Repurposing
A Piece for Holding Planters
This little project stems from a stool I picked up at an estate sale probably no less than ten years ago. I don't really remember much about the estate sale other than it was at a house on what is probably the nicest street in the city. I guess the only other kind of memorable thing about this estate sale was that when I grabbed this bench, the person taking the money made a snide comment about me taking the cheap five dollar stool. Not one to get embroiled in petty arguments, I just paid and walked away.
What Was The Point?
Quite frankly, I don't even know why I bought this silly little stool. Likely, I was just thinking about having a stool for the workshop. Back in those days, my workshop was the only place I smoked in the house, so I was probably looking for a place to sit while having a smoke.
Of course, I quit smoking about three and a half years ago now, and one morning, I had the idea it was time to get a new stool for the workshop. Back in 2020 I thought about a barstool kind of thing, and thought maybe they had something at Lowes. I no sooner walked in the store and saw exactly what I was looking for! And a quick $69 later, 173 had an actual shop stool.
Repurposing!
So - no more smoking, and an actual shop stool meant there was no longer a need for the little estate sale stool. But, being the repurposing sort, that little stool hung around until a few weeks ago when it had finally come time to do something with the stool or get rid of it. We chose repurposing it into a piece for holding planters out in the back yard. But it needed painting first. Here's how it started out.
The colors live a remarkable life of their own after they have been applied to the canvas. - Edvard Munch
Well, when we first picked this stool up at the estate sale, the seat was painted. Apparently I removed the paint, and for who knows what reason, I abandoned the project. I think the original plan was to remove the paint and either re-paint or stain it. But - abandoned!
Prepping!
Finally, a couple weeks ago (and I don't know where the immediate motivation came from) I decided it was time to actually do something with this stool. So, up on the bench it went!
I immediately started in with an arsenal of scrapers. The legs and rungs were round and decorative so I knew this was going to be a little work intensive.
Buuut - after a lot less time than I care to admit, I opted for paint remover!
Which made the task so much easier!
After most of the paint was off, I decided to go outside and have at it with the sander. I really should start with the sander a little earlier when I'm doing a project that isn't detail dependent. After all, the stool will be outside all spring, summer and probably fall for as many years as it holds together.
A few of my favorite painted furniture posts:
∙ The Plant Stand - March, 2016
∙ Shoe Rack for the Back Porch - April, 2019
∙ Rustic Book Case for the Front Porch - 2013
∙ Umbrella Stand for the Back Porch - 2011
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Here's a whole collection of Painted Furniture Posts
Painting!
The original plan was to paint the stool yellow but we didn'y have enough yellow paint on hand to be sure the job could be done. What to do? Well, about a year ago I restored a 1929 Rigid pipe wrench. Thinking it would match Rigid's orange (man was I wrong!) I used Krylon's Gloss Pumpkin Orange paint on the tool, which left probably 3/4 of a can in our collection of partially used spray paints.
But after three coats, the paint just wasn't covering very well, although you can't really tell in this picture.
So I went to Lowe's, Walmart and Home Depot to get another can, but it seems the Pumpkin Orange may have been discontinued. So I picked up Krylon's Creamsicle Orange, which seemed to be the closest match. It worked out pretty good and was a close enough match that even if I did miss a spot you wouldn't be able to tell - unless you're one of those people!
I forgive nothing. If you stole my orange crayon in the fifth grade, you’re still on my hit list, buddy. ― Jonathan Carroll
Then, I did the completely unconventional and put a couple coats of clear Flex Seal just to make the stool last a little longer in the weather. No idea if it'll work but there's nothing to lose. I think it turned out pretty nice!
Its Natural Habitat - For Now
It turned out that not having enough yellow paint was fortuitous indeed! The orange looks awesome in the yard, and here's the stool in its new natural habitat!
The orange stool really stands out nice with the green without being too intrusive...
A last look - makes for a nice vignette...
Hey - thanks for stopping by, see ya' next time!
