Hi everyone! I am back to share a couple of vintage foot stools I found earlier this summer while out junkin’.  I have given them DIY French farmhouse style makeovers and I am so happy with how they turned out. *This post contains affiliate links.

Foot Stool Makeover #1

Before

Here is the first one I found for $7.00 at a consignment shop. I actually thought it was pretty as it was, but I really wanted it to have more of a farmhouse look. Also, I am highly allergic to dust mites, mold spores and generally old musty smells and fabric, so it’s always just safer for me to either paint right over any fabric with Zinsser Mold Killing Primer followed by chalk paint, (as long as it isn’t visibly moldy or smelly…if so, then I don’t risk it, and I just get rid of any old upholstery, old wood, and fiber filling).

 

 

Not sure how old this foot stool is, but I was suprised when I turned it over and found it was heated. Since the cord looked pretty old and possibly unsafe, I had no interest in finding out.

 

 

This particular stool didn’t smell at all, so I orginally had planned to chalk paint over the whole thing. I wanted some distressed areas, so I used an old candle to rub on spots where I didn’t really want the paint to adhere. I also removed the top upholstered part so it could be recovered.

 

In the concientious effort I have been making to be kind to myself, I will not call myself a “bad blogger” for not taking a picture of the paint I used. I will simply call myself a “busy blogger” or an “excited blogger!” I get so excited when I start on these projects that I forget sometimes about photographing some of the steps. To be honest, I couldn’t share the color anyway because it was a mix of several left over whites and off whites, both latex and chalk paint that I just mixed up and slapped on. It dried rather quickly then I distressed the wood  by hand with 80 grit sand paper.

 

 

After painting and distressing I used Valspar dark antiquing wax.  I just painted some on and wiped the excess off with a cloth. I really like the dark tone of this wax.

 

 

 

I was originally going to use drop cloth to cover the stool, but I found this beautiful chenille fabric on clearance at Jo-Ann Fabric so I decided to use it instead.

 

After

Here is the finished French Farmhouse style foot stool. I think it turned out great! I only spent $11 total!

 

 

I have severe low back issues and I have found that just having my feet slightly elevated when sitting is much more comfortable for me. I have used this foot stool in front of our sofa, under the vintage theater seats in living room and in the dining room under the church pew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage Foot Stool Makeover #2

Okay let’s just call this another busy blogger mishap when I admit that the picture above is not mine because I didn’t get a before picture, but my “before” stool looked very similar with the same wood stain color.  I have a good reason for not getting a before pic though! It was a beautiful and bright, sunshiney June day, when I found the second footstool at a neighborhood yard sale for $5.  My husband and I came home from the yard sale and unloaded a few things from the truck out on the sidewalk by the back door before running to the grocery store. I never bring things directly inside before cleaning them and letting them air out, so I was just letting the stool sit out in the sun until we got back. While we were gone there was a torrential summer storm out of nowhere! When we got home the stool was soggy and musty smelling, so my husband took off the top and trashed it right away.

 

I had asked my Mr. Fix It to strip the stain down to bare wood for me since I am sensitive to chemicals. I didn’t expect him to do it that day, and he had already started stripping it down before I got a picture of the wood. He used Citri-Strip orange stripper which works really well, and it really isn’t as toxic as some of the other brands. Then he sanded it down as much as possible to bare wood. I really liked it at this point, but I wanted to give it a cerused look.

 

Using a watered down ivory color, flat latex paint from my stash, I dry brushed the paint on and almost immediately wiped it back off with a paper towel. I really wanted to keep a lot of the bare wood showing.

 

 

I let the paint settle down a little heavier in some crevices and in the corners.

 

Working fast, I removed most of the excess paint with a paper towel. If I felt like there wasn’t enough white I just layered a bit more back on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since we threw away the original upholstered top that got sopping wet, my husband cut a new top for me from a spare piece of craft wood from Jo-Ann Fabric. Then he drilled holes for me too. I would love to say that he always happily does these little crafting honey-do chores while whistling as he works, but I am all for keeping it real! He grumbles and moans just a wee bit sometimes! His idea of a fun junkin’ day is finding a set of nice used golf clubs and coming home and shining them up, not stripping down stinky old foot stools that I buy, saying “I can give this a quick and easy makeover” then he ends up doing some of the work! But, in the end he always thinks the projects turn out great! (Thanks hon’ you’re the best!) Now about that barn door…

 

 

I found this place mat at Hobby Lobby and  here was only one left, so I bought it to make a small throw pillow. When I found the second foot stool I decided to use it for the makeover instead.

 

 

 

The only type of filling I had for padding was this doll filler. Since I am impatient I decided to use it and just spread it out the best I could. It worked, but next time I will try a small piece of foam or batting. I simply spread out the fill evenly over the piece of wood.

 

Next I laid the place mat face down and placed the board on top.

 

 

Since the screw holes would be covered when I glued down the fabric, I used a pencil to help me easily find them.

 

 

 

I hot glued the fabric around the entire stool. It worked, but next time I will use a thinner bead of glue or better yet, use the staple gun. The glue was a little lumpy and that made it harder to get the upholstered part of the stool to sit completely flush once it was screwed back down.

 

And here is my finished French farmhouse “placemat” foot stool makeover. I love it! Total cost, $8.00.

 

This foot stool is the perfect height to use with my thrifted $5.00 “French” vintage chair (another one of my chalk painted DIY makeovers). The pillow is also a DIY. I bought an inexpensive “linen” pillow cover from Hobby Lobby and just taped off the French grain stripe pattern and lightly stenciled on some dark blue acrylic paint. I shared more of my chair, pillow and foot stool in my Vintage Summer Vignettes post for the Summer Festival Blog Hop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These little foot stools are so versatile. While they are great for their intended purpose, they also look cute as small decorative accents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stacking a couple of footstools makes them the right height to use as a “side table” to hold books, magazines or maybe a tray for a cup of tea.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of books, have you ordered Vintage French Decor by the talented Jamie Lundstrom at So Much Better With Age? It is truly amazing! There are so many beautiful photos and French vintage makeover projects to try! It will certainly be one of those that I refer back to for ideas for years to come.

 

 

Oh I just love taking an inexpensive thrifted find and giving it a vintage French Farmhouse style makeover! These foot stools were super easy and inexpensive too.  Just the other day I saw a couple more at my favorite thrift shop, and I believe they are calling my name! I am going to head back to the shop tomorrow and if they are still there I am going to snatch them up to use on the porch. I guess I can add vintage foot stools to my list of things I hoard collect.

 

Thanks so much for visiting today!

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