Owens Corning

Make Kitchen Stools A Work Of Art

Kitchen stools, bar stools and utility stools are extremely useful. They can also brighten an area if you create a design on them. A variety of techniques are easy to apply. Start with the most common, unfinished wooden stools that are easiest to find in either 24 or 32 inch heights. Begin by sanding the wood smooth. If you are using previously painted or stained stools, remove the finish or at least sand so you can repaint.

Pretty Paints
Paint the legs with one bright color and the round tops a contrasting color. Or, paint each rung and leg different pastel colors. When using two colors the darker shade should be used for the legs and the lighter shade for the top. It looks sturdier this way.

Savvy With Stain
Stain the legs with a dark wood stain and the top with a lighter stain. If you use an all-in-one product such as WoodSheen from MinWax, you can brush the stain and varnish on with one coat.

Check It Out
Paint the stools with semi-gloss, white latex enamel. When dry, create a grid of tape over the entire stool top and, using a sponge brush, paint the exposed squares with blue latex or acrylic. When you remove the tape you'll have a blue and white checkerboard top.

Batik-it!
Crayon batik is a wonderful technique that's fun to do and the results look great. It's best used for creating a bright, colorful, childlike design. Begin by drawing a simple design on the stool top. This might be something playful from a child's coloring book. Using oil pastels or crayons, color in all areas of the design. Coat this with shellac, not varnish or polyurethane. When dry, add more crayon color for a brighter design, if desired, and shellac again.

Sponge Shapes
From an ordinary sponge, cut different shapes such as triangles, squares and circles. Squirt a small amount of acrylic paint on a plate (it will wash off). Dab the sponge shape onto the paint and pat in a random pattern over the stool tops.

Marker Magic
Once the stool has been painted a background color, use a permanent marker to draw squiggly lines this way and that all over the stool top.

Decorate With Decals
Paint the entire stool and let dry. Then cover the stool top with a collage of floral decals. To design your own, cut flowers from, wrapping paper, greeting cards or wallpaper. One giant sunflower makes a nice design in the center of a stool. Cut out leaves and vines to wrap around the legs. Add several coats of varnish or polyurethane to cover the paper.

Paper Patchwork
Choose a variety of patterned and colored wrapping papers and cut into squares and triangles to arrange in a crazy quilt pattern on the stool. Or choose a traditional quilt square pattern to create with paper. Glue in position. The edges of the paper should overlap the edges to the underside of the stool top for a finished look. Coat with polyurethane.

Padded Comfort
Once you've painted the legs it's a cinch to upholster the seat. A large size printed napkin for example, a calico print, or dish toweling can be used to cover each stool. Cut the fabric so it is large enough to wrap around to the underside of the stool. Then cut a piece of quilt batting to fit the stool top and add some stuffing to the center. Place this on top of the stool and cover with the fabric. Pull the edges to the underside and staple all around.

Photo Montage
Create a montage of overlapping photographs or valentine stickers and paste over the stool top. Use a decorative ribbon or upholstery tape to glue around the edge of the top to finish.

Dab It On
For the quickest and easiest finish use a sponge painting technique. Paint the entire stool with white latex enamel. Then choose another color for the sponging. Rip off a piece of natural sponge and dab it into the color. Using a light touch, apply it alternately with a rolling and tapping motion to fill in with color. Add a band of solid color around the stool's edge for a finishing touch.

Milking It For All It's Worth An early American, milk painted effect can be achieved by using fabric dye. Red or blue works best. Dilute the dye in a cup of boiling water. Use a sponge brush to coat the entire piece. It will soak into the wood and dry quickly if applied out of doors on a dry sunny day. Keep applying more dye to achieve a deep shade. Then dip fine sandpaper in soapy water and rub over the wood to create an unevenness of color with some of the natural wood showing through. This will make the wood satiny smooth. Apply a semi-gloss polyurethane over all.

Copyright Leslie Linsley, author
Reprinted by permission HouseNet, Inc.

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