Vintage Bar Stool Gets Makeover

We've had this bar stool for so long. We found it at a yard sale for $2. The guy we bought it from had no idea why we'd even want it.  I guess some people don't see the potential for a makeover?  I love taking old beat up things and making them pretty again, its fun to me!

Of course some may say that by the looks of its makeover, I beat it up again, but now its fitting into my farmhouse decor a little better than in its former state.

Here's the poor old thing as we found it.  Well, it is cleaner than when we got it, but still, this is how she looked to begin with.

First thing I did was to remove the old seat cushion.  You will need a flat head screwdriver and a pair of pliers.  The staple gun is for when you recover the seat.

The stitching on this stool was so rotten that I was able to just rip off the vinyl with no tools needed.

The foam was not attached in any way so it just lifted out.  I saved it to the side for when I recovered the seat.

Its hard to see them here, but there were a million rusty staples to remove.  I just used my flat head screwdriver to lift them up.  Do you see that crack to the right?  That is NOT good!

Oh dear! This is a problem!  I was thinking to myself, "I sure hope I can fix this!"

Some of the staples didn't lift all the way out so I used my pliers to pull them out.

Meet my trusty friend Gorilla Glue!  If you follow me you know that my honey and I both love this glue, its awesome! :)

I applied a generous amount.....even to the floor obviously! I just swept and mopped prior to this project.  Who does that? ME, that's who! :(

I used our furniture clamps to hold the pieces together.  I was at least hopeful since this is particle board and its very porous and was probably going to accept the glue gladly!

I used the Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint in Rebel Yellow and their Best Dang Wax in Brown for my project.

I won this giant prize of goodies on Hometalk's Instagram Stories a while back.  I got to choose $150 worth of Dixie Belle goodies.  I ordered myself a whole bunch of fun is what I did.  I've got so many projects to do, so stay tuned!  THANK YOU Hometalk and Dixie Belle! :)

Using my handy chip brush, I painted the entire bottom of the stool.  Since I was doing this project on my nice clean kitchen floor, I decided to put down my canvas paint tarp just in case I decided to drip paint (which I did, lots because I'm a messy painter).

This paint dries really fast, but make sure your paint is dry and then using a dry, lint free cloth (I used an old dish cloth) apply your wax.  In some spots I got a little wild and just used a damp cloth to evenly distribute it better.

I distressed the stool on the places that I thought would normally get worn if it were being used.  I used a piece of 220 grit sand paper to distress it.  Be sure to use wipe all the dust off before the next step.

I used the Dixie Belle Clear Coat in Flat to seal all my hard work in and keep it protected.  This stuff is great!  I used a foam brush to apply it.

Now for the seat, I wanted something neutral, so I went with a 1/2 yard of muslin fabric that I picked up at WalMart.  I'm still debating on making a ruffle out of this fabric to go around the bottom edge of the stool.  What do you think?

To make my seat a bit more cushy looking I added a little bit of quilt batting.  I used three pieces to make it extra fluffy.  I may have gone a bit overboard, but I like it.

I cut a piece of muslin big enough to fold up and staple and then the batting is cut to fit just to the edges.  In hindsight I should have trimmed off the corners and made it more round BEFORE I got started stapling it on the stool.  Next time!

I folded the edge over to make it look more finished when I started stapling it on to the stool.  I used our handy Stanley hand stapler to attach all the fabrics to the stool.

I added this vintage piece of crocheted trim to the bottom edge just using pins for now to see if I liked it.  I still think I'm going to make a big ruffle for it.  Who knows! :)

If you loved this project and want to save it for later, be sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board.

Here are a few more projects where I used chalk paint:
 
Easy to Make Fancy Hand Lettered Sign 
Chalk Painted Picture Frame with Free Print 
$5 Bedside Table Makeover
Corner Cabinet to Cat Condo

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House  - (I was featured)