Vintage Cosco Stool Makeovers
I don’t know what it is about these stools that always draws me to them. Maybe it’s because they remind me of my grandmothers house? Maybe it’s the thought of being able to reach something I shouldn’t have as a child? I don’t know, but either way I’m always drawn to them, their simplicity and usefulness.
This stool was a client project and came to me in fairly good condition. My clients only requests were that it had to be black, red and white but other than that I could refinish it any way I chose. It’s always humbling to hear that someone trusts me with an heirloom piece that they love. It makes working on it even more special.
As you can see I completely disassembled and repainted the base and recovered the seat and back. I used red spray paint and then found the perfect fabric in my stash.
And here it is.
The next stool that I did was fun as well. It started out with a brassy finish and orange vinyl cover. I disassembled it and spray painted it with Rustoleum silver and then recovered it with turquoise vinyl.
As you can see with just a little paint, fabric and time you can transform a dated stool into and updated piece for your home.
Do you have furniture you’d like to have painted? Are you shopping for furniture and need help finding the perfect piece? Email me at farmfreshvintagefinds@gmail.com for pricing and details about custom work and my current inventory.
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Thanks for reading and feel to comment below.
~Beth
My aunt had a stool like the one you did when I was growing up!! This sure brought back memories.
Love it! Both of my grandmothers had stools like this. I’d kind of like one for my house!
I have a couple of these stools waiting to be refinished. Yours came out great! I was wondering, did you remove the rubber/vinyl on the steps or did you tape them off when you painted the frame?
Hi Megan,
I taped off all of the vinyl and then cleaned all of the old paint off of it. They didn’t clean up completely but I like to keep the original as much as possible. Thanks for your question. 😉
Blessings,
Beth
I am so excited to see your wonderful makeover. I remember my grandmother having one of these and I would stand on the steps and help her cook. I wanted it so bad when she passed, but one of my anuts took it. Well, I was at an estate sale this past week and found one of the jewels for a whopper of a price, $5.00, I could not resist. It is in great condition, can’t wait to get her repainted and recovered to match the kitchen. Question on the rubber mat cleaning and or removed answered, just wanted to share.
That’s so wonderful Carol!!!! I just cleaned the rubber mat. Try using some “Krud Kutter” it works great!
Blessings,
Beth
I’m thrilled to have discovered this website! I have 2 stools I’ve managed to snag from various thrift stores, but I’m not really a “crafty-clever” girl, I just love vintage-everything! They are the Cosco stools with stationary steps and arm rests. The seat on it can be lifted up and down, as well. On one of them, someone had already made an attempt(not a very good one) at recovering the seat, using the same type of material, but attached it using tape. Garbage. It had the original fluffy fur-like padding under that, as well, but that was also garbage, unfortunately. The stool you show in the picture doesn’t really look like it has any kind of padding, other than the material you used to cover it. Do I need to find a substitute or is leaving it with just the bare metal, under the top layer, suffice? I have 2 yr old twin girls who will be using them quite often, so I’m trying to keep comfort in mind as much as I can, without destroying the original look completely. Thanks a million times for all your pictures and helpful tips! Always appreciated!
Jordan
You’re very welcome Jordan! I’m so glad to have you here. Please be sure and subscribe to my email list for updates.
Thanks again!
Beth
Hi I was wondering how much vinyl did it take to cover the seat. Please
Hi Leah,
It’s been awhile since I did this but I’m pretty sure a couple yards would be plenty.
Thank you for reading!
Beth
The Cosco company is still in business too if you need parts.
Thank you Leah!