I pick up footstools all the time at auctions and garage sales. They are easy to makeover and sell quickly in my booth. The uglier they are, the more economical they are to purchase.
This one was realllllly ugly!
I'm showing the bottom because the top was sunken in. It was falling apart and basically disintegrating.
I removed it all. There were spring but they were bunched together with no structure. My spring-tying skills aren't the best so I just trashed all of it. Then I gave it a good cleaning.
Instead of retying springs, I cut a piece of plywood for the footstool to support the foam.
I attached the plywood to the base with screws.
I painted the legs with black chalk paint.
I sanded the legs to distress the piece.
I coated the legs with Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane in Crystal Clear Satin.
I added a four inch piece of foam, covered it with cotton batting and tacked it into place.
I bought this buffalo plaid fabric from the remnant bin at a fabric store. Remnant bins are a great place to find inexpensive fabrics particularly when you need a yard or less—perfect for footstools! You need to take care with any fabric having a specific pattern. I aligned the fabric to ensure the lines were straight and line edges were in the middle both length and width-wise. I stapled the fabric continually checking to ensure the lines were straight.
I pre-drilled holes to add a button to the center of footstool. I used an upholstery needle and waxed thread to pierce the plywood, foam and fabric.
The needle came through exactly where I had planned—whew! I made a button with leftover fabric ensuring the fabric would line up with the placement. I threaded the button and pulled the thread back through the foam and plywood and tied a knot.
The button and the pattern lined up perfectly!
This clean, refreshed buffalo plaid footstool will now work in any farmhouse decor instead of landing in a trash heap.
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