Stool Turned Sidetable

At the beginning of the summer I started cleaning off my back porch, which is no simple feat when it is hoarded wall to wall furniture.  The reason was two fold, to make a nice sitting area for eating and visiting, and to make my husband happy. I guess it isn't easy to BBQ when you have to climb over chairs and dressers?  Hmmm.

As I was getting ready to start my Wicker Furniture Makeover I realized I had no side table for the space. Since I have basically no budget, I went in search around my house to find something that might solve my problem.  Luckily I came across a broken stool and a round pine panel, which I thrifted long ago...it was a match made in heaven!  My stool turned side table was in the works!  I shared this project on My Repurposed Life a couple of months ago, and I am happy to finally share it with you today.
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table

Sometimes the simplest of projects turn....well, not so simple.  Turning this stool into a sidetable is a pretty simple project, but I, of course, had to add some sort of a challenge and that was my two toned stained design, which I am in love with, by the way.  So it was worth the extra time it took :).
Before of broken stool
Here is the stool which was totally falling apart.  The top was already unattached, it is just sitting on the legs in the left photo.  I added a few nails into some of the legs and rungs to help sturdy it up.
Pine round
This pretty pine panel was a score at the Restore a long while back.  I got it for $3.  I have a hard time passing up good wood when it can be made into something cool...especially when it is cheap.  I found Edge-Glued Rounds at Home Depot for only a couple of dollars more, which is awesome!  I might have to make another one to match...

As I was searching my house I also ran across a round lazy susan that I had picked up for $1 at some point, since it was too small for a table top I took it apart and stole the lazy susan hardware.  Because a spinning side table is more fun right?  Well, with kids anything that spins is...so why not?  If I don't like it I can always remove it.
Drilling hole to turn stool top into a lazy susan
I started by centering the lazy susan on the top of the stool and marking the screw holes with a pencil.  Then I removed it and drilled a large hole, you will see why later (see first photo).  In the second photo I am making sure the big hole I drilled will line up with the screw holes on the metal, and I also pre drilled holes for attaching the plate to the wood.  Lastly I grabbed the table top and on the underside I centered the lazy susan and pre drilled holes for attaching it with screws.
Sanding down pine round
Then I sanded it down really well.  Oh, and that random blue string in my hair are my ear plugs.  Gotta protect those ears, and yes, I should be wearing a mask, oops!
Trying out scrap wood for shelves on stool
If this was going to be a side table it had to have some shelves.  I tried paint sticks and some scrap plywood.  The plywood won out in the end, so I cut them to size and did a dry fit.  So far so good.
Minwax stain cloths for pine top and shelves

For my table top and shelves I tried using Minwax Walnut stain cloths for the first time.  It was a perfect small project to try them on, and I really liked them.  It was quick and I only had to use one cloth, sweet!  

Spray painting stool bottom
Next up was painting the stool.  Since my wicker furniture is pretty colorful, I decided to go with white, or heirloom white in this case, because I had some left over from my DIY Rustic Shelf and my Curtain Tie Backs Repurposed into Towel Hooks.  I started upside down to spray paint, and then ended right side up.  You can see I also sprayed the edges of the stool seat.
creating geometric pattern with painter's tape
To do the design on my stool I got some painters tape with edge lock and started layering it on a small cutting mat by overlapping the edges.  Then I measured and drew out the design right onto the tape, picture 1 above, but first I traced around the edges of the small shelf board right onto the tape.  I did it this way is because I wanted thinner lines for the two shelf boards, and the tape was too thick.  In photo 2 I am cutting on my lines.

In #3 I am peeling off the shape to place it on my board.  It is important to peel slow and make sure all the layered tape pieces come up together.  I was kind of making this up as I went along...a little tedious, but it worked.  Then in photo 4 you can see how I placed the design on my shelf boards.  I had started out just doing this design for the smaller shelf and then decided I would use the reverse of the design for the larger shelf, since the tape was already measured and cut...it saved me some time!
using painter's tape to create a pattern on shelves and table top
For the table top I used the thickness of the tape.  My cutting mat had triangle lines on it so I used that as a guide to make my arrows and triangles.  It was a great way to keep them all the same size.  You can see in the photo on the right I just used some small pieces of tape to space my arrows, and then pulled it up when I was done.  To seal all the edges I rolled the tape roll over all the ends of the tape on the boards.
staining over taped pattern with darker stain to create two toned effect
Once I had all the boards taped, I used a darker stain (Rustoleum's Kona) to stain the boards again.  When I peeled off the tape this is what I got, and it is making me happy!  To seal it I used three coats of poly sanding between coats 1 and 2.
Nailing shelves onto stool slats
To attach my shelves I simply nailed them onto the stool rungs with my Roybi Air Strike nailer.
attaching table top with gorilla glue, and attaching lazy susan
To attach my lazy susan, I started by screwing it onto the top of the stool seat where I had already predrilled the holes.  Then I flipped the stool seat over and set it onto the bottom side of the table top.  Looking through the big hole I drilled into the stool seat, I lined up the metal plate of the lazy susan to the pre drilled holes on the back of the table top.  Then I attached it to the bottom of the table top by screwing through the big hole in the seat (see second photo) above.  I had to turn the seat and line up the big hole each time I added a screw.

Then I used my Gorilla wood glue to attach the stool seat back to the legs.  I also added a nail into each leg and stool top to help hold it while it dried.  And I was done....my lazy susan side table complete!
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
The two toned sainted wood really makes the piece special, and I love to see how the different woods take the stain.  The top is pine, the small shelf is plywood, and the bottom shelf is poplar, all a little different but close enough to "match".
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
You can see I had a little bit of bleeding when I stained it the second time, but not enough to ruin the look.  My pine top got some dings and digs while it resided in my garage, just some natural distressing provided by six kids over time.  I actually like it that way because it adds character.
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
Since my patio is not ready, I did a little staging on my front driveway.  This table would really go well next to any chair or couch inside.
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
The shelves can be useful and/or decorative which is always great.  And if the lazy susan isn't that useful, that is ok, I at least know it will entertain my kids :)!
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
And one more shot of the top, just because it makes me happy!
MyLove2Create, Stool Turned Side Table
I am glad I was able to use what I had on hand and create what I needed, I just wish I could have finished my patio this summer.  Oh well, such is life, at this point this side table has been hanging out in my room.

So what do you think?  Have you ever made a stool into a table?

Hugs!
Mindi

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I will be linking to these parties.

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15 comments

  1. Oh wow such a clever and cute idea. Totally Pinning it :)

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  2. The stain design on that is AMAZING! I've been trying to decide what to do with my kitchen stools for awhile, painting? staining? Definitely doing a stain design! Nice Work! Mindi!

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  3. Crazy! I must say that I love clicking on your posts and reading and scrolling down to see the progress of your projects...it is so fun to see where you take things! This is incredible and I am not kidding you when I say that I recently gave a stool like this away to goodwill as I just couldn't figure out what to do with it. And now I see this and I am like....holy cow! What you envision is out of this world! This piece are gorgeous Mindi!!! Just beautiful! Hope you are having a good week friend!! Nicole xoxo

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  4. Mindi, I love the stain design you did! Gorgeous! At first, I was trying to figure out how you did that and then I scrolled down and saw your mini tutorial. Very clever! :)

    I love how you can take something old or broken and give it new life. I definitely look at stuff I have packed away in the basement or items in thrift stores, in a new way. :)

    I hope all is well and life is starting to find a comfortable tempo. :D

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  5. That looks so great! You are very good :-) I think I can learn a thing or two from you ;-)
    greetings,
    Ronja Lotte
    (www.nur-noch.blogspot.de)

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  6. What a clever idea! I absolutely love this table. Thanks for linking up to the Outside The Box party. I want to share this project with my facebook fans right now - https://www.facebook.com/bddesignblog :)

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  7. What a great tutorial....love when you can make something old new again. Great idea with the top, it looks lovely. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  8. Great project as always! Love how you turned it into a side table with shelves! I would just like to invite you to stop over to Weekend Craft and link up on our Creative Spark Link Party. Hope to see you over there. http://bit.ly/1tYPo3T

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  9. That's a great idea. Could even be used as a plant stand. (I have plants on my mind, can't stop buying them...)

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  10. Love, love, love, love LOVEEEEE the stain! Great idea, too, but I just LLLLOOOOOVVVEEE the stain!

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  11. You are so creative! The table turned out amazing and I love your stain treatment. Thank you for sharing it at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a great weekend! ~Deborah

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  12. What a fun idea! I love the geometric design on top with stain. Thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded!

    Alison
    Nancherrow

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  13. Love the two tone stain, what a great little upcycle!, nice job pinning!

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  14. Wow! I love this stool, so creative and fun! Thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded. I"m featuring this today!

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  15. What a great idea! Thank you for sharing this post at City of Creative Dream's City of Links last Friday! I appreciate you taking the time to party with me. Hope to see you again this week :)

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Your comments make me smile! I love to hear what you think!