Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I found this very old footstool at a charity store the other day for $15. It was very ugly! very dirty! and I walked past it twice before thinking maybe I can do something with it.

I took it home and thought about it. Maybe I could strip off the paint and repaint it to fit in with the rest of our furniture and put some new fabric on top.

It was this lovely delicate flower design on the side that caught my eye at first. My son helped me rip off the fabric which was stapled onto a piece of board that just sits into a recess on top of the table. There were three!!! layers of fabric under this one, all stapled on top of each other. Each one as ugly and dirty as the layer above it. It took us an hour to get all the staples out. I don't know why the previous owners didn't think to take off the old fabric before reupholstering it.

I needed to vacuum the kitchen floor from all the dust that blew out of the underlying foam cushion. It was really disgusting. So then we set about sanding the table...

...and this is the stage we have it at the moment. I'm just wondering if it doesn't look okay like this without having to paint it over all glossy and new looking. I quite like this rustic look. My son says no, paint it Mummy, but it's starting to grow on me this way.

I thought about what type of fabric I should cover it with. My husband suggested I cover it with one of my many cross-stitches I've done. They're all sitting rolled up in a box. I had them all framed but when we renovated last year I took them down and wanted to repaint the frames a lighter colour. I think using one of them on this stool is a great idea but I don't want the cross-stitch to spoil over time if it's sitting on top of a foot stool.

I actually want this stool/table for next to my desk. I don't have enough room to put down a book or document on my desk with the laptop sitting here so have been looking for something to sit close by that I can use for that purpose. This will be perfect.

Then it dawned on me - that recess around the table that the cushion fits into is just the right height for a lovely piece of glass. I can put my cross-stitch under the glass and it will be protected and the glass will be much easier to maintain than a cushion.

What do you think?

Watch this space. I'll post the finished product soon.