Bar Stool Makeover

I had been on the prowl for a couple of bar stools for my kitchen island. I was super excited when I found these swanky things on Craigslist for $40 a piece. They had three so I figured I'd nab them all cuz you never know when you'll move to a bigger place with a longer bar (here's to hoping)! So for $120 (a little on the pricey side for CL) I managed to get these faux black leather bar stools:

The only problem was that black faux leather. It was black--which I'm trying to get away from after discovering how small it made my last apartment feel--and it was cheap-looking.

Armed with a nail gun borrowed from one of my co-workers (you never know when Pixar people will get the urge to drastically modify their offices) and a couple yards of chocolate brown microsuede from Joann's Fabric, a screwdriver and some pliers, I went to work.

First step was removing the seat cushion from the metal frame. This was as easy as unscrewing the four screws that held it in place. Then I flipped the cover over and carefully began prying out the staples with the needle-nose pliers, being careful not to rip the dust cover.

About mid-way through the de-stapling process

With the gross "leather" off, I found that the cushions and wood frame were still in great condition, so I wouldn't have to do anything with those (thank goodness). I used the old "leather" as a pattern for my new cloth and cut out the shapes. As I began to stable on the microsuede, I realized that the "leather" must have had some magical stretching quality that allowed it to create crease-less folds along the edges of the seat. I was having no such luck with my fabric and had to resort to very careful, controlled pleating. 

Almost finished stapling the microsuede in place

Poor Teako ended up leaving the room after the first seat was done (remember, there were THREE of these to do) because of the loud staple gun. Also, my hand muscles were...so SO very sore the next day from all that stapling. Ouch.

Dust cover back in place. Note the pleating job.

So three seats and a sore back/neck/hand later, I ended up with these beauties:

I just LOVE how they turned out...so much more lux and soft. It definitely matches the decor of the rest of the living room as well (which you haven't seen yet...I'll get there!).

And a little before/after action:

Oh, and don't be sad for chair #3. He flits around the apartment being various things such as a bag holder, a pants holder, an end table, and generally looking pretty handsome.
So there you have it: my first reupholstering job. And probably as difficult as I'm going to get since the thought of digging into something like a sofa gives me the jeebies.