STOOLS

Woke up this morning with a cat’s arse hovering dangerously over my face. It seems the mischievous moggy has devised a new way of getting me up at kitty o’clock (6 am) by jumping on my chest then happy slapping my face with its tail. Ah so cute. Not! Throw 8 x 1 kilo bags of sugar onto your torso then see how you like it. Help! I can’t breathe!

Wakey, wakey

Anyhow, we’re not here to discuss my early morning wake up calls but to talk about stools. I don’t mean the brown poopy sort; I’m referring to the three/four-legged variety.

I'm just what you need

I’ve bought a yucca plant to add a touch of fresh greenery to the corner next to the new vinyl storage cabinet yet when I looked at the thing, it seemed to me it was somewhat lacking on the charm offensive front. Hmmm, what this plant needs is a nice stool to sit on.

Lacking in something

Unable to find something I liked online then once again it’s craft-head on to come up with a novel way to make the stool of my dreams. (You dream about stools?)

Enter Leo the Lion. You see cute children’s play seat – I see ripped apart, pimped out plant stand. Purchased for £4.99 from my local Cancer Research shop, this lovable lion is just what I need for this next project.

Leo the lion - just what I needed

Let’s get started. Firstly, remove the cute covering which basically just completely peels off. Keep it handy in case you need to wear it in the garden to scare off neighbouring moggies using the borders as bogs.

Leo stripped down

Next, remove all the foam padding stapled to the top and sides. What’s underneath is a high sided drum shaped structure supported on four wooden legs with a rough wooden top. Perfect.

What's beneath the lion

Having examined the lion’s innards from every angle, I’ve closed my eyes to imagine how I can transform this item into something fitting in with the rest of my black and oak styled furniture.

Half-moon pine mouldings, yes that should do nicely for the sides. Cut the pine moulding into smaller pieces long enough to cover the sides of the drum.

Half moon pine moulding

Cut mouldings to the height of the stool side

On a level surface, turn the stool upside down then stick the cut pieces of moulding around the drum keeping the individual strips as vertical as possible.

Apply glue to cut moulding

Stick moulding to side of stool

Repeat until the whole side is covered

I’m using some black coloured CT1 adhesive for this part. This product has now become my ‘go to’ glue for all household repair jobs as it sticks just about anything to any surface. Set aside for a day or two for the CT1 to bond.

Bonds to any material

Once all the mouldings are securely fixed to the side of the drum, paint in your chosen colour. I’m painting mine in matt black furniture paint which I will then finish off with a coat of varnish or lacquer.