Hey there sweet Friends! I’m back today with another piece from that estate sale where I found this bookcase and these vintage night tables.
But first, can I share something fun that happened at my house this weekend? My Mom is turning 70 this week, so my Dad and my siblings and I decided to surprise her with a surprise party! My younger sister lives here with her hubby and three boys, but my younger brother lives in South Carolina and my older sister lives in Wisconsin, but they all came for the surprise as well, along with their children!
She was so blown away! You can see her reaction we caught in this little one minute video here:
{If you have trouble viewing, see it here.}
She had absolutely no idea! My sister and I told her we wanted to take her out to lunch for her birthday, so the plan was that my sister was going to pick her up first, then me and we would go eat, but of course we had other plans for her.
Fun with the photo booth:
Aren’t they the cutest?
My Mom follows my blog, but only looks at the pictures lol. Mom if you are actually reading today’s post, I love you and Happy Birthday!! 😀
Ok on to today’s makeover!
I purchased the pieces I already shared from that estate sale at regular price on day one, and had to come back on the Sunday near close to pick up the bookcase since they had it full of books. When I came back, I spied this pretty little vanity stool outside with the lawn equipment for some reason:
It was marked $45, but everything was half price that day. Since it was right at closing, I offered $15 for it and they accepted! It was very rickety, but nothing a little wood glue and tightening of the screws underneath couldn’t fix. I’ve included a few affiliate links so you can find the products I use. Read my full disclosure here.
And here she is after her big makeover:
I started by removing the top and painting the base. This is Fusion Mineral Paint in Casement. No sealing required woot woot!
After removing the upholstery from the top, I uncovered another layer:
This was probably gorgeous at one time. I was going to remove all the old fabric, but when I got to this layer I decided to leave it. It will be fun for someone else to discover years from now.
The new fabric I chose started out as a set of curtain panels:
I found these at HomeGoods. They have so many pretty curtains to choose from that I love to use them for projects like this.
Isn’t this fabric so pretty? As you can see I also added piping. It is so easy to make your own. Check out my tutorial HERE for a sew and no-sew version. It just gets hot-glued to the edge.
It adds such a pretty finishing detail.
Glad I was able to make use of that purse and those shoes that I only used once!
I kept the distressing minimal on this one…just a little here and there.
Now if only I had a pretty dressing table to pair with it!
If you liked this post, you’ll like this one too:
Check out how I updated these French Provincial chairs that my Mom scored at an estate sale for only $50 for the pair HERE!
I’ll be back on Thursday with the makeover of this tray I found at the antique mall where I have my booth:
UPDATE: You can see how this tray looks now HERE. 🙂
And just one more photo from the party…me and my youngest cutie:
I’m sure we’ll be talking about how we pulled that party off for a while. 🙂
See ya Thursday!
XO,
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Addie says
Love the bench!!! REALLY like the fabric……but uh oh….worried about painting over that pretty wood tray. Don’t like the center of it…but…the framing is gorgeous 😉
That’s not to say it wouldn’t be pretty painted too…..but…..mmmm??? I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow.
Mom is adorable…..Happy 70th to her!!!!
Christy says
Thanks, Addie! Spoiler alert…I did paint the tray, but would you believe it was moldy under that center piece? Makeover coming soon! And Mom LOVED her surprise! 😀
Paula says
Happy Birthday to your mom. I know that she was thrilled to have her family together to celebrate her big day.
Your vanity bench turned out so pretty! Curtain panels do make great fabric. I’m still jealous that there isn’t a Home Goods near me. But when I do get to go, it is a thrill! Keep an eye out for a vanity to go with the bench. I’ll bet you’ll run across one soon.
Christy says
Thanks, Paula! My Mom was so happy to have everyone together! I don’t know what I’d do without a HomeGoods…hopefully you’ll get one near you before too long! XO
Christina in FL says
Christy, you did so well with the party!! The video really shows how surprised she was and how happy everyone was. Beautifully done!! :))) Love the head tassel thingies.
The bench looks fabulous! Love the fabric and, of course, the cording is a classic touch. Well done! Again!!! :)))
Christy says
Thanks, Christina…my Mom was so surprised, and we were so grateful we were able to pull it off! So glad you like the bench too! XO
JamieK says
How precious is your Mom! What a sweet surprise!! Love Love the stool…gotta go to Home Goods and check out those curtain panels too! Beautiful makeover!!
Christy says
I know isn’t she so cute? It was so worth all the effort to see the look on her face! And thanks! Yes, HomeGoods has great fabric options in their drapery section! XO
Janice says
You have such a beautiful family. Your mother is so cute. I’m not far behind her. I will be 68 Thurs (I’m a groundhog). Did you get your talent from your mother or father? Now for the bench; I love it and love the fabric (curtain fabric) you put on it. Looking forward to Thurs.
Christy says
Thank you, Janice! Happy early Birthday to you!! I get my DIY bug from my Mom for sure. 😀
Mary - the boondocks blog says
Happy Birthday to your mom Christy! That was one surprised look on her face. It’s really great that you were able to get the whole family together.
Christy says
Thanks, Mary! It was so worth all the effort to see the look on her face! We enjoyed a fun weekend. 😀
Christine says
happy Birthday to your mom! I love the makeovers!
Christy says
Thank you and thank you, Christine! XO
Cecilia says
Aw that is so sweet. Happy birthday to your mom!
Love the stool too. I didn’t think to use curtain panels for upholstery! I’ll file that for future reference!
Christy says
Thank you, Cecilia! We were so happy to be able to come together for her like that! And yes, curtain panels can make perfect upholstery fabric! 🙂
Sherry Stuifbergen says
You do good work! I ALSO admired the purse and shoes you used to style the bench! Cute little clutch. I am thinking to “dive in” into an upholstery job…it would not be hard for you…it all takes time. I have your tutorial saved on my “book marks.” I like the black/white toile curtain you chose. Good taste! You do it all and THEN plan parties for your loved ones too! I LOVE your posts!
Christy says
Thank you SO much, Sherry! I’m glad I was able to get another use out of those shoes and purse lol! XOXO
Susan Russell says
Makes my heart happy to see people cherish their Moms; lost mine 3 years ago when she was 81. I am sure I got my DIY bug from her, because I get the warm fuzzy feeling that she’s looking over my shoulder every time I start working on a project, as she was quite a DIY’er herself! Taught me everything I know about “junking”, as she called it! Love your posts! You’re my favorite friend for morning coffee!
Christy says
Aww thank you SO much, Susan!! We absolutely cherish our Mom. She would drop everything in an instant if any of us were in need, so it was so exciting for us to be able to do this for her. I got the DIY bug from my Mom as well…we are so lucky to have been given that from our mothers! XOXO
Zovesta says
Aww! Your birthday party for your mom is so sweet. =) She looks great for 70!!
Love this little stool makeover. =D Perfect!! I just love that fabric! $15 is a much better price for it than $45, yeesh. I’ll never understand how they price these things…
Christy says
She will be happy to hear that, Zovesta! She has more energy than us sometimes. 🙂 I wish I knew how those estate sales priced things too…glad I was able to get a great deal! XO
Ange says
What a wonderful birthday surprise for your mom. Happy 70th to her. Another great transformation. I love the material. Black and white is my fav combo. BTW-cute shoes.
Christy says
Thanks, Ange! Glad I was able to find another use for those shoes I only wore once lol. And yes, we were thrilled to be able to do this for my Mom, she was so surprised! XO
Suzan says
Happy Birthday to your Mom! Looks like she had a wonderful event!!
Love the bench. I never thought of buying curtain panels for fabric. I have so much fabric stash I imagine it would be a long time until I needed to buy a panel!
I have a rectangular vanity stool with similar legs. Here’s a link to see how mine turned out.
http://hazelnutdeux.com/2013/06/sitting-pretty/
Christy says
Thanks, Suzan! We had a blast surprising my Mom! Yes curtain panels work great, especially since Hancock Fabrics closed. Off to check out your bench! 🙂
Christy says
Your bench looks so much better with its new paint and fabric! 🙂
Marie from The Interior Frugalista says
Awe, your Mom’s reaction was so adorable and how cute are your parents in that photo booth picture! As for the stool, love the drapery fabric you used and the piping just takes the stool to another level. Lovely, as always Christy!
Christy says
Thanks, Marie! And oh my gosh…she loved it! We were so happy we were able to do this for her! XOXO
Debbie in TX says
This was a really fun post to read. I enjoyed all of the b-day pictures. The photo booth was a great idea!
The stool turned out beautiful. I’m glad you left the original fabric underneath. I was really drooling over those beautiful shoes as well!
Thanks for sharing.
Christy says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Debbie! We really had a ball this weekend! Yes I was happy to be able to use those shoes again even if it wasn’t to wear them lol! XO
Bonnie says
The bench turned out so pretty. Thank you for sharing. I think it’s so wonderful that you and your family planned a surprise birthday party for your mom. I’m sure it will hold lasting memories for her. Family is so important. I love the picture of you and your youngest son 🙂
Christy says
Thank you, Bonnie! We were so thrilled to be able to pull this big surprise off…the look on her face was priceless. It is always a blessing when we can all get together since we are spread out like we are. I wasn’t in many of the pics so I was glad to get that one with my baby. 🙂
Christine says
I have never used Fusion Mineral Paint before. what do you like about it and do you think it is better to use than chalk paint?
Christy says
The best thing about Fusion Mineral Paint is that it does not require a topcoat, unless you plan to sand heavily to distress. It does require a light sanding prior though, but I do love this product. I shared a bit more of my thoughts on it in this post: https://www.confessionsofaserialdiyer.com/painted-bar-stools/ 🙂
Rose Arroyo says
Your mom was so cute and surprised great looking family. The stool makeover was great as always, can you do a piece with dark gray or soft pink?
Christy says
Thank you, Rose! I did share a pink and white dresser makeover recently you can see here: https://www.confessionsofaserialdiyer.com/pink-and-white-striped-dresser/, but I’ll work on the dark gray. 🙂
Laura S in Texas says
The fabric used on the vanity stool is beautiful but will it hold up to the kind of abuse stools like this usually get? I’m asking because I don’t know, not because I’m criticizing you, I enjoy your blog and find you inspiring, as in I have 4 mismatched chairs & 2 end tables in the back of my SUV right now.
Christy says
Oh absolutely! I actually used curtain panels on my dining room chairs I redid a few years ago as well and they have held up fantastically! 🙂
ruby says
ohohoh! what a cute, sweet, and darling surprise! I love semi-wacky families who aren’t afraid of funny hats and accessories! wish i was close enough to come get that bench and maybe borrow those shoes!
Christy says
Oh we had a ball, Ruby, and my Mom was blown away! Wish you were close enough to come get that bench too! 😀
Rose L. says
I love the makeover. I look forward the the next ones!!
Christy says
Thank you, Rose! 🙂
Cheryl says
Love that stool, you did a wonderful job! That was awesome and your mom was so surprised! Enjoy her while she is here, my mom passes away in 2013 and I still wish I could celebrate with her.
Christy says
Thank you, Cheryl! My Mom was totally surprised. I’m so sorry about your Mom. My siblings and I talked about how we were so glad we had the opportunity to do this for her because you just never know. XO