My favourite stools in another guise! When I was a child everybody had these stools in their kitchen, they were made by many manufacturers both here and abroad, with pretty much the same sort of look to them. My parents were given one of these stools as an engagement present in 1963, I now have it, but I won’t be selling it as it comes under the category of family history!

They were made to be pretty much indestructible and of a strong construction, many examples of them have survived down the decades. Now, once again, they are back in demand. The ones pictured here are not identical, they have been upcycled in the same way so that they can be used as a set.

The stools were in pretty much in their original condition when I got them, original seats on them and full of chips and knicks in the wood, in short a bit battered and ripe for renovation. After a good sanding, I painted them with black chalk paint, waxed them, re-upholstered the seats in a retro style fabric and they’re good to go again. I added some colours to the paintwork picked out from the fabric.

After 50+ years of usage, wear and tear, they’re good to go for another 50 years. Point being is that these stools are getting tossed out in the trash by some folk, when they could be saved, upcycled and put to good use once again. My problem is that I want to save everything that’s getting thrown out in my city!