Footstools are perfect to practice chalk painting furniture and trying upholstery for the first time. They are far less intimidating than a large piece of furniture and they don't take a lot of time to finish. My curvy embossed leather footstool took under two hours to complete and most of that time was waiting for paint to dry.

I should have titled this post the footstool that ran me dry because I used the last drop of paint in the jar, the last drop of clear coat, the last large piece of leather hide, the last strand of decorative trim, and the very last glue stick in my stash.

How To Beautify A Curvy Embossed Leather Footstool

Today I'm joining my friends in the Int'l Bloggers Club where our challenge this month is to create something with leather. I knew my small curvy thrifty footstool would be the perfect candidate to use the last piece of embossed leather hide leftover from the Art Deco Headboard Bench.

If you're new here and haven't heard of the International Bloggers Club, we are a group of friends from around the globe who come together every month to share a themed DIY project. Links to my friend's leather projects are included at the bottom of this post. The last month that I participated in the challenge the theme was Valentines Day where I made a Burlap Ribbon Heart Wreath.

To truly appreciate this makeover you have to see what the footstool looked like when I bought it for $8 at Goodwill.

A big difference between the before and after, right?

Let's take a closer look at that lovely gold crushed velvet velour that was on the top. Um yeah, that just has to go.

So much prettier with this gorgeous floral embossed leather hide - look at those lovely details!

It's the perfect size footstool to pair with a small chair like the French Provincial Chair that used to be gold stripes until I painted the fabric white.

Whenever I stage photos with the table in the photo above, I always get asked about it. You can find that makeover here in my White Stacked Book Table post.

So here's how I did it...

This post contains affiliate links so you can see what products I used or recommend for this makeover. See my full disclosure policy.

Prepping the footstool for paint and upholstery

First things first are removing the seat and prepping the wood base for paint. First I cleaned the wood with a liquid deglosser which helps with topcoat adhesion. Next, I lightly sanded the wood with 150-grit sandpaper to give the primer some bite. I probably went overboard with both the deglosser and sanding but I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Because I knew the tannins in the wood would cause paint bleed, I primed the footstool with a stain blocking primer.

Painting and protecting the footstool base

I painted the base with two coats of Buttercream chalk paint with my favorite round paintbrush, sanding between coats with 220-grit sandpaper to a smooth finish. Once the second coat dried, I distressed along the edges of those curvy cabriole legs with sandpaper.

Knowing this little footstool may suffer some wear and tear, instead of my usual wax finish I applied a more durable clear coat, applied with the same round paintbrush. I love this stuff because it gives a beautiful matte finish like wax.

Replacing the old fabric with embossed leather

Well, that was the easiest fabric removal I’ve ever done. Who upholsters furniture with nails and tacks?

Lucky for me there wasn't a staple insight but if you're not as lucky, these inexpensive upholstery tools are a must. No more bandaids!

I only had one piece of embossed leather hide just barely large enough to upholster the footstool, so there was no room for error. You can find the floral embossed leather hide at The Leather Hide Store.

Upholstery Step 1:

Always start in the center and work your way out, stopping about 2-3 inches from the corner. Work on the opposite side, pulling the fabric taut as you work and repeat on all four sides.

I prefer using a pneumatic staple gun because it's so much faster but an electric or handheld upholstery stapler will do the job too.

Upholstery Step 2:

Pull the fabric point on each corner into the center (as pictured below) and tack a staple to hold it flat.

Upholstery Step 3:

Fold the point on each corner up and staple in place. You can see in the photo below that there is a lot of bulk in the folds because of the thickness of the leather. I'm in no way suggesting my way of folding the corners is the proper way of doing it when working with a thicker fabric like leather. Because I don't plan on selling this footstool, I wasn't too concerned about it being perfect.

If I had a larger piece of leather hide to work with, I would have sewn the corners much like I did HERE.

When I reattached the seat I wasn't fond of the small gap between the base and the seat (which was there with the old fabric too). To hide it I hot glued some decorative gimp braid trim along the edge.

I like how it dresses up the footstool a little bit.

The upholstery, including the braid trim, took less than 30 minutes. The most time-consuming part of this makeover was waiting for product to dry. If you're new to upholstery I would not suggest you start with leather because it is much easier to fold the corners with fabric.

If you have any questions about this makeover, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!

So what do you think? You'll be seeing this pretty little footstool in future posts as I plan on using it as a photo prop.

Please join me by clicking the links below to visit my friend's Leather inspired projects...

An InLinkz Link-up

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.

Rugs don't have to be just for floors. Have you ever considered using them to upholster furniture? An inexpensive faux fur rug is a quick and easy way to add instant glam to vintage vanity stools. It only took an hour and less than $40 to transform these metal vanity stool and chair.

Vintage Vanity Stools With Faux Fur Rugs

Rarely does a vintage vanity come complete with the original stool and so I always have my eyes open for vanity stools and chairs to keep in my stash. I found both of these, a vanity stool and chair for less than $20 but oh were the seats nasty.

It took around 30 minutes to refresh them with paint and another 30 to upholster the stinky seats after a trip to IKEA.

I've included affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend for this project. What that means is that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, I may receive a small portion of any sales at no additional cost to you, which supports the costs of running this site. See my full disclosure policy.

This is what they looked like before with the dirty stinky seats. What an improvement wouldn't you say?

The gold was worn down to the metal in some areas on both stools but nothing a little spray paint can't handle.

After removing the seats and giving the metal frames a bath in warm soapy water, they were painted with Pure Gold Rust-oleum Metallic Spray Paint. While the first coat was drying I got busy removing the nasty fabric from the seats.

Then I did battle with a Tejn and I won.

One IKEA Tejn rug covered both of these stools for under $15. Can't beat that!

While the second coat of gold paint was drying I got busy upholstering the seats. The fur was stapled to the seat with a pneumatic staple gun.

Upholstering the seats with fur

Place the wooden seats face down on the underside of the rug (as pictured above). Measure a 3-4 inch fold allowance and cut accordingly.

Thicker fabrics are more difficult to work with but I provide some helpful tips below.

Tips for upholstering a square|rectangular bench style seat with faux fur

• Add one staple to the center of each side, pulling the rug taut before each staple. Work your way around the seat towards the corners, stopping around 2-3 inches before the corner.
• On each corner take the point of the fabric and fold it up like a flap over the corner.
• Staple along each side of the flap at a 45-degree angle.
• You should have fabric sticking straight up on both sides of the stapled flap. 
• Trim excess fabric with scissors and staple it down with as little bulk as possible.
• Repeat for each corner.
• Use a straight edge to trim fabric around the seat with either scissors or a utility knife.

And here is the bench stool after the makeover...

Tips for upholstering round seats with faux fur

• Snip small 1-2 inch wedges around the circle along the outer edge (no further than the 3-4 inch fold allowance) to help relieve bulk when stapling.
• Using a clock dial as a visual, staple the rug at 12. 
• Pull the rug taut and staple at 6. 
• Repeat at the 3 and 9 points. 
• Continue to pull the rug taut as you work and staple between the previous staples.
• Work your way around the seat overlapping the wedges to relieve any bulk.
• Trim the excess fabric with either scissors or a utility knife before attaching the seat to the frame. 
• Pictured below the bottom half of the seat has been trimmed and the top still needs trimming.

And here is the round vanity chair after the makeover...

What an improvement a can of paint and a faux fur rug made on these vanity stools.

Here's a closer look at each of them...

For under $40 a stinky old vanity stool AND chair get a glam makeover fit for a princess. Now they each need a vintage vanity and finger's crossed I'm successful on my hunt soon. They are hard to come by in these parts.

Have I inspired you to rethink the IKEA Tejn Rug? Do you have a vanity stool or chair that could use a makeover? If you do and have any questions, leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to send me an email.

For more upholstered seat tutorials and inspiration:
Farmhouse Cane Back Chairs
Thrift Store Duncan Phyfe Chairs
Round Pedestal Table With Cross Back Upholstered Chairs 
70's Coffee Table Upholstered Bench
Queen Anne Upholstered Music Bench
Upholstered Ottoman In 5 Easy Steps

I share my projects at these fabulous link parties.