little tree stool

This turned out cute by accident. Somewhere around here is the basketball colored and textured vinyl remnant I intended to use for reupholstering this little 1970s caster stool.

I picked the stool up at a thrift store awhile back for a crafting competition, but never got a chance to use it for a project.

I meant to paint it, too, but I wanted to get the seat covered, first, to see what color might look best with the new upholstery.

Four little screws held the pad on from beneath. A phillips head screwdriver took care of them in about two minutes.

 Here it is, plain brown without padding.

Here's how the other half lives, when the other half is separated from its stool.

And here's the seedy underside, riddled with a hundred staples.

I searched my stash high and low for that basketball vinyl, but couldn't find it. What I found instead was a thrift store upholstery fabric remnant printed with modern leaf outlines in shades of green. And I thought, suddenly, that it would be a much better match to the two Ikea stools that will flank it at the train table.

I cut the fabric to cover, plus about an inch and a half "seam allowance" to wrap around and staple.

So modern! So graphic! So summery! So . . . who designed it and where did it come from? (Google image searches turn up nothing.)

The secret to successful upholstery is to pull tightly, staple securely, and keep your curves smooth. I always start with a staple on one side (call it the west side), then pull the fabric taut and staple directly across from it (east side). Then repeat for the other two points on an imaginary compass rose (north and south).

I keep at it, stapling opposite points all the way around, pulling tight, tight, tight along the curve for a smooth edge. I never need a hundred staples; I think I used maybe twenty for this stool.

And here it is, finished. I could have painted the base white or some shade of green, but in the end,  it didn't need painting after all. The twiggy brown legs are pretty much the perfect complement to the leafy upholstery. My little Peter Pan loves it, and I imagine the Lost Boys would too.

Thanks for reading.