DIY...Now This is a DO It Yourself Project

This just might be the fugliest stool in the entire world. It could be entered into a fugly stool contest.


It was 12.00 and as ugly as it was, I noticed the nice legs.


Getting past this plastic covering was tough though.


Whomever reupholstered it in this awful covering even made a pleated skirt.


Ewwwww....yucky!


Ewwww...yuckier!


Man, this was nasty.


My father always taught me that to learn how something is made, you have to take it apart. I spent hours prying old upholstery tacks out of this. There were hundreds of them.


But finally the fun part began. I pulled out fabrics and trims and started pulling it all together.


Finding the right combination is key to the final results.


Just a tip...you can find some really nice pieces of quality fabrics for 2.00 each at Jo Ann Fabrics when they clear out their samples. I really wanted to use the velvet dot fabric for the bottom of this stool but the sample piece was not large enough. They even have some of their 13.00 trims marked down to 97 cents.




I settled on this leftover piece I had from an old project. This is Scalamandre.


First I lined the bottom with burlap. See all of the old tack holes?


My upholstery apprentice became bored with this project very fast.


I cut the burlap to fit.


Then I tacked it to the frame.


I stuffed the stool all around the springs with bunting and then stapled it in place.


This is the batting I used.


Then I covered that with some good cotton batting.


I pulled it tight and tacked it in place.


I decided to use a piece of gold silk I had in my scrap box to cover the bottom.


Here you can see my total lack of talent. This is exactly the reason I can't sew. I can never figure my way out of these disasters.


So I covered the horrible areas up with coordinated cording. It is the bottom after all!


Sometimes disasters bring on better results.


I positioned the fabric over the top of the stool.


Someone hand made this stool long ago and it has a bit of an irregular shape.


I forgot to take a few pics along the way.


I used fringe and cording and tassels.


I made it to use in this sitting area. You can see I used the same material on the middle pillow in the back. Click on any of the pics for a closer look.


Here is the finished stool sitting in front of my chair at my writing desk.


It matches the small Italian chairs sitting in the same hall.


The stool is bigger than the chair.




It"s much more proportionate to the desk chair. You can see that I have used many different prints on all of these pieces but as long as they are in the same tonal range they work wonderfully together.

So, for 12.00 and some old fabric and trim, I have a nice matching footstool.

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Comments

I don´t think I had given that foot stool a second look after seeing it for the first time :-) :-) But I think You made a great job!

I also think You solved the problem around the legs in a great way!
Have a great day now!
Christer.
Sharon Day said…
Fantastic! When you showed the first picture, I was thinking, "why is does she have a bundt cake on the floor?" Hee hee--it's gorgeous now--makes me have hope for my own makeover (snort!)
Suzie said…
All of your hard work paid off! It is beautiful! I have a couple of footstools that need a new life. What time can I expect you?
From fugly to beeyootiful!
brokenteepee said…
You are so talented!
I am jealous
wow - that looks amazing! well done!
The foot stool recovering turned out well. Love the sitting area and writing desk.

Teddy is more into the garden thingy right now. :)

Happy day.
Chrissykat said…
You hit the nail on the head (so to speak!) as that truly WAS the fugliest stool ever & wins hands down the "fugly stool contest." And look at what you've done! It's simply lovely now. Nice job!
Melodie said…
I don't think there is anything out there you can't transform to something lovely!
Tristan Robin said…
wonderful upgrade! good on you!
Celia said…
Great job! It looks fantastic! You have a good eye....I wouldn't have seen the potential.
C said…
oh my word didnt you do well :) i certainly wouldnt have even given the stool a second look, but you have made it look so easy a total transformation from ugly to beautiful x
William Bezek said…
I think I saw the "before" stool in Better Trailers without Gardens! The "After" stool is perfect for that adorable room that I could spend an entire rainy day reading a book in. Oh yes, with tea thank you.
Wow! I'm so impressed! Nice job!
Lin said…
Sweet! You did a great job. It's a good thing you could see past the original ickiness.
Bridgett said…
Fugly indeed! Yikes!
But girl...you totally rocked it out in the end. It looks amazing.
Nydia said…
What a huge difference!! It's like brand-new, great job! I wqould never be able to do so...


Kisses from Nydia.
Rue said…
You may not sew, but you sure know your way around a staple gun. This turned out great - it looks really good in that room!
Sharlene T. said…
Fantastic result -- and, apparently, done all by yourself as it seems 'someone else' couldn't be bothered. Beautiful job and you don't need to know how to sew. Thanks for sharing with great pix.