Foot Stool Gift

/ Bluebird Gardens/
The refinished and recovered walnut foot stool presented as a gift. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The refinished and recovered walnut foot stool presented as a gift. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Foot Stool Gift

One of my beekeeping friends surprised me with this recovered foot stool as a 5th Anniversary gift for our local bee club.

I found the fabric several years ago at a conference auction for our state beekeeping association. The upholstery fabric piece was not very big but I loved the elegant embroidered bees on a solid tan background.

Having far too many “projects” to tackle, this friend volunteered to help me with a few including reclaiming this walnut stool.

I found it at a local thrift store. I kept it by the side of my bed with a towel covering it so my older cat Margaret could easily jump onto the bed. Margaret was prompt about bedtime at 10 p.m. but at 20 years, climbing on top of the bed became a challenge.

When I mentioned to this friend I had a stool that needed some tender loving care, it took me several days scouring the house to finally remember it had been sitting all along next to my bed. It was the towel hiding it that threw me off.

The original upholstery was a green solid fabric with a gold trim. See why I kept a towel over it?

This was the original foot stool as I found it at a thrift store. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

This was the original foot stool as I found it at a thrift store. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

The renovated stool not only has brand new fill and bee fabric but my friend tripled the gold cord around the fabric edge to finish it off. The gold cord came from my mother’s arts and crafts supplies stash.

Stools are great to have around the house tucked under chairs and sofas. I like to pick up unusual ones to keep my chairs company. They also come in handy for my aging cats who like to spend their days curled up in easy chairs in sunny windows. My latest find has a drawer in the middle, the better to stash cat toys.

This renovated stool is now back beside my bed, a nice addition to my bedroom. It is also a lovely reminder of our local bee club reaching the 5 year mark, as well as the beekeeper who made this look SO much better.

Thanks, Jessie!

Charlotte