Why a Vintage Footstool Deserves a Second Life

A footstool is one of the most forgiving pieces of furniture you can reupholster. It is small enough to sit on a kitchen table, light enough to turn over on your own, and it usually hides a surprisingly sturdy frame under that tired old cover. Nine times out of ten, the timber underneath is solid beech or mahogany, cut and jointed far better than anything you would buy flat-packed today.

That makes it the perfect first upholstery project. You will learn how to strip a cover, check a frame, shape foam and pull fabric tight without wrestling with a three-seater sofa. Best of all, a freshly covered footstool becomes a genuinely useful piece again rather than something waiting quietly in a spare room.

Set aside a weekend for the job. Two full days gives the glue time to dry and stops you rushing the final stapling, which is where most of the neatness is won or lost.

Tools, Fabric and How Much You Need

Gather everything before you start, because once the old cover is off you will want to keep moving.

• A staple gun that takes 6mm to 8mm staples – long enough to bite into timber, short enough not to poke through
• A tack lifter or a sturdy flat-head screwdriver for levering staples out
• Pincers or a staple remover for the stubborn ones
• Fabric scissors, a tape measure, a marker pen and a quilting rule
• Spray adhesive, a cheap paintbrush for glue, and a couple of G-clamps
• Fresh foam, polyester wadding, and a length of dust cover fabric for the underside

For fabric, choose an upholstery-weight weave – a plain linen mix, a wool blend or a heavy cotton velvet all work beautifully. Aim for something with a rub count of at least 20,000 cycles. Avoid anything stretchy, as it will pull out of shape around the corners.

Measure your stool's top, sides and depth, then add 15cm to every direction. A stool measuring 40cm by 30cm will comfortably come out of half a metre of standard-width fabric. If your chosen cloth has a large pattern, allow extra for matching repeats.

Stripping Back the Old Cover

Photograph the stool from every angle before you touch it. Those images are surprisingly useful when you are trying to remember how the corners were folded.

Turn the stool upside down and start underneath, where the original maker would have finished. Work slowly with the tack lifter, prising staples out rather than tearing the fabric away – pulling hard can split the timber and take chunks of the frame with it.

Old foam crumbles into a fine orange dust, so wear a mask and open a window. Once the cover is free, keep one intact section as a pattern template. Lay it flat, smooth it out, and label it with a marker so you know which way it faced.

Checking the Frame for Wobbles

With the cover gone, twist the frame gently in your hands. Any movement means a loose joint, and stapling new fabric over a wobbly frame simply hides the problem for a season or two.

• Clean out any old glue from the joints with a small chisel or craft knife
• Work PVA wood glue into the joint, then clamp it firmly
• Reinforce corner blocks with a short screw driven through at an angle, if the timber allows
• Leave everything clamped for at least 24 hours before you go near it again

If your stool has a sprung seat, check the webbing underneath. Stretched or torn webbing should be replaced now – it is easy to do while the frame is bare, and impossible to fix once the foam is glued down.

New Foam and Wadding

Choose a foam density of around 35 to 45 kg/m³ for a stool that will actually be used as a seat; the cheap white foam sold for crafting will flatten within weeks. A 5cm thickness suits most footstools, though a low stool may only need 3cm.

Cut the foam 1cm larger than the frame all the way round, then trim the corners with scissors so they sit tidily. Spray the top of the frame lightly with adhesive and press the foam into place.

Next, wrap a layer of polyester wadding over the foam. This softens the hard front edge and stops the sharp corner of the foam showing through the finished fabric. Pull the wadding around to the underside and staple it loosely in place – it only needs to hold while you work.

Cutting, Fitting and Stapling the New Cover

Centre your fabric on the stool and check the pattern sits straight before you commit a single staple. Work in opposite pairs: one staple in the middle of the front edge, one in the middle of the back, then one at each side. This keeps the tension even and prevents the fabric creeping to one corner.

Pull the fabric firmly as you go, stapling about every 5cm along each edge. Fold the corners as you would wrap a present – tuck the surplus into a neat pleat, pull it tight, and staple it flat.

Once the top and sides are covered, trim the excess fabric, leaving a 2cm lip. Now turn to the underside. Cut a piece of dust cover fabric to size, fold under the raw edges, and staple it neatly around the perimeter, hiding the working staples as you go. Fold the corners into tidy triangles and secure them well out of sight.

Stand the stool upright, give it a firm press with your hand, and check the pattern alignment from a metre away. A slightly hidden staple underneath matters far less than a cover that sits square, taut and beautifully centred.