I purchased two barstools back in 2011 for $6.00. I’m sure you’re asking me why I still have those stools, but honestly I knew that I would be able to put them to good use at some point. I originally purchased them to move into an apartment my senior year of college, but that ended up falling through and I moved back home… But for some reason, I kept the stools.

Fast forward to 9 years later, I finally knew what I wanted to do with the barstools, I wanted to repurpose them into accent stools for my bathroom.

I ended up using supplies and tools that I already had at home so this project literally cost me $0.00 out of pocket. I’ll admit that it did take a bit of time to cut down the legs, sand, stain, prime, and paint… but I couldn’t be happier with the results.

Here’s the before and after!

If you’re interested in completing a project like this at home here’s what you need. I’ve also outlined the steps for you below. CLICK HERE for a visual of my entire process.

Tools/Supplies

• Solid Wood Stool
• Miter Saw/Table Saw/Circular Saw (optional – if you don’t want to cut your stool then you won’t need a saw).
• Drill/Screwdrivers
• Electric Sander
• 80 Grit Sand Paper
• 120 Grit Sand Paper
• Painters Tape
• Furniture Stain
• 4″ Foam Roller and 3 Brushes (not needed if using spraypaint)
• Paint Primer (Spraypaint primer works as well)
• Paint(Spraypaint works as well)
• Polyurethane

Method

1. If your stool is assembled, use your drill or screwdriver to take it apart.
2. If required, cut down the stool legs to your desired length.
3. Using your sander and 80 grit sandpaper, sand the wood pieces you plan on using in your finished stool. You want to make sure there’s no paint or gloss on the wood pieces.
4. Once all the old paint or gloss is removed, re-sand with the 120 grit sandpaper. This step ensures a smooth finish for the stain, paint, and polyurethane.
5. Stain the legs of your stool and let dry completely.
6. While your stain dries, prime the top of your stool.
7. After the legs of your stool have dried, tape of your legs at the desired height using painters tape.
8. Once legs are taped off, use a foam roller to paint primer to the top half of the stool, remove painters tape, and let dry.
9. After the primer is dry, retape the legs and paint the legs and stool top with your desired paint color. Remove the tape while the paint is still wet and let it dry for 2 hours.
10. After the paint has dried, re-tape the legs and paint the top and legs on final time. Remove the tape while the paint is still wet and then let the paint dry completely.
11. Once the paint is dry, use a foam roller to coat the stool in an initial layer of polyurethane on the legs and top and let dry for 20 minutes. Recoat two more times.
12. Let the stool dry overnight to cure.
13. Once dry, reassemble the stool!