay?