It’s summer, and that means there is probably a garage sale in your neighborhood every single weekend. If you’ve been looking to spruce up your bar area, why not avoid the hefty expense of brand new chairs and fix one up exactly to your own tastes? Making over an old garage sale or thrift store bar stool find is a great way to break into the reupholstering world. It’s fairly simple to do, and you will see how you can transform something worn out and discarded into your new favorite piece of furniture.
If you’ve got a wooden stool that you want to paint, first be sure to sand it down so the paint will stick to it better. Covering the stool will differ depending on whether or not your bar stool already has a cushion.
If it lacks a cushion, here are the steps to follow:
1. Using some 2″ foam, flip the stool upside down on top of it, trace around the seat and then cut out the foam. Don’t worry if the edges are a bit jagged because that will be covered by the fabric. You will want to use a coarser, sturdier fabric to cover the seat.
2. Next, you will measure the fabric. Take some measuring tape and place one edge underneath the seat, where the leg meets the seat. You will take the measuring tape over the top of the seat, across the foam, and back under the seat to the opposite leg.
3. Flip the stool over and staple the fabric to the bottom. That’s it!
If the stool already has a cover, remove it from the seat and start fresh with new foam. Or, if the cushion is in good condition, you can try removing the existing fabric and using the cushion beneath it. If it has a smooth fabric that isn’t bulky, you can even cover the entire cushion as is. Then follow the steps above.
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