{Furniture} Thrifty Upholstery

I found a little jewel of a stool in a thrift store and she was peach and had on some pretty awful floral fabric.  I knew there was hope for her, but it had to be cheap! Sorry, but I can't find my before picture.  Just trust me when I say she had good bones and that was about all.

I saw these beautiful stools online and thought that would be a nice look.  I have lost the link, but they were on One King's Lane for over $1,000.  That's all the incentive I needed to see just how thrifty I could be!

 With a little sanding and a coat of Vanilla Paper chalk paint, we were on our way.

Do you see the big drip on the top right?  Not to worry!

Look what I can do!

You don't get a dipsy doodle like that everyday!  

(If you don't get it, look up MADTV Stuart on YouTube. You won't be disappointed.)

I followed up with Annie Sloan dark wax to give it a super distressed look.

Next came the seat upholstery which was my favorite part because it was so easy and so thrifty!  If you are a perfectionist, rule follower kind of upholsterer, you may want to stop here.  Or get hives if you continue...

Welcome to my upholstery workroom kitchen table.  This shows how simple this part is because all your supplies are right here. (along with my Christmas decor still up well into the new year...)  Do you see my expensive padding for the seat?  Yep, it's an egg crate mattress from Wal-Mart!  For $9.99 you can cover lots chair seats!  Lay the chair seat on it and trace with a sharpie, then cut it out.

 "Bumpy," you say?  Heck no!  Just flip that sucker over!

Next, I wanted the best part of my pretty piece of fabric to show. (from Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon!) 

So I moved it around a couple of times, folding it over until I got what I wanted...

and this is what I settled on

 This next part is really difficult and has taken years to perfect. Only attempt this at home if you are highly trained in taking the shortest possible route to get to a finished product so you can have instant gratification. And, it's the second time you need a sharpie in this project. God made sharpies and said, "This is good."  He also made iron on fabric tape.  Sewing? Way overrated. But that's another post.
 Back to work.
I eyeballed how much fabric I needed around the edge and drew a sharpie line for cutting.  I tried to crop out my sleeve in the picture, but I'm busted again.  I love pajamas.  I do my best work in pajamas.  Not everyone understands the concept of pajamas as business casual or after 5.
I digress.

After cutting, I used my staple gun to attach the fabric.  Then my best half screwed the seat on, and there you go!

Total cost?

Stool $4.99

Fabric $5.00

Part of egg crate $3.00?

Paint and wax (had it)

$1,000                 

Under $15








Thrifty and beautiful!  Two of my favorite things!  Now, I think I'll go find a vanity to put with it!

He makes beautiful things!

Y.