Project: Crate Seat

I don't spend much time on Pinterest, but last week, I was a little bored.  I decided to look around on Pinterest and I stumbled upon this link.  These adorable, practical seats looked like fun to make:

 I showed the project to my husband, and in a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity, we traveled out to purchase the necessary materials:

• foam mattress pad - Walmart, $9.94
• plastic crate - Walmart, $6.47 - I was disappointed in the lack of color selection, so I had to go with black :/
• 15 3/4" by 13" plywood - Home Depot, $8.42 - it was actually much larger than this, but my husband cut it down to size for me :)
• 1/2 yard matching material - Walmart, $3.99

My friend Jen agreed to help me (and I am so glad she was there to help!), so after viewing the instructions on the blog, we got started!

Step 1: Cut the foam to fit the plywood.
We decided that two layers of foam would be plenty.  We thought about three, but I'm glad we stuck with two, because I think three would have been a little too poofy.

We did not bother to secure the foam to the plywood.  Attaching the material would keep the foam in place.

Step 2: Cut the material to fit the plywood.
Being the cheapskate that I am, I only purchased half a yard of material.  I thought it would be close, and it was!

Step 3: Affix the material to the plywood.
The instructions recommended a staple gun, but ours was out of staples.  Instead, Jen and I used a hot glue gun to glue the material to the  plywood.

By the time we had glued three of the four sides, we realized we needed to pull the material very tightly in order for it to be nice and smooth on top.  This proved a bit of a challenge, and we discussed optimal ways to do this for several minutes before we figured it out!

Ultimately, we ended up snipping the end, wrapping it like a present, and gluing it down.  A nice touch would be to glue a nice layer of black felt to cover the plywood and provide some cushion for the bottom...but I didn't do that.

And we have a cushion! :)

Step 4: Place the cushion on top of the crate.

These would be SO GREAT for an elementary school classroom! You could store books or supplies in the crate and it makes for extra seating!  I don't think they'd work with my 7th graders, but it would be perfect for younger grades.  I'm going to use this one in the playroom with my son!

Take Aways:

• As I mentioned, I did this spontaneously.  That means I did not take time to count the cost.  The total was about $29...more than I was expecting!
• This was an easy, fun project!  I'm glad Jen was helping - it would have been harder with only two hands.