pinched from the trash house

while walking the dog one morning, i happened upon this poor forlorn little stool abandoned in the trash house.



the seat cover stained & torn, i assume the owner gave it up for a loss. but the frame was sturdy and non-wobbly, and upon flipping it over, i saw that the seat was attached with four little screws. which suggested that with a little time, some elbow grease and a new fabric swatch, this guy had a new life ahead of him. so i dragged him to my stairwell, stashed him behind a bush, and continued walking the dog. eventually he made his way up to my landing, where he hung out for a bit.

a few days later, i made it to the fabric store and browsed through the remnants for anything interesting. the shiny chrome frame made me want to either add some cool texture (i was thinking some faux cowhide could look awesome) for contrast or emphasize the smooth shine with some vinyl.

finally i happened on some light tan, creamy poly suede. win! less than a yard left on the roll, $12. mine.

today, i decided to take the stool apart. i undid a few screws and the seat came right off. the frame was super clean, no rust, so i just wiped it down with disinfecting wipes. then i began removing the 80 bazillion staples holding the old seat covers and white vinyl in place. this took over an hour. i used a tool that looks like the nail-puller end of a hammer but has a screwdriver handle, plus a pair of needle-nose pliers. the seat itself is a particle board, which means you have to be gentle with the tools or they will leave deep gouges in the seat. once all the staples were removed, i used the old white vinyl as a rough pattern and cut pieces of batting (which i had on hand from another project) and fabric. i have plenty of faux suede left over for another use (i am thinking i might do a pillow cover at some point). i used spray adhesive to reattach one circle of meshy looking stuff to the seat bottom to help prevent the particle board from dissolving into dust everywhere. then i stapled on the batting, followed by the poly suede and finally the other meshy circle to finish it off. reattached the seat to the frame, and we're done! i think it looks great. this guy is now living it up in my craft room, at least for the time being.