Center Console for a Bench Seat (Part 2)

I purchased some black vinyl with grain which matches the factory seat.  It is a little darker since it isn't faded but it will look great.  I spent a little time last night covering pieces and realized the vinyl will not stretch enough to wrap around the contour of the side panel as it rounds up toward the storage compartment.

I thought about the dilemma for a while and decided to wrap the sides in carpet.  Carpet stretches much more and would handle the contour.  It does not look as nice but it would allow me to finish up the job and use this console I've worked rather hard to create.

My wife picked up the carpet for me at lunch today and I started wrapping everything tonight.  I ended up staying up until about midnight to get the job done.  I wrapped all the pieces which run down the center of the console in the vinyl.  I then wrapped the sides with the black carpet.  While I had some padding, I did not use any on the sides or center sections.

The center sections were easy because they could be wrapped and then assembled leaving no exposed seams.  To do the sides, I had to carpet the inside area, screw the side to the center pieces, and then wrap the carpet over the side to cover the screws I just installed to put it together.  It is a little difficult to explain but it worked out pretty well.

Wrapping the top of the console was a little difficult.  I put a dense piece of 1/2" foam long the top and then started wrapping.  It took me two attempts to end up with something I was satisfied with.  The biggest difficulty is finding a way to fold over the edges so that there are no exposed seams and the folded portion looks good.  

I mentioned in the last post that I put two furniture nuts on the lid.  This was so that I could attach a little panel to the bottom.  This panel is only about 1/4" thick and fits quite well in the storage compartment.  This piece covers the seams from the lid, and is a bit more secure so the you can't put too much pressure on the lid from the side bending the piano hinge across the bottom.

I don't have a picture of it but once I put in the cup holders, I did not like that they were loose in the panel.  I found two large radiator style clamps and tightened them around the bottom of the cup holders right against the wood.  This kept cup holders from being lose or from being pulled up out of the top of the console.

While it does not look like a million bucks, the console is very useful and I'm glad to have it done.  I've wanted something like this for a while so that I have some storage and a cup holder.  It will be a big improvement for future road trips.