Home Decor Crafts: Damask Embellished Hall Bench

One great way to spruce up a foyer or hall space is with an indoor bench! This chic damask embellished hall bench is a great way to repurpose an old wooden bench into something quite sophisticated. Remove any existing paint or stain from the wood prior to starting.

For this project, you will need:

- One wooden hall bench
- Medium or fine grit sandpaper
- Tack cloth or other style soft cloth
- Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White
- Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Gloss Black
- A couple yards of black and white damask print fabric
- Ruler
- Fabric marking pen
- Fabric scissors
- Sponge brush
- Mod Podge or other type of decoupage medium
- Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray
- Newspaper and/or a large drop cloth

Cover the workspace with newspaper sheets and/or a large sized drop cloth. Carefully sand down the surface of the wooden hall bench with a tack cloth or other style of soft cloth. Once all areas on the bench have been smoothed, prime the entire piece using Krylon Indoor Outdoor Primer in All-Purpose White. Add several coats of primer if the wood is still showing through the primer. Dry for a couple hours before proceeding. Paint the hall bench with several thick coats of Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Gloss Black. Allow the bench to dry overnight before proceeding.

Lay the black and white damask print fabric face down on the work area. Use a ruler to determine how much fabric is needed to cover the entire backrest of the hall bench. Take this measurement and downsize it by 3/4 of an inch all around. Mark this measurement directly onto the backside of the damask print fabric. Cut out this shape using fabric scissors.

Apply a thick coat of Mod Podge or other decoupage medium directly onto the back of the damask fabric piece using a sponge brush. Immediately adhere the piece to the backrest of the black painted bench. (Due to the size and flexibility of the fabric, this may require help from a friend.) Smooth the fabric onto the bench with a small craft roller, starting at one end and working your way across the damask piece. Dry for several hours.

Spray the entire bench using three or more coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray. Let the bench set overnight before using.

TIP: Instead of black, other colors can be used for this hall bench project. Consider Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Watermelon Pink a sassy alternative. Or, Krylon Indoor Outdoor Paint in Satin Catalina Mist is also a great pairing with white and black damask print fabric.