In my post last Friday I showed you how I created a no-sew cushion seat for an outdoor bench, enabling me to dress it up for use in my master bath.  Now that you know the process, today I’m sharing a short cut tip that I used on another bench!  This is a second take on a no-sew cushion.

No-sew Cushion – Take II

I placed a bench in the bathroom used by guests who are enjoying the pool, making it easier and more comfortable for them to change clothes before and after swimming.  I created the bench cushion with high density foam and plywood, as illustrated in last week’s post.  As you can imagine, however, this bench needed to be able to deal with water from damp towels and damp bodies and would require frequent cleaning. 

In order to deal with the water and cleaning issues I chose a large terrycloth bath towel to upholster the bench.  And the tip?  Instead of stapling the towel to the seat as done in take one, I used painter’s tape to secure the towel to the cushion’s plywood base.

The painter’s tape keeps the towel in place but can be removed easily when I need to launder it.  After washing the towel, I simply rewrap it around the cushion and secure it again with painter’s tape to the plywood.  Below you can see how wide painter’s tape holds the towel in place on the previously upholstered cushion.

If I were ambitious enough to break out my sewing machine I could tailor the towel and sew elastic to the edges in order to make a terry cover that slips off and on the cushion.  But that’s a lot more time and bother than I’m willing to invest (I’d rather spend my time in the pool!).  Besides, maybe next summer I’ll want to cover the bench in a different color – so I’ll just tape on a different towel!

What’s Your Take?

So now you’ve got two takes on a no-sew cushion.   The first cushion, demonstrated last week, features secured upholstery and the second cushion sports easily removable upholstery (actually it’s a towel – but no one will know unless you tell them!).

YDH reader Franki Parde shared her take on a quick bench cover after reading my no-sew cushion post last week.  She wrote, “I brought my luyten bench inside and placed it at the foot of the guest bed and covered the outdoor cushions with pillow cases that matched the bed coverlet.”  So there you have it – a third no-sew option to dress up an outdoor bench and bring it indoors.

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