Monday, October 26, 2009

Step Stool



I have a 7 year old and a 3 year old - both of whom are too short to reach the sink in the bathroom without climbing.
I also have a couple of ugly old barstools.
So I decided to build a solution :)

First, I cut the legs off a stool, just under the first set of crossbars, making the stool a little less than a foot tall.


Then I put it in the kids bathroom and let them try it out for...well, WAY longer than I originally planned.  When I finally got back on track, I gave the stool a light sanding to prepare it for painting.



I wanted it to say something cute, and considered "step" "reach" and a few others, but eventually decided on "up"
I chose Book Antiqua for the font (classic, but a little more decorative than regular old Times New Roman) and printed it out with the font set to 350.
When I apply a stencil to wood I use a glue stick - it holds it in place nicely but comes off super easy.


After "up" was glued down, I gave the stool one coat of primer and two coats of white semi-gloss spray paint.


Then I did some selective sanding to give it a "shabby" look, removed the stencil and rubbed some stain over the top to darken the wood tone of the word.


Last thing was a coat of clear acrylic spray to protect it from too much more "distressing" at the hands of my children :)



P.S.
Ignore all the stuff in the background of the first picture...those are eventual projects :)

I'll be linking up to DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land!
and Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

32 comments:

  1. Now THAT is just too cute! Love it.

    pk @ Room Remix

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  2. Great idea--it would have been cute to put HELP on there as well.

    I look forward to getting to know you better.

    I've been praying for you.

    Cheri

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  3. soooo you just keep on impressing me!! I've posted about your darling blog & awarded the Kreativ Blog Award here -

    http://northerncottage.blogspot.com/2009/10/our-house-has-it.html

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  4. SOOO CUTE! I love it, I'm stealing the idea.

    :)

    Rachelle

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  5. Cute and functional - what's not to love!

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  6. Cute cute cute...I'd have a hard time getting mine off of it. :) Hope you have a chance to make those Trick or Treat bags. It was really fun for me. :) Thanks for the visit!

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  7. Now this is an awesome idea...putting the word "UP" on it...makes it soooo cute! Thanks for sharing.

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  8. I love it now I will be curbing for an old step stool. We so need one in every bathroom and under the lightswitch in the hallway! Brilliant!

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  9. Darling!! What a great way to reuse that old stool. Nice tip about the glue stick too, I'll have to remember that one.

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  10. How cute! Great idea to make a reg. stool into a foot stool... brilliant.

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  11. great idea to "shorten" that stool! thanks for commenting on my memo board!
    hope you're having a great week.
    gail

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  12. Looks great! Love the idea of the reversed stenciling, so much easier than trying to paint it (I can never stay within the lines).
    I am sure it will make for some happy water splashing pleasure.

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  13. Such a cute idea! And I love the word "up" steciled on it is so cute. Well done!

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  14. What a great way to re-purpose! The "up" is adorable and a great way to let the kids know that reading is "easy and fun!"

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  15. so cute, love the up stencil and I love the stool with the legs cut off, very clever and stylish...I am a new follower of yours, I will return for new ideas, come for a visit

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  16. Adorable and an AWESOME use of an old stool!

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  17. that's adorable! what a good re-purpose.

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  18. Now that is adorable!! What a great re-do!!

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  19. What a creative idea. Its so much better than those plastic colored stools.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I visit your blog often so it was exciting when you stopped by.

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  20. What a great idea! I love the way it turned out!

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  21. I love it. I bet your kids love it too. Thanks for sharing and thanks for stopping by for a visit.

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  22. Great Idea. I have this same ugly bar stool and a two yr old that can't reach the sink! HMMMMM......

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  23. Love it! Oh, I am seeing so much cute stuff, I'm going to keep looking around!

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  24. super cute! if i had done this it would have been so wobbly no one could stand on it!

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  25. Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!

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