Step Stool Makeover
With the weather getting warmer and having the 3-day weekend holiday, it was indeed a great week for us. Ok…maybe “for us” might be a little exaggeration, as Greg and Barish kept complaining about the work I put them onto. But on a positive note, I realized that I am getting better at dodging questions like “why can’t we be like normal families? like the ones who enjoy the good weather and have fun during the holidays?” Hahaha 😉
Although the pond the project is still carrying on, our vegetable garden is finally set and in business! And yes, despite the fact all this yard work is a little back-breaking (literally! For 3 days I had to wear my back brace due to my chronic back pain…) I am totally delighted that we are back on track with our yard work! Oh by the way, I even managed to get this step stool makeover out of the way, so I couldn’t be happier with our progress last week.
I found this step stool at the Put & Take last year and brought it home with us. It is in pretty decent shape as a step stool and was very useful in our garage. But since we will soon be doing a bedroom makeover, I wanted to move it to our walk-in closet and thought I should give it a little face-lift before it leaves the garage.
I started with taking off the glued on carpet pieces.
I have to say this was the most tedious part of the project. The carpet came off easily, but the glue didn’t want to budge! After a lot of scraping and sanding and scraping again, I finally got the surface cleared.
Next, I started filling the dings and gaps with wood filler. When the wood filler dried, I did another sanding to smooth the surface.
Before painting, I cleaned all the surfaces with a damp cheesecloth and prepared my homemade chalk paint in the Warm Onyx color. Didn’t I tell you I loved this color so much that I was planning to use it more often? Well here it is once again 😉
After giving the step stool 2 coats of my homemade chalk paint, I put it aside for the paint to dry.
In the meanwhile, I prepared some stencils for it. Since I was going to place it in our bedroom, I wanted to go with a meaningful pattern, so I chose a postal stamp pattern for each of the cities/countries we lived in. I only left Afghanistan out because we really didn’t live in a city there.
Once the paint dried, I waxed the step stool with white wax to achieve this nice smokey gray color. You may be thinking, what about the stencils? Well that is the good thing about chalk paint. It can be applied on almost every type of finish. Therefore I wanted to get the white waxing out of the way and reach the main color I wanted without having to worry about the stencils. When the white waxing was finished, I cut the stencils with my Cricut on a re-positionable adhesive backed vinyl and using the transfer tape, I placed the stencils randomly on the steps.
Using my homemade chalk paint prepared in cream color, I started stenciling the postal stamps. I applied only one thin coat of paint with a sponge brush.
The result was perfectly neat, but in real life, the stamp ink would have bleed a little. Therefore I picked a detail brush and started making those postal stamps not so neat-looking. One additional line here, some thicker dot there… and achieved the look I was after.
Before applying the final protective coat, I put the stool aside for a day. This was so the white wax would start curing and wouldn’t be removed when I applied the clear wax. The next day, I applied the clear wax as the final protective coat and my step stool was ready for use.
Here are the close-up pictures to show you the details a bit better.
The stamp below belongs to the city where I grew up and where my family lives. The date on the stamp is the date Greg and I landed in Izmir, and he met my family for the first time. What a day it was for him! LOL
Awwww… Saigon! Of all the places we lived in, Saigon has a special place in our hearts. Such a great city and such great people. I can’t speak highly enough of Vietnamese hospitality! We made so many friends for life there. I really can’t wait for Greg to write about the time we spent in Saigon. I am sure you all will love his Saigon posts!
Annnd back to normal beauty shots…
Handan, xo
I love it! What a great reminder of all your adventures together!
Thank you so much, Giselle! It indeed turned out to be a lovely reminder 🙂
Great idea and memento of your adventures. A very cool
Footstool indeed? Hope your back feels better soon. My back hurt just looking at your Phase 2 Pond post photos.
Thank you so much, Marie! 🙂
What a great keepsake of your adventures! Great idea and execution!
Thank you so much, Jen! 🙂
Aww Handan I love hand made pieces that speak to the heart. We are so lucky that we get to make things that have a special meaning for us and that no one else has in their homes. One of a kind pieces that mean so much to the owners. I think that is the best part of our “jobs”.
I couldn’t agree more, Mary! What was a dump find before turned into a sentimental piece now 🙂
You really turned a ho-hum piece into a great custom-look accessory! And your family story is quite intriguing! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm! xoKathleen
Thank you so much, Kathleen! 🙂
What a great way to bring your memories together. I love a great postal stamp and these have such meaning for both of you. It ended up looking terrific, who would have ever thought it when looking at the way it began. The stool looks really great in your room and I’m sure you will love if for years to come!
Thank you so much, Nikki! What was a dump find is now a sentimental piece and I really love it. 🙂
Great make-over. Love color and the memories attached!
Thank you so much, Brenda! 🙂
An excellent way to display your memories! I think I need a Cameo 🙂
Thank you so much, Angie! If you ask me I think every crafter/DiYer needs a Cameo 😀
I can’t believe it had carpet glued on it! You really made a beautiful stepstool out of it, I love those stencils!
Thank you so much, Katrin! 🙂
This is gorgeous. I am so in love with your chalk paint color. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I love the postal stamp idea for the stencils. Very unique and personal.
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful project with us over at the Monday Mish Mash Link Party.
*Hugs*
Thank you so much, Amy! It is indeed a brilliant color. On its own (meaning without white wax) it is just a simple brown with grey hints to it. But together with white wax it turns into totally a fantastic color.
If you want to see how that color looks on ornate frames check out my “In the Frame No.5” post (https://www.thenavagepatch.com/in-the-frame-no-5-ornate-frame-to-wall-clock/).
What a great makeover. Love your stool.
Bev
Thank you so much, Beverly!
Great remake, love the color too! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
I thank you for hosting such a wonderful party, Sara!
Love everything about it…great idea to use the postal stamp for cities!
Thank you so much, Michelle!
It looks a million times better just with that carpet off! Why did you have this neglected treasure in your garage, lol?! Great job…Thanks for sharing with us at the Family Joy Link-Up! Hope to see you again next week!
Thank you, Rachel! Yes it is definitely much better now. The carpet also used to collect dust all the time which was another reason for me to get rid of it 🙂
I’ve never seen a stool with carpet glued on it like that, no wonder someone got rid of it. But you turned it into something fantastic! Love the postage stamp idea, so creative! Thanks for sharing and linking up to Dishing It & Digging It!
Thank you so much, Lori! 🙂
Ouch, my back hurts for you! The step stool is truly a labor of love and it is beautiful. Once again, thanks for sharing your links with us at Celebrate Your Story.
Thank you so much, Sandra! 🙂
You gave it new life! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party!
Thank you so much, Helen! 🙂
What a gorgeous makeover! Featuring when my link party opens up tonight.
Wow! Awesome! Thank you so much, Carol!!
Gorgeous makeover! Not surprising though you are both so creative and make wonderful pieces 🙂
Thank you very much, Mistie! 🙂
Great transformation! The stencils were a great idea and I really love that you made this old stool into something that has meaning and purpose.
Thank you for sharing at Merry Monday!
Thank you so much, Amanda! 🙂
Wow, not only do I love the makeover but I love the personal touches you’ve put on it. Thanks for sharing for #iDIYed that.
Love how your stool turned out! Love that it has now become a keepsake of of your travels!
Thank you for fabulous project over at Waste Not Wednesday 🙂
Turned out beautifully! Thanks for sharing at To Grandma’s House We Go.
I just love everything about this! The transformation is gorgeous! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this at the Farmhouse Friday link party! Pinned and shared! 🙂
HandaN, I LOVE the stencils! I would buy them from u if you make them available. If you ever do, let me know. Thnx!!
Thank you so much, Karen! We don’t sell stencils, but in case you have a Silhouette or Cricut cutting machine, I’ll upload the stencil designs to the VIP Patch tomorrow, so using these designs you can cut your own stencils. And if we ever start selling physical stencils I promise you’ll be first to know 😉
Wow Handan you have done it again, i love it! What a lovely reminder of your travels and useful too. I love seeing something that was once unloved being turned into someones treasured possession.