Now that winter has arrived, I have moved my work inside and have also switched to a different type of work.  During the winter months, I primarily work on reupholstery of furniture.  This type of work needs to be done solely indoors so I take advantage of the opportunity when the weather gets cold.

 

 

 

 

In the spring of this year, I purchased two stools and thought they would look great reupholstered.  They were structurally sound and very solid but the upholstery was clearly worn beyond its useful life. My philosophy is that antique furniture should generally be reupholstered with antique or old textiles.  One of the many reasons I hoard antique textiles.  At least, that’s what I tell myself . . .

I have a friend who gave me some gorgeous antique ticking earlier this year.  I thought it would look perfect on the larger stool.  For the other smaller stool, I raided my stash of antique grain sacks.

 

 

 

I love reupholstering stools because it takes less time than doing a larger piece of furniture.  It is satisfying to make progress at the end of the day.

I spent the first hour and half pulling out all the old upholstery tacks. Oy!  If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that upholstering furniture is tough on your fingers.  Fortunately, I have a very old small tool that helps me pull out each tack.  Once there was a pile of small little old tacks – I cleaned the wooden legs and frame of each stool.

This is how the stools looked with the new fabric draped over them.

 

 

 

Next, I cut the “new” antique fabric to size for each stool. Then, I headed downstairs to get one of my most valuable tools (MVT): the air compressor.  Upholstering furniture is just is not possible without an air compressor.  For years, I tried the large hand held staple guns but the staples never seemed to go into the wood correctly.  Half the time, the staples  would be sticking out and I would have to mash them down with hammer.  Simply put, it wasn’t a pretty process. Further, the staples weren’t strong enough to hold thick heavy weight fabric. (Like antique grain sacks)

The air compressor that I use is available here.

The upholstery “gun” that is use is here.

The compressor kit is here.

The downside to using an air compressor? Well, it can be a bit noisy for those other inhabitants in the house.  Especially, if they are trying to watch tv or talk on the phone.

Anyway, the stools are not completely done.  I still need to add the trim around the edge to the larger stool.  Nonetheless, gratifying progress was made.

 

 

 

The trim will go around the edges to cover up the staples showing on the stool below. Although this stool is not perfect and finished – I thought you would like to see how it looks as it nears completion. In the near future, I will post a fully finished “after” photo.

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!  It means so much to me that you take the time to read it.  Hopefully, there is something here that will inspire you or some knowledge you can use in your own life.