Shabby Chic Stool Using a Thrift Store Find

I picked up a $10 stool at my local thrift store and decided to give it an update with paint and a pillowcase!

I love wandering the aisles of my local thrift store and dreaming about how all that good old furniture could look with a little TLC. Today I'm going to show you how to use paint and a pillowcase to completely redo a piece into an elegant, shabby chic beauty!

This was actually a very doable DIY project and you won't believe the difference when I show you the finished product.

Here is the stool I picked up for $10.  It is wood and the seat has a wood base and is screwed into the frame.

I removed the seat and ditched the old fabric. The batting was in pretty good condition, so I kept it as is and found a pillowcase to use as a new cover.  I loved this sham, but no longer had the matching quilt.  I decided it would make a perfect seat cover for this project.

Using a staple gun, I took the pillowcase, cut off the back and stapled it on the wood seat base.  I was lucky that it fit so nicely that I didn't have to do too much cutting and I could keep the ruffle on 3 of the sides. 

For the chair frame itself, I prepped it for chalk paint by giving it a good wash with soap and water.  After two coats of white paint, it was time to distress it.  

Using sandpaper I distressed the edges and places where furniture naturally wears like the rungs.  After distressing it, I used a combo of dark and light wax to go over it and give it a antiqued look.

Then all I had to do was screw the seat back on and this little beauty looked perfectly chic!

I shared step by step videos of how I did this makeover in my Stories over on Instagram.  If you aren't following me there, I would recommend hopping over there and following along.  The videos are saved under the “Highlights.”  

I hope this will inspire you to tackle an easy DIY project of your own!

{This post contains affiliate links, see full disclosure, here.}

Shop All the Products You Need for This DIY Below

XO,