Just finished -

A super cute retro piano stool.  First, a picture of what it looked like when I bought it:

And, now:

What I did with it:

Firstly I pulled it to bits, unscrewing the hinges to remove the lid.   Then I ripped off the old upholstery and padding.  I gave the wooden box a light sand then washed it.  Once it was dry I painted it with smooth surface sealer, then primer undercoat.  

I then did a couple of coats of Dulux Punakaiki on the box, and lid frame, inside and out.   Then I think 4 coats of Dulux Cape Colville over the box and lid, just on the outsides.

 

Once that was dry I sanded to distress on the edges and where I wanted to reveal peeps of the underneath colour (the duck egg shade).  

Then I planned my birdie and love heart design.  I traced them onto baking paper then transferred it onto the box the way I would have done in my school days - by scribbling with lead pencil on the back of the tracing, then holding it on the box and retracing over the shapes again.  Old-fashioned, but it works a charm!  I then painted my birdie and love heart designs using a cotton bud, mainly because I was so keen to see how it would look and I didn't have a small enough paintbrush on hand, lol.  Plus I actually liked the uneven look that it gave the paintwork, as it added to the shabby worn effect I was after.  

When that was dry, I sanded over the pictures, being careful to keep my sanding block going in straight lines so these would show up in the distressing.  I then did a medium oak-coloured wax coat over the whole piece to finish off the wooden part.

Then, the seat.  Pulling all the old staples out of the seat was hard work and the old piece of plywood they were stuck into was falling to bits around the edge so I cut a whole new piece, spray-glued some new foam padding to it, the spray-glued the new fabric to that, folding it under neatly around the edges.  Once that was well stuck down, I cut a contrasting piece of fabric and stuck to the back to neaten it all up and cover the folded over edges of the top fabric.  Then fitted the new cushion into the lid.  

Took some photos, and here it is!

I am showing this off at

and





xx Karen