Reupholstering 101: Vanity Stool

I love reading this delightful blog about making old, unwanted items new and fresh.  Paint goes a long way but it's always the upholstery jobs that really catch my eye.  I knew I wanted to try something with fabric but I know nothing (besides the pictures and explanations that I've seen on blogs) about reupholstering so I wanted to start with something simple.  I found this vanity stool at the consignment shop as part of a set, but, since I didn't need the actual vanity (our new apartment has a built in vanity), the lady offered to sell me just the stool for $10.

The stool is well constructed and very sturdy, but I wasn't a huge fan of the embroidered fabric and light wood.  Isaac thought it looked fine as it was, which it did, but I wanted something a bit more contemporary and fresh.

First I removed the seat from the frame with a screwdriver and painted the frame white.  While the paint was drying, I recovered the seat with some heavy weight upholstery fabric that I got in the clearance section of Jo Ann Fabrics for $4 (50% off plus a coupon for an additional 20% off).  That's it.  Actual time working: about 20 minutes (plus a little longer for the paint to dry).  Easy peasy.