Decor

Thrifted Footstool: Before And After

I told you I legit couldn’t stop crafting.

I think it’s because I’ve decided that I don’t care whether the end result is especially spectacular. I mean, it’s nice if what comes out of an hour or two spent in the company of a paintbrush and some bad reality TV is a beautiful addition to my home, but far more important is having a little fun with it. Because if it’s not fun…what’s the point? If you just chill out a little bit about the end product and let your freak flag fly, what crafting ends up being is free therapy, and ain’t nothing better than that.

OK, so check out this footstool/bench thing that I found at a thrift store on the Saw Mill. Now, that is an ugly piece of furniture. Pukey color, tattered (albeit glittery) seat fabric, et cetera et cetera. But I was really into those curved arms and had a sneaking suspicion that with a little TLC it could be really beautiful, so home with me it came.

I’ve been loving how the sunburst mirror I painted white looks against my white wall – sort of adding texture and interest without being too in-your-face – so I decided to start by painting the footstool white as well (I used paint+primer, and it took two coats to cover fully). Another reason I chose to go white: white paint is what I had sitting in my basement. (Are we noticing a trend with how I choose to proceed with my crafts? Not a huge fan of leaving my cozy, warm house in search of materials these days.) After the paint dried I added gold leaf accents, because I thought they would make the pretty detailing on the piece pop a bit more.

I was intimidated by the idea of reupholstering a seat cover, but as it turns out: super easy. I just took out the screws holding the seat to the stool, banged it out with a hammer, and then covered it with fabric and used Krazy Glue to keep it in place (I’ll follow up with a staple gun to make it more secure once I get my hands on one).

The end result:

thrift store bench after

I’m crazy about it.

Here’s a close-up on the fabric:

vintage scarf seat cover

I went for a sheer scarf that I found in Carmel because I love the colors and how you can still see the glitter from the old fabric peeking through in the right light. (I wasn’t thrilled about cutting up a scarf that I love, but honestly, I only wear it every so often, and I decided that I’d get a lot more enjoyment out of it by incorporating it into my decor.)

white bench

Eeee I love it.

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