About a year ago, I began looking for a
stool to match a mid-century modern Copenhagen-style sewing machine
cabinet. I found several which were too expensive (more than $100)
and one which needed too much restoration work (the legs were painted
blue and the seat had been recovered with a printed patchwork cotton
fabric). Finally, a month ago, I found a stool with a reasonable
price ($20) and its original upholstery. The upholstery was in good shape, but the legs needed some work.
The legs had a coat of tan
paint over the original blonde finish and they’d been scuffed up a
bit.
I didn’t care about the paint or the
scuff marks because I was going to refinish the legs to match my
cabinet. I used wood stripper and a teflon pad to remove the old
paint and the original finish.
Next, I applied a walnut stain which I knew
would be too dark. I wiped off most of the stain immediately after
I applied it and then used mineral spirits to
make the walnut stain even lighter.
I brushed on a coat of
polyurethane which contained a cherry stain. If I’d wanted the legs
to be more red, I could have applied another coat of the
polyurethane/stain, but they were exactly the color I wanted after
one coat.
I’m thrilled to pieces with my “new”
stool and I'm sure I'll use it a lot. Happy Sewing everyone!
