Materials:
-Old wooden podium
-Pliers
-Sandpaper
-Paint
-Paintbrush
-Indoor/Outdoor Rug
-Staple gun
-Scissors
-Exacto Knife
-Self-Stick Round Felt Furniture Pads (optional)
Step 1: Prep
Using pliers, I carefully removed all of the left over metal frame remnants and took time to sand the uneven and splintered surfaces down to a clean, smooth surface.
Step 2: Paint
After flipping the podium upside down (the underbelly of the podium was facing up), paint the bottom of the podium. The paint I used was a Valspar color sample in March Breeze from Home Depot, left over from when we repainted our house. The bare wood of the podium absorbed quite a bit of paint, but two coats of paint transformed the base to the opaque look I was aiming for.
Step 3: Cover It
Using an indoor/outdoor rug I found at Home Depot (a lot like this rug here), I made measured out a section of the rug and cut it to a manageable size. Then, I spread out the rug under the podium, using the weight of the furniture to hold the rug as I pulled it taught and aligned the rug's ribbed texture to be parallel to the edges of the podium; I wanted to be sure there were no wrinkles and that everything looked symmetrical. Once all was aligned to my liking, I used my staple gun to attach the carpet to the painted podium. (While stapling, I aimed the staples as close to the top edge as I could, so it would look nice and neat when turned right-side-up.) I worked with opposite sides of the podium and continued to pull the rug as tight as I could before stapling, again- to avoid any wrinkles. For the corners, I followed this tutorial as closely as I could to keep things looking crisp and clean. Last, but not least, I added a few Self-Stick Round Felt Furniture Pads (much like these) to keep the base from scratching my newly-waxed classroom floor!
Step 4: Trim It
Using an exacto knife, I trimmed the rug so it would wrap exactly around the lip of the podium. Be sure to take your time and cut carefully so the edges are nice and clean.
Step 5: ENJOY IT!
Once you've painted, covered, and trimmed your project, flip it over and enjoy!
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