I’m pleased to announce that our bench frames have been screwed to the floor, AND that they can be sat upon! We made a template to get the curves for the seats accurate (which wasn’t particularly easy….), and then Wayne cut sheets of plywood to fit each side. Beautiful job!
Right now the tops are just resting on the frames, but our plan is to permanently attach them after cutting openings in the top to allow access to the storage space underneath. An online friend who did an incredible job with the restoration of his “Haunted Mansion” did something similar.
Now that I have a template for the bench tops, I need to figure out how to make the cushions for the seats. I want to use 4″ medium density foam (since the dinette will sometimes be converted to a bed), and I’m probably going to opt for a solid royal to navy blue color, which should look okay with the (busy) curtain fabric.
The last time I was at Joann’s, I briefly looked at the outdoor fabrics, so that might be a good option. I don’t think I’d go with a regular, heavy-weight upholstery material, although duck cloth might work.
I’d like to put zippers in the cushions on the hidden side, and this could be interesting since the hidden side is also the curved side. (But as a side note, I am so NOT intimidated at the thought of sewing in zippers; I just kind of jumped into that when I started making purses.)
In addition to the cushions for the seats, I’ll need to make two cushion pieces out of the same foam to serve as back rests AND to cover the table when the space is used as a bed. Since the benches are fairly deep, I might need to fill in with some throw pillows.
There’s still a lot to figure out (with ALL of this), but I’m ready for the challenge! 🙂