Bar Stool Makeover - From Modern to Rustic Industrial

Thanks so much for all your sweet comments on the kitchen island makeover. I really like the new color, so bright.
However, like in most updates, the domino effect has just started. Yeah. You know what I'm talking about, you change a single thing in one room, and then somehow many other things begin screaming for change. :/

The picture below is how the island and the stools looked before. It's hard to imagine almost five years have passed since that update! At the time I was going for a modern look, using lots of black and white items and of course, modern-looking furniture. 

I remember buying this set of stools because they were very cheap (the kitchen reno had taken all the savings) and because my kids really wanted to have stools where they could go round and round and up and down. For less than $70/pair, I got them at Amazon -a good price, and hey, they still function very well.

But, boy oh boy, my taste has changed, thanks in part to the many blogs I follow. ;)
When I placed the modern stools in front of my newly painted island they didn't go too well.

I brought the other set of stools I have, the coffee-painted bar stools, they looked much better but still not quite right.

That's when I decided to change the style on those modern bar stools, and this is how it all went:

Using the round top of the stools as a template (12" diameter), two circles were traced on a piece of plywood. You can use a jig-saw to cut the circles out, I used my Rockwell BladeRunner.

The thickness and look of the plywood were not what I was going for (by the way it's not even plywood is a remnant piece of the underlayment I bought for the kitchen organization project HERE), I wanted the stools to have a thick round seat.

I got 1 x 5 and 1 x 6 pine and poplar pieces from my scrap pile, they were cut to size...

And the plywood circles were brought, placed on top of each set of boards, and traced around.

Then, using the Kreg Jig, pocket holes were done to screw the pieces together, and use glue in between the boards.

After cutting out the new set, both circles were glued together and five - 1¼" screws were driven from the bottom up.

Sanding is a necessity, you can see the difference.

Even though Thompson's WaterSeal Wood Stain- spray is recommended for outdoor projects, I just love it for everything wood! Beautiful mahogany color with just two coats.

The metal part or base was sanded and spray painted with Rust-Oleum Hammered -Brown and the connecting pieces were spray painted black.

 After distressing the wood, this is how they show that old industrial look.

Little specks were added to the metal part with the black spray paint.

I'll keep you posted on how the paint holds, especially on the footrests.

I think this new set goes way better with the kitchen island, don't you agree?

Hmmm,  stay tuned because there's still more to the domino effect. ;)

Some related posts you might like:

Coffee Painted Bar Stools

Kitchen Island Makeover

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