Little Stools: Function, Love and Sellability
Remember that cute little stool I found in someone’s curbside junk pile in “Curbside Junking Adventures and Tips” {Here}? Yesterday was it’s day for a little makeover…
Whenever I have the luck of finding one of these little homemade benches or stools, I scoop it up as quick as I can. Some handyman husband whipped it together because his little toddlers couldn’t reach the sink to wash their hands in the bathroom, or his vertically challenged wife couldn’t reach her top kitchen cupboards.
This cutie had all the wonderful paint colors of the 1920’s or 30’s that I love, peeking out from behind all the chippiness. The most recent creative owner had enlisted it’s artfulness in the garden and attached a cute little birdhouse to the top with a leather strap. Very cute and country. But I think this vintage stool has enough rustic beauty for it’s purpose in life to be elevated.
Mr. Fix-it got the rotten birdhouse off for me, because it was attached pretty securely. And yes, I made certain to tell him to keep the white porcelain electric thingy;)
After being stuck in the house quite a few rainy days, I was itching to get out my palm sander and reveal some of the vintage green peeking out from the pink and red paint. So much potential in this little curbside cutie!
I used 120 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rough edges and get all the chippy paint off. I made sure enough of the pretty green showed through for my liking. Sanding up a piece like this is like creating art. You have full control to reveal as much or as little of the colors underneath as you want. I honestly love sanding chippy paint pieces for this very reason!
Once I got it all sanded, I treated it to a couple of brushed on coats of poly which not only seals it, but intensifies and unifies the coloration.
With it’s makeover complete, this cutie pie stool was ready for it’s photo shoot. And since Memorial Day weekend is coming up, I decided to give it a little patriotic, picnic flair:
Adding a little red, white and blue with some sunshiny yellow looks good on this mini bench. Standing up some vintage flags in my newest member of my flower frog collection (which you can see {Here}), is a great way to use the frogs without water. I napped this cute frog at one of my favorite junk-hunting occasions…a church sale. See the rest of my scores in “For the Love and Comfort of Church Sales” {Here}.
And don’t you just love this little metal picnic basket with children frolicking about? My mom didn’t want it anymore and told me I could sell it, but I decided it was not leaving my house! The primary colors are getting me in the mood for summer, even though it’s only 50 degrees here in MN today:(
If you are a vintage or craft seller, definitely scoop up any little stools you find while you’re hunting. They’re an easy refresh and an easy sale. Whenever I popped some of these cuties into the store, they would sell in the first couple of hours. Price them between $14 and $24, and you could probably sell 10 of them in a day. Customers know they can use them to elevate any decor item or even to add layers to a pretty buffet of food. At a price less than $25, they’re a don’t-think-about-it-fast sale, but when multiplied can be a pretty nice profit for you! (And if you’d like some more vintage selling tips read my post, “Vintage Selling Tips: Rocking the As-Is”{Here})
But since I’m only talking about selling these days…this cutie’s a keeper! And I think it would be a perfect elevation for one of the punch container’s for our upcoming graduation party (which you can read more about in “Grad Party Planning Tips: The Decor” {Here}).
Happy junk hunting and refreshing!
Sharing at these lovely parties:
Thank you so much for sharing this at the Farmhouse Friday link party! Pinned! 🙂
Thanks, Michelle!
So cute. I love the idea of somebodies dad building this decades ago. Thanks for sharing at the To Grandmas House We Go Link Party. Scheduling to Pinterest too.
Thanks, Stephanie. Guess I’m a sappy sentimentalist when it comes to homemade vintage stuff!
Thanks, Brenda!
I also adore vintage stools and grab them whenever I can! You spiffed this one up perfectly, thanks for sharing your project at #FridaysFurnitureFix! Have a great Memorial Day weekend Lora!