Upholstered Stool Makeover – A Roadside Find

There’s a certain thrill to driving down the road and spotting free stuff sitting on the side of the road. I gave one such recent roadside find, an upholstered stool, a makeover with a sentimental twist.

Of course, because this is me and I have a penchant for making things unnecessarily difficult, I didn’t spot the upholstered stool while driving by. I spotted the stool while out on a walk, and then proceeded to carry it a mile home.

My neighbors probably think… Well, I don’t even want to speculate.

But, hey. You have to carpe ~~diem~~ the roadside find when you spot it, or it might not be there later. You can quote me on that.

Upholstered Stool Makeover Scoop:

You’d think it was my first day of blogging, but I cannot find a true before picture of this stool with the old upholstery.

The wooden base of the stool was solid. It just needed a good sanding and restaining. It was a happy accident that the stain I picked matched the table I’ve paired it with so well.

As a side note, I’d bet money this stool lived in a child’s room because there was a piece of clear tape stuck to it. If you’ve been a parent for more than five minutes, you know little kids love tape.

I sealed the wood with Waterlox, which is my favorite way to seal stained wood. It’s forgiving to apply, penetrates the wood to protect it, and has such a nice lustre. The downside, last I checked the directions, which was not this time, is that you’re supposed to wait 24 hours in between coats.

The Sentimental Twist For This Upholstered Stool Makeover:

To reupholster the stool, I used the only scrap of material I had that was big enough. I don’t really sew, so squirreling away fabric so that I have plenty of choices for situations like this is not one of my vices.

Squirreling away scraps of emu leather from when my parents raised emus in Oregon, of all places, IS one of my vices.

There’s a lot to unpack in that sentence, but I’m going to leave you hanging so I can peck away at this blog post.

The important thing is that the emu leather is at least 30 years old, so it was way past time to get it out of the cupboard and put it to use.

Shocking no one, I’m not a professional upholsterer. I just stapled the leather to the underside of the frame and cut off the excess. No one’s going to be inspecting my work. Except all of you.

Did I try hard to get out the creases in the leather? No, but I put some extra muscle into pulling the leather tight just in case it helped. It didn’t.

The leather is also scratched and scarred a bit. I can’t see it when I’m sitting on it, so it doesn’t bother me as much as you might think.

With that said, I do hope this upholstered stool makeover isn’t underwhelming.

There’s a tendency to want to share the splashiest creations with the world. I love those as much as the next person, but what I love even more for my own life is a small change to a room that blends in seamlessly with the existing decor while adding another layer of texture, function, and sentimentality to the space.

That’s this upholstered stool.

It reminds me of my unique childhood. It’s a practical addition to the space. Plus, I lucked out with the color.

The grey leather had just enough blue undertones in it to complement the rest of the blues in the space. Blue pairs so well with the orange-toned woods in our home because they are opposite on the color wheel.

I now have a dedicated place to sit if I want to use my laptop at this table. It really is a lovely spot to work and be on Zoom calls.

When not using this table as a desk, the leaf folds down, and the stool can easily be tucked away under the table to clear the walking path to the sunporch French doors.

How do you feel about roadside finds? Did your family raise flightless birds, too? Let me know! Comments are like that feeling you get when your thrifted find fits just perfectly in the back of your car. They really make me feel victorious! You can comment on this blog post, email me here, or reach out via direct message on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy Scouting for Good Finds!