A simple and effective way to make your own leather furniture pads and prevent scratches on wood floors.

I love our beautiful hardwood floors. They were the first thing I fell in love with the first time I walked into our house when we were looking to buy it. But, as beautiful as they are, they take a lot more maintenance than carpet to keep them looking good. I am constantly trying to prevent scratches so they keep their shiny, clean appearance. Furniture pads help a lot.

Furniture legs are the biggest culprit in scratching my wood floors, especially our piano bench. Every time my daughters practice playing the piano (which I love to listen to), I cringe because I know the felt pads are not enough to protect the floors. The sticky felt pad I put on everything when we first moved in just aren’t working. They move and slide off, and they collect dust bunnies and fuzz like crazy.

I found the solution on Houzz.com: custom leather pads attached with contact cement. The leather looks nice and is big enough to protect the floor, while the contact cement keeps everything permanently in place.

How to add your own furniture pads

First, I removed the old, pathetic felt furniture pads. Most of the pads were gone, but I had to scrape some of the glue off with a razor.

I had an old scrap piece of sueded leather, from making a Sorting Hat. And I bought some Dap Weldwood contact cement on Amazon.

I cut the leather into squares that are a little larger than the piano bench feet. The excess will be cut off later.

I put contact cement on both the leather and the 4 feet of the bench, then waited at least 15 minutes (but not more than an hour). That lets the contact cement react and adhere the best.

I pressed the leather onto the feet, and let the bench sit for a while (actually, for several days until I got back to it). This was to make sure the contact cement was permanent and completely adhered before I messed with it.

Next, I cut the leather down to the exact size of the foot of the piano bench, so that it doesn’t show.

To make the bench look a little nicer for its final pictures, I rubbed it with Howards Restor-A-Finish. I put Restor-A-Finish on all of my old, scratched wood furniture every few years. It’s makes wood look like new again without all the work and hassle of refinishing the wood, but it only last for a few years. One day I will actually need to refinish this bench, but not while were still going through piano lessons.

My leather furniture pads protect my wood floor wonderfully, and they stay in place. Now I can listen to piano practice without any cringing.

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