A while back, driving through Pune’s Wakdewadi area, I saw some slum dwellers selling soft wood stools and cricket bats. I frantically asked my husband to stop the car – and you guessed it, I bought one of the stools – pretty badly finished, not polished even. But I was excited by the possibilities.
Here it is-quite an eyesore, but an eyesore with character, right?:——>
Cut to last week: The long weekend, and with half the family away, I had some time to spare. The stool was brought out, and sanded. I was smart – I consulted Somu from Woodooz (read about Woodooz here) who told me,
“The surface has to be really really smooth. As I see from the picture, the surface requires lot of sanding. Every level of sanding will remove the scratches that are there in the top surface and bring in additional smoothness. You will have to use different grades of sand paper. Start with 100 grit paper and sand the surface in the direction of the grains. From 100, move to 120, then to 150 / 180 and then 220. Eventually you will have a very very smooth surface. The smoothness is essential because stains take the shape of the grains and patterns in the surface.”
I already had the sandpaper, so I got to work. Once I had sanded it, I wiped it all clean with a clean cloth.
Then I went to the local hardware store, where I picked up wood primer in white, and a bright yellow paint. 🙂 I was unsure of the outcome, but I thought heck! if yellow looks bad, I could always repaint it!
Back to the work area. It was a bright and sunny day, so I prepped my balcony with a few sheets of paper, placed the stool upside down (you start with the legs) and got to work. All I had to do is apply 2 coats of wood primer.
That done, I left it to dry overnight. With the sanding and priming done, I applied wood paint in yellow. I am sorry, I didn’t click too many pics because I had my 3 year old around me the whole time, and I had to keep an eye because he loves to dip his hands into paint buckets! :).
However, not to worry – because here is the step-by-step guide that Somu shared with me.
Painting a stool
- Fairly simple. Sand the surface a bit.
- Apply wood primer on the surface. Allow it to dry (8 hrs)
- Sand the primed surface with 220 grit
- Apply second coat of primer (Allow it to dry for 8 hrs atleast)
- Apply the wood paint colour of your choice. Use a good quality brush (1 inch). Use a thinner one (.5 inch for small width surfaces). Dry for 16-24 hours
- Apply a second coat (Dry for 16-24 hrs).
- You can also dilute the paint with thinner for getting a very homogeneous mixture that will not form blobs.
In addition to what Somu says, I also made sure I lightly sandpapered the painted stool, for the distressed look, and also for some imperfections. I hate perfect! 🙂
So the stool was painted, finally! Now for the styling! This stool looks good anywhere in the house…you just need to place it somewhere for a bright pop of color!
On the balcony
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| A bright pop of color in the garden beautifully sets off the natural green! |
In the living room
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| This is the corner in my home that changes the most often! The yellow stool emphasizes the other warm colors, and draws attention away from the dull walls. |
Near the passage
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| The dull yellow and warm orange tones from Dithi Mukherjee’s painting give way to the bright yellow stool – you could play with the colors from your decor elements. |
Dining area – either side of the dining table 😀
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| Kanika Bahl’s patchwork cushion sits pretty on the yellow stool |
Yellow burst of color in my cream kitchen
err..the bedroom too!
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| This is where the stool is most used – in my bedroom. Though it looks colorful, it is really a utility item and a ‘catch-all’ here. |
and to add a pop of color to a brown and brass corner next to my front door.
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| Please don’t look at my dying aloevera plant! No green fingers, nope, none! 🙁 |
Love the yellow stool! I love pop colors, they make any room come alive. 🙂
🙂 Thank you Swapna, good to see your comment!
Lovely and creative , Sharon . Love that yellow. Brings along so much cheer and sunshine wherever it is placed 🙂 Good job !
Thanks Reshma 🙂
Your stool looks good anywhere as you said. Yellow is such a bright color..
I hadnt even noticed the plant till you mentioned it. that lovely wooden stand caught my eye.
and wakdewadi has a juna bazaar too? didnt know that.