This is a project that I actually completed about a year ago (pre-blog that is) but it is definitely the piece that I get the most comments about so I figured it was time to share! And it remains one of my favorite furniture pieces in my apartment.
I found this stool at home in Wisconsin at a thrift store near my grandma's house. It's kind of a tradition whenever I'm home that the three generations of thrifters (grandma, mom, and I) go thrift shopping! My mom had actually seen this footstool before and thought I would like it, so when it was still there she hurried me over to show me. Unfortunately, I do not have a before pic since I did this so long ago :( BUT the stool had it's original stamped white (not-so-white-anymore) vinyl upholstery.
When I first saw it I loved the retro gold legs and the fact that its adjustable (you can leave it flat or raise the back up like in the pic above) but I was NOT feeling the dirty vinyl. So I saw a perfect opportunity to reupholster. When I mentioned this to my mom and grandma I was meet with immediate protest! They were totally appalled that I would even think of altering it. However, the stool's biggest selling point was the price (7$!!), so regardless of the difference in opinion, I took it home!
At first I humored my mom and we put some serious elbow-grease into it, attempting to bring the vinyl back to its former glory, but to no avail! My mind was made up, reupholstery was the way to go. So it was off to the fabric store and after walking up and down the aisles about 100 times, I came up with a design:
I picked a bold black and white chevron upholstery fabric to make my stool "pop". To keep the structure of the original vinyl, I added 6 buttons that I also upholstered...
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| It's all about the details! |
with a classic toile pattern! But to make it more fun, I centered each button on a specific element in the toile, so together they tell the original story of the fabric. My buttons include: a Victorian lady and a bird (pictured above), a donkey, part of a tree, part of a castle, and another lady wearing a large hat! I love how the buttons are a fun little surprise that you don't notice until you get up close!
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| This footstool sits in front of my grey IKEA armchair :) |
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| Check out the original tag: This is a Pearlwick Leg Lounger manufactured in Long Island, City, NY |
Thanks for stopping by!
-Liz :)
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