A friend of mine offered me a little stool for my daughter. I was happy as I LOVE reusing things but I didn’t quite like the finish on the stool…. The things with hand-me downs is that your home starts looking cluttered if they are not tied in to the rest of your colour scheme or style. Each element pulls the eye, fighting for attention. Painting items the same colour as other elements in your home, creates cohesion and harmony (I like cohesion and harmony).

In the meantime, my daughter began using the stool as a table, seat and so much more :)… so I decided to freshen it up with a new look by painting it (with my friend’s accord). I sanded it well (but not to the bare wood) and painted about three coats of pure white, water based paint, waiting for each coat to dry well. I’ve painted many items in my home white (my repeatedly chosen “neutral”, which helps keep things light).

Already, the stool was looking more modern. Still, I wanted to make it a little more playful and not quite so simple. I covered the top of the stool with a plastic bag and taped off the area I wanted to paint my second colour (truly, the extra cost for frog tape is worth it!! I have never had good results with other tapes…).

I then painted the legs gold with Krylon spray paint, in a few thin coats (I cannot emphasize how important it is to keep the coats thin, if not, you’ll get drips from paint that has accumulated).

I liked the look but decided to add a little something still… arrows being rather popular, it was easy to find a plastic stencil for one (plus I liked the reference to hearts, arrows and cupid). I chose to buy my stencil rather than to make it as it is sometimes difficult to get a good clean cut,  exacto blades often being a little too dull, plastic often slipping… especially if you want thin lines in your design. Also, I find it time consuming and tedious to make them. I taped down my stencil with painters tape and again, used very thin coats of the same gold spray paint to set down my design. To finish off my project, I applied several coats of non yellowing satin varnish to protect it- Especially since it is to be played with….

Now, my daughter’s play space includes her little stool which she continues to enjoy, I have been able to reuse a hand-me down and my home I feel, continues to look fresh and cohesive- for the most part 🙂