Swoon worthy bar stools.

Mmm, finally some more prettiness in the kitchen.  We were excited to start a phase 1 makeover of the kitchen area and when the walls and shelf were painted, it was very clear that the orange and yellow bar stools needed some love and colour change- orange and yellow really didn't work. The photo below shows the chairs originally in the kitchen (before the paint changes).

These chairs were made by an Australian designer and have been living in my parents shed for the past 20 years (except the yellow covered chair which I reupholstered previously to use in our country house when using my art eisle). In fact these chairs were originally left behind by the old owners of my parents house when they sold it to them. They were in pretty good condition as they had not had a lot of use.

As you can see these (well all three but one orange one is missing from the photo) are some funky chairs. I love their style and their height and comfort is perfect too. There is no way I was going to paint them so the easiest way to change them was to reupholster the seats with some white vinyl. From spotlight I got enough for the three chairs for $17 which is worth it to give these chairs some new life. The range at spotlight only had plain colours and white seemed like the best choice for a white painted kitchen. I also prefer to upholster most items in neutral fabrics as then they go with everything and don't age. While bright orange may have been all the rage once upon a time, they were looking too dated in the kitchen. My theory when tacking expensive to renovate spaces, like kitchens and bathrooms- keep it neutral and add accessories for the splash of colour. Now back to the chair process...

When we (Grandpa and I) got underneath the original vinyl we were pleased to find that the old school foam underneath was still in great condition and we could reuse it which would save us a bit as foam is always the most expensive part of reupholstering anything. I think the foam was in okay condition as the chairs haven't really been used much for the last 20 years.
After removing the original vinyl, we cut the white vinyl to size and carefully attached it to the chairs, using the original base fabric as well to keep down costs. The chairs were given a quick coat of estapol and I am blown away with how excellent they look. They really are now exactly what I wanted for the kitchen and while white was a safe choice, it works well and pops against the existing bench.

Another old item upcycled and just right for our house now! Home renovation on a tight budget is working our better than I thought, especially as I am blessed with finding free bench seats and some handy help. Let's hope this upcycling obsession of mine continues to help me find and make some more special items for the house. Will I ever be able say no to old furniture with potential when upcycling is so fun and successful? :)

Lisa x