Upholstering a mission-style foot stool is a more straightforward project than you might imagine. Because of its small size, basic construction and shape, the foot stool offers an ideal project for learning to upholster furniture. By breaking the task down into steps, even someone who has never covered a piece of furniture before can achieve effective results. Creating your own upholstery project allows you to customize the mission foot stool to coordinate with your home decor. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Measure the foot stool and add 8 inches to the length and the width to allow ample fabric to cover the height of the padding and fold underneath. Make a note of the measurements.
2. Set the foot stool upside down on a table or counter. Examine the construction. Locate the bolts or screws. Use a wrench or screwdriver to remove the hardware that holds the upholstered pad to the footstool base.
3. Take the foot stool's pad off the base. Put on safety goggles. Remove the mission foot stool's upholstery, if it has any. To remove upholstery tacks, use the claws on the head of a small hammer, or use a flat-head screwdriver to pry them up. For removing staples, use a flathead screwdriver. Push the tip under the staple and pry it upward.
4. Cut the new upholstery material according to the measurements. Place the fabric on the table with the right side of the fabric down, so it will end up right side up. Center the pad upside down on the fabric.
5. Fold the fabric over the pad's edges, starting at a corner. Push a tack into the fabric and wood 1/2 inch from the fabric's edge, then hammer it down. Mission foot stools are often made of oak, so you may have to hammer hard.
6. Repeat with each corner, keeping an even tension on the fabric so it isn't tight in some areas of the foot stool and loose in others. Add tacks in the center.
Tags: foot stool, right side, upside down