DIY - Upholstered Stool

What sparks your imagination?

This is one question that I get frequently asked.

Well, I think there's not just one single source of inspiration; it comes from all around us and many times when you least expect it.

I spent a good amount of time this Summer going to places with family visitors.
There were walks around town, visits to monuments, museums, themed parks... we even had plenty of time to go shopping.

I was just showing them the places. They were the one's gift shopping while I kept on browsing, not really looking for anything. It's funny how I've been spending more time at home improvement stores than at shopping malls lately.

Well, it was there, at the clothing store when I spotted that chunky knitted scarf. At first, I thought it was a mini-skirt ...

But, after close inspection, I learned it was an infinity scarf like the one in this pic. Being the middle of Summer, it was priced at only five bucks. ;)

*This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Do you use scarves like this? I don't like something so chunky/warm around my head! Anyways, I bought it because it reminded me of a pouf, and that was the element or idea that sparked this project.

My initial thought was to create a pouf, but then at home, I changed my mind for something more steady... A little upholstered stool.

The other materials I had to buy for the stool were 4- 6" taper round legs with their corresponding angle-top plates.

This is a great project to utilize all those pieces of wood from the scrap pile.
Two 12" dia. wooden circles and 6 pieces of wood were attached to the circles with pocket hole joinery.

Attach the leg hardware before going to the next step.

This is how it looked at this point.

The next step is to upholster it. Add batting all around the body of the stool, securing it with staples.
Cut a 12" dia. circle out of 3" foam and add it to the top of the stool with spray adhesive.

Cover the top foam and body of the stool with another thick layer of batting.

A long piece of yarn was passed thru the top of the scarf. Pulling the ends tightly and tying them on a knot to close that end.

Time to cover the stool.

Guess what? It was too tall! :( It looked funny. Look, it was at the same height as the chair.
I had to undo the whole thing and cut those pieces of wood to half its size, only 3½" long.

Here, much better with the legs spray-painted black.

The overhead view.

I'm loving my new lil'stool!

I went for this project because I almost had all the materials needed... wood, foam, batting, staples, spray adhesive, spray paint... If you are starting from scratch it might be a little pricey.

For more DIY ideas check these out:

How to Recover a Chair Seat