Restoration | organised castle

You would think I would have had better things to do 3 days before we travel overseas but I decided to make new covers for some cushion pads to go on some stools for the kitchen.

When we first moved to this house I was unsure whether I actually wanted stools to sit at the breakfast bar at the island bench. I felt that they could make the space feel visually cluttered. In the meantime, we decided to utilise the space under the bench to store some of the buckets which hold bulk dry goods such as flours, nuts and dried fruit.

These will eventually be housed in the revamped and extended butler’s pantry but I am really not sure when that is likely to happen due the eternal dearth of tradesmen.

A few months ago I spotted a giveaway of 2 stools that turned out to be in the next street to us. They were in OK condition overall buy the cushions were covered in a faded yellow fabric that was rather grubby from having been stored in the shed. I picked them up and set them aside as a future project.

So, a few days ago I rearranged somethings in the wardrobe in the spare room, relocated the buckets of dry goods to the wardrobe and set about transforming the stools.

The first step was to remove the old covers. Deconstructing items carefully is a great way to create a pattern for their replacement and helps to understand how they are assembled.

Some strong calico from my stash created a neat, smooth base for the new covers.

I chose a lovely vintage cotton paisley print fabric which had been given to me some time ago.

I decided to adapt the design slightly to make the covers removable and the extension flap folds over to the underside of the cushion and fastens with velcro.

I am very happy with the end result.

The stools are exactly the right height for the bench and the backs are low enough that they do not create a significant interruption the the visual lines of the bench.

I also made a new set of tiebacks for the curtains in the family room to match the cushion covers. They replaced the ones that I made when we first moved in.

It is over 2 years since my mother died and in many ways it seems like just yesterday. Both of my parents were small children during the Great Depression which undoubtedly coloured their views of taking care of their possessions and mending, repairing and upcycling where necessary. Throwing perfectly good items away was simply not in their DNA. Much of this mindset filtered down to my siblings and me so we felt a certain obligation to ensure that Mum’s personal effects were distributed wisely. Some went to various family members, others were sold and yet more went to charities who could use them.

I was surprised when my younger daughter expressed an interest in the kitchen stepstool. It was sturdy but had seen better days and the orange vinyl seat screamed 1970s. Nevertheless, she was keen to have the stool as it offered a practical solution for accessing the top shelves of her kitchen cupboards as well having some special memories of helping in her grandma’s kitchen when she was a young child.

I don’t have any before photos but GMan dismantled the stool, removed the seat and spraypainted the metal frame. We disassembled the seat, scrubbed the vinyl cover, bought a new piece of foam and cut a replacement base from some leftover timber. I used upholstery staples to recover the seat using the same vinyl cover. This is apparently some of the appeal to my daughter.

Here is the end result.

The seat folds up to allow the steps to be accessed. Note the photobombing dog!!

We will be delivering the refurbished stepstool to its new home this week.

Don’t forget that there are various repair cafes and groups who can assist with restoring/repairing items if they are beyond what you are prepared to tackle.

Remember, the most sustainable items are those that you already own.