Turn a cheap black folding stool into something epic!

When I picked up a cheap black folding stool at a local discount store, I thought it would be a temporary stand-in until I could afford something nicer for my craft room. But then I got my crazy creative pants on, and… this epic fur stool makeover happened! Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

For those of you who need your memories jogged, I used neon storage containers to organize my craft room since it’s very small and I wanted to brighten up the space.

One important element was missing in my craft room: a place to sit! Every neon stool I looked at was:

too expensive
too far
too big…

So I had to be innovative. I didn’t want to just go with white as it gets too dirty and I didn’t want to try for a matching wood (or even stain a wood stool to match) as I felt it would be too overwhelming in the tiny room.

So I picked up a stand-in – a cheap black folding stool – that I thought I’d use until I can budget in $100 for a stool, or until I get to IKEA for a cheap one.

And then this happened.

I originally wanted to make a fur step stool from an old sewing stool I have sitting around that I found at the flea market. Then I had a lightbulb moment – why not make this stool match?

So I jumped the gun and did this fur stool makeover before I even touched my sewing stool (you’ll have to stay tuned for that one.)

Naturally, I painted my DIY fur stool to match my craft room, but you can really use any color if neon isn’t your thing! You can skip the spray paint and stick to black. Paint it white. Try a fire engine red or a metallic gunmetal…

For the fur, I used some faux fur that fabric.com sent me to try out. I plan to use the same fur on both of the stools, and possibly lay the extra on the floor with some grips to tie it all in. I love how it warms up the room, and adds LIFE without looking childish or closing in on me.

This fur stool makeover is really child’s play. I glued the top on – no staples, no upholstering skills… The fabric is forgiving and it’s pretty much impossible for it to not look right. The spray paint that I used is a quick-drying paint that only needs ONE coat and no primer at all.

Watch the video below or read on to see just how I did it…

What you need for a DIY fur stool makeover:

A stool! A cheap metal folding stool is perfect, or just use something you already have
Spray paint in your choice of color (I used Plutonium paint which only needs one coat, and sprays in any direction.)
Faux fur – I used Mongolian Grey Frost from fabric.com (they have a huge selection to fit your style…)
E6000 glue – someone has already asked me if a glue gun would work. Since a metal stool is non-porous it may not be as durable. E6000 adheres very well to non-porous surfaces. If you are doing this with a wooden stool (let me know if it works…) you can definitely try a glue gun.
Fabric scissors

How to do a fur stool makeover on a cheap metal folding stool:

1. Protect your area. Spray paint the entire bottom – up to (and not including) the seat.

2. When it’s dry, flip the stool over and spray paint the rest. Make sure you cover every little bit of black!

3. Allow it to dry (the paint I used takes maybe ten minutes to dry…) Cut a piece of your fur and lay your stool on top.

4. Trim around the edge of your fur (vacuum away any fur ends that come loose) leaving just enough to fold under -about a centimeter for a stool like mine.

5. Spread some E6000 glue around the edge of your fur circle.

6. Fold it over and tuck it around the edge of your stool. The fur fabric is forgiving, so you don’t need to worry about adding notches and overlapping it.