Upholstered Thrift Bar Stools

I found three bar stools at a thrift shop for $15.00 that needed a little work. The frames are iron and the back board and seat are wood. Easy enough to work with.  I already had in mind that I wanted an earthtone leather padded seat, so I searched thrift shops for leather coats. It didn't pan out very well trying to get 2 full yards in the same color, so I went to Jo-Ann Fabric store and found a nice leather/suede look fabric. There was a variety of decorative nail/tacks as well, so I got those too.

I started by removing the wood back board and seat. 

Sanded off the loose paint.

Outlined the pattern of the back board onto a 1/2" sheet of foam ( left over from other projects).

Outlined the seat on a  2" memory foam mattress pad. (My son outgrew his bunk beds and I reserved this for "just in case it comes in handy"...)

I labeled the back of the seat so I wouldn't lose where to locate the seat to replace the screws.

I stapled the foam sheet to the back board.

Traced and cut out the suede look fabric for the back board.

Pressing down on the seat onto the foam, I decided to make this a tight fit for best appearance and wear, so allowing only a few inches around the pattern to cut the fabric needed. 

After attaching the fabric to the back of the back board with staples, I cut around the pattern again for the front of the board, allowing more for folding over to staple into the board. 

Fabric folded over meeting to the edge, and stapled in place every few inches around the board.

I didn't staple the foam to the seat. I just rested it in place. Then, pressing my knees onto the seat and memory foam, I stapled the fabric to the bottom of the seat, trimming off excess when finished. 

For decorative purposes, I added the tack nails, evenly spaced around the edge of the seat. 

Two done, one to go. Left stool; showing the seat and back board. Middle stool; showing the back side. Right stool shows ... get back to work~ 

Using the original hardware, all I had to do was put the back board back in place and screw in. (It was a tight fit due to the fabric, but it won't loosen.)

The seat is quite comfortable. The edges turned out well. 

Wha-la! $15 thrift shop trip and $23 for fabric and tacks = $38 and 3 great stools! 

Of course this style does not go with everyone's kitchen, but it does go with my French Country theme.