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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

How To Upholster a Stool Seat

If you have a staple gun, some fabric and foam, upholstering a stool or chair seat is a pretty easy fix. This "tutorial" is not something I'd suggest you do with anything you value. These stools are being covered purely to buy me a little more time until I find replacements.

upholstering a stool, upholstered stool

From This:                                                                                         To This:
upholster a stool, DIY upholster, stool DIY

If you want to try your hand at making a stool a little more comfy, I suggest you start with a fairly sturdy stool or chair. I, on the other hand, have two very old, very rickety stools. We only use them for extra seating around the kitchen island. But I want them to look a little prettier.

Quite frankly, my stools so beat, one might say it's a waste of time doing anything to them. I have to use that little hex key thingy every time we use them to tighten up the legs. If I don't tighten the legs, they're so wobbly, it's like doing core-exercises trying to balance on them... BUT, until I can find something fun but inexpensive to replace them, I decided to at least make them look a bit better.

Am I really so cheap and desperate? Yes. I am.

I set off to Walmart to find foam for the seats. I found this foam mattress pad for $10. I was pretty happy that I'd only need a couple of feet of the foam and have lots left over for any other projects I think of in the near future.

(Oh, yeah, it's sentences like that that make Big A break into a sweat. Is it just my husband, or does your significant other get nervous when you dream up ideas for a project? Geesh, it's not as if I ever cut up one of his favorite shirts and used it for a pillow cover!)


Anyway, I then remembered this fabric that I bought ages ago, which has been sitting in the cupboard for quite some time. I decided to use it to cover the seats. I gathered all of my supplies, and it was at this point that I thought "Hmm, this is a little like making a silk purse of a sows ear..."  Anyway, I continued on.



All I did to cover the stools was cut the padding the size of the stool seat - two pieces for each stool. I then stacked it all together. (Of course I left a few inches of fabric so that I could staple it easily to the underside of the stool seat.)




I didn't take the legs off of the seat, because, honestly, I wasn't sure if the whole stool would fall apart if I did that. Plus, I'm lazy. I just used the staple gun to staple the fabric directly to the underside of the seat, legs still attached. I started in the middle as below.


And then I stapled all the way around. (The trick is to pull the fabric taught, but not too taught. If it's too tight it will make the foam look lumpy.)


I put staples about and inch apart. You may as well go staple-crazy, because you don't want the fabric to pull when you sit on the seat.


When it comes to the corners of the seat, just fold the fabric like you are wrapping the end of a present, and staple. This is a little tricky, but you'll get it.
 
Now the stool was covered but the excess fabric was hanging down. You could cut the excess fabric, using a utility knife.  However, my creative (read: lazy) way to cover up the excess fabric was to glue gun fabric ribbon around the bottom of the seat.


So, here's the finished stool. I think they look better, even if they're still falling apart.  I can live with that. Unless there's a lawsuit.

 

Now I have two very rickety, old, unsafe, but cushioned stools! If you ever stop by, you might want to sit on the sofa.
 
PS: Doesn't that picture of the underside of the stool feel wrong, like looking up a skirt? Or is it just me?
 
PS2: Here is a REAL website:

Seasoned Chair and Stool Accident Lawyer

Jeffrey S. Pop & Associates is a chair and stool accident firm of over 30 year's experience. The firm has a reputation for earning big verdicts and settlements in personal injury actions, most for over one million dollars. (WOW! A million dollars! Now I'm just hoping I fall off a stool or chair! Not only will I be rich, I'll get to say
"You'll be hearing from my Chair and Stool Lawyer" in a threatening tone.)
 

What about you? Do you hang on to furniture that really should be in a landfill?
 
 
LINK PARTIES for each day of the week. I can't say I make it to every one of these, but I'd like to!

If you have a link party I haven't listed, please email me or comment below!


SUNDAY

 
Sunny Simple Sundays Party at Sunny Simple Life
Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime
Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes
Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things
Restyled Sundays at Stylish Once Again
Silver Pennies Sundays at Silver Pennies
Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop at A Blossoming Life

 
 
MONDAY

Before and After at Thrifty Decor Chick (first Monday of the month)
 
TUESDAY
Savvy Southern Style
 
WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY
 
FRIDAY
 
 
SATURDAY
 
at

9 comments:

  1. Tammy @ A Walk in the CountrysideAugust 29, 2013 at 8:28 AM

    I purchased a small table at an antique store about 10 years ago that had a loose leg. Eventually with leg was only setting in the slot. Several times it was knocked over scattering everything that was on top. FINALLY, about 2 months ago, my CARPENTER husband fixed it! So, yes, I do use furniture that perhaps not so sturdy but don't tell anyone!

    ReplyDelete
  2. shannon i olsonAugust 30, 2013 at 10:33 AM

    I am just working on some chairs that needed some carpentry and new seat coverings! I was fortunate to find fantastic fabric, this is my first shot at recovering so I am glad they were easy, I don't think I could ever muster a big recover project!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownAugust 30, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    Tammy - hahaha! I see your hubby is right on the ball! :)

    Shannon - it was easy! Just check out all the tutorials on Pinterest if you need more of an idea! Good luck!!! And let me know so that I can see what you did!

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linda @ A La CarteAugust 30, 2013 at 7:05 PM

    Thanks for the great tutorial! This is a good thing to be able to update! Thanks for sharing at TTF.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownAugust 31, 2013 at 12:18 PM

    Thank you Linda!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Marti @ SewLicious Home DecorSeptember 1, 2013 at 2:19 PM

    Nice job! Thank you for linking up at SEWlicious Home Decor!

    Marti
    http://sewlicioushomedecor.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. OlsonSeptember 4, 2013 at 12:21 AM

    They may be rickety, but they are cute! It the look that matters, right? lol! Thanks for sharing them with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

    ReplyDelete
  8. RhondaSeptember 4, 2013 at 8:36 PM

    Thanks for coming by Craft Frenzy Friday. Visit us again this week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The Cottage Market {Andrea} ♥September 13, 2013 at 6:03 AM

    Fabulous! Thanks for the info and I love the results!!! : ) Hugs...tfs!

    ReplyDelete

Got thoughts and ideas for me? I would LOVE to hear from you! Julia