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Thrifting Vintage Wooden Stools For The Kitchen

Soooooo smething crazy happened. Here’s a little hint:

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It all started when John and I were lying in bed one night talking about what we’d love to do to make the sunroom more useful slash function slash awesome (it’s currently packed with secret book projects, but come fall we can finally clear it out for a charity auction – and hopefully start working on making it a room that we actually hang out in). We came up with the idea of a long chunky floating bar/counter made from rustic imperfect wood with a few stools pulled up to it along one currently unused wall. You know, sort of like this one or this one (but not exactly like either one of them for reasons we’ll get into down the line).

A chunky little wood bar along one wall in there with some simple pull-up stools would be super functional for us because:

  • we wouldn’t have to put a big table in the middle of the room for reading the paper, sipping drinks, snacking, and general chillaxing (which means the daybed won’t be too cramped and can stay in there – yay!)
  • when we have Clara’s annual party or just invite people over to hang out, we usually set out food and stuff in the sunroom (so everyone can mill around in there, on the upper patio and on the lower patio) so having a built in bar for setting out all the food and drinks instead of dragging various pieces of furniture into the room and tossing a tablecloth over them would be really nice

SOLD.

So the the next morning I dove into a daydream about how it would be fun to make that cool chunky wood bar/counter for the stools ourselves with some old hunk of wood and some simple brackets – just to add some rustic edge to the space and to make it less precious at parties (no real worries about drink rings since we’d stain it dark and seal it to protect it). And then I started thinking about how I’d want the stools to be counter height since the ones in the kitchen have worked out so well (they’re not as high and teetery as bar height chairs) so I mindlessly just typed in craigslist.org and searched “stools.” And then – I kid you not – the top entry made me suck air. Audibly. They were the. coolest. stools. ever.

You think I’m kidding. Check these babies out:

Stool Pic

Forty bucks a pop, retro slatted wood with molded seats, cool dark iron hardware on them, and get this – THEY SWIVEL! The funny thing is when I googled around for similar stools, a few nearly identical versions popped up, like href=”http://guffonline.blogspot.com/2010/02/vintage-wood-and-iron-barstools.html” target=”_blank”> these for $85 a pop, and these for almost $120. So to get them for $40 each really saved us a ton (we got four for about the price of one and a half).

So… SOLD FOR SURE.

Well, actually not sold until I showed them to John (we both have to sign off on things, so sometimes things are dead in the water when the second person nixes them) but lo and behold, John didn’t just like them, he loved them. And actually demanded (nicely) that I call about them “right now before they’re gone.” All the good stuff is always snatched up off of our Craigslist within the day things are listed, so I ran my buns to the phone and made that call.

So then they were SOLD FOR REAL! To us. Wahoo.

When we got them into the house we were chatting about how wood stools with a chunky wood counter/bar would be a lot of wood – but it would be a huge shame to paint the chairs since they’re so cool and slatted and vintage and all that jazz. So we decided we could make a sleek white counter instead of a wood one in the sunroom. But then a better idea came into the play. That’s when the bright idea to bring them into the kitchen popped up (duh, there’s already a white counter in there).

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SOLD!

Long story long, John and I loved them so much in the kitchen that we decided that our fun blue metal stools would be awesome for the rustic sunroom bar. Rough chunky wood sounds pretty fun paired with sleek boldly painted metal, right? So it’s totally weird that I ever even went on craigslist to look for stools… and then the fact that I found some, fell in love, chain-reactioned John into falling in love, and ended up with them is all kind of a whirlwind. We’re taking it as a sign that they’re meant to be.

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They’re just so darn pretty in the kitchen with the rich cork floors, our chunky wood cutting boards, and even things like the woven light and the wood mirror by the fireplace. So… SOLD ALL OVER AGAIN.

And now I will wow you with how many angles I can photograph our new stools:

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We love our blue guys too, so who knows, maybe they’ll come back in the spring or something when we’re feeling flirty. Haha. And who knows, maybe once the sunroom’s done we’ll ultimately love the wood stools in there and the blue guys might end up back in the kitchen. Either way, it’s pretty hilarious that we have two stool sets going on, but at least they were both really affordable (we got the first set from an online school supply store for $32 each) and we’re truly in love with both of them… and have a functional use in mind for both sets. Just don’t ask us who our favorite stool baby is. We love them all equally. Although if they’re jockeying for most comfortable, the new guys definitely have a bit of an edge with the curved seat and the swivel-action. Dinners at the peninsula just got more fun swivel-tastic. As for what Clara does, she has the yellow highchair I painted for her, so we just move that around to various places (peninsula, dining table, living room pedestal table) and she eats in that. Girl gets around. Haha.

In short: Party at our house. We’ll bring the stools. And probably say SOLD a lot.

Oh and we just used these things on the feet. Just to make sure they don’t do evil things to our cork floor. So far, so good.

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Now that we have more natural wood in the room, we’re thinking about bringing some up onto the floating shelves on the other side of the kitchen, just because the wood mirror and our new (old) swivel stools have warmed things up and added so much texture and “homey-ness” that we’d love to add some to the open shelves too. Maybe just in the form of some rustic wooden salad bowls…

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Have you guys gotten ahead of yourself and ended up getting something for a future project just because it was too good to pass up? And once you got it home did it end up shifting other things around in surprising ways? So funny how things mutate as ya go. It’s like our house is a ninja turtle.

Pssst- Our newest addition of Clara Conversations is up over on Young House Life. We might be biased, but we think she’s is pretty hilarious…

Comments

  3. Chelsea @ Riding Escalators says

    Seriously – you guys have the best Craigslist luck EVER! I’ve been hunting for a dresser to make into a sofa table for months and haven’t been able to find anything in the DC area for a deal!! So jealous! These are fantastic stools – makes me wish we had a spot for a bar! :)

    Reply

  7. Carrie says

    I love these so much better! Maybe it’s because we had these exact same stools growing up in our Florida room. I loved twisting back and forth on them. I know Clara will too :)

    Reply

  8. Lauren says

    This is so beautiful… I seriously want to just hang out in your kitchen all day.

    I also think that the style of your old house is starting to creep into the new house more and more with each new project. I know you were planning to be more bold with the color choices this time around, but I’m loving how you’re mixing the two styles together.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s true! I think you’re right! We were so busy embracing color that we forgot how much we love natural elements and texture, so now we’re smashing those in there too! Haha.

      xo,
      s

  11. Ariana says

    I love how you put the “maybe just in the form of rustic wood salad bowls…” Was that the sound of thoughts about replacing those white shelves with rustic wood shelves? Haha always adapting, I love it. The stools look sooooooo cool. Funny how your light fixture and mirror updates almost were a drumroll to those coming home. Totally meant to be.

    – Ariana

    Reply

  12. Amanda says

    OK, so jealous of those stools! Still getting walls, electrical, and floors in order before filling in all the empty space and when we do, it will be craigslist time!

    Reply

  13. Anuja says

    Love the chairs, Agree that the wood bring a ton of warmth…but I think if the feet go ORB/black (what ever color your globe pendant chains are) they will look kinda industrial as well…the same look you had going on with your previous metal stools?

    Reply

  14. Lauryn says

    Oh gosh I LOVE THESE STOOLS!! Your kitchen just keeps getting better and better! My favorite design thing is mixing textures and materials so this is amazing to me. The pendants, the stools, the counter, the floor, the rugs, the painted wood paneling… Its all so great! Cant wait to see the blue stools with the chunky wood too! I think that will work just as perfectly as this did and that youll be saying SOLD a lot with them too!

    Reply

  16. Jessica says

    I LOVVVVVEEEE these! When I saw the first photo, I thought you’d added some wood to your blue stools!! What a great find. To be fair to the blue stools, I liked those too, but these are wowzy!! :)

    Reply

  17. Sophie says

    The blue stools were cute, but these look amazing. The wood tones break up the white in your kitchen SO well. Looks fantastic!

    Reply

  18. Wendy M. says

    I love a good mix of old and new! The kitchen wasn’t feeling sterile before, per se, but this DOES give it a nice dose of “feeling worn,” like a place you really do tend to gather in.
    I know kitchens aren’t SUPPOSED to be gathering places, but it seems to me that everyone always ends up in the kitchen anyway.

    Long post made short, I really dig these chairs! They really warm the space right up!

    Reply

  19. Rosemary says

    I liked your blue stools but I LOVE the new ones in your kitchen. Ever since we bought our almost 100 yr old house last December which still has all the original woodwork(that actually has never been painted!) I have come to appreciate what a nice warm wood color can do for a room!

    Reply

  20. Reenie says

    WOW….I thought I loved the blue chairs in there (still love them), but I’m really liking the wood chairs. Great find too!!

    Reply

  21. Sabrina Riggs says

    Oh I am so jealous! I read about all your Craigslist finds and then I look and NOTHING!! Well, unless you want free bricks or dirt. Maybe used things aren’t the norm in this part of the country (Dallas, TX). But the stools look great and DO warm up the room. I can certainly see the wooden bowls on your shelves. I just added a dark woven rattan basket to our light colored bathroom and it made a HUGE difference!

    Reply

  24. Amanda says

    Love the stools!!

    And I’m almost always ahead of myself when it comes to decorating (I’ve been hoarding a shower curtain for the hallway bathroom for over a year now, and we won’t even be tackling that room until next summer). We also ended up with a “spare” vanity and faucet through some Home Depot “discontinued/out of stock/not out of stock or discontinued anymore” magic…those are also hiding out in the guest room closet in anticipation of a hallway bathroom redo. I just go with the “it’ll make the budget hurt less when we actually have to buy the rest of the stuff” mentality. :-)

    Reply

  27. Nicole P. says

    Wow! LOVE them in the kitchen! Loved the blue stools as well, but these are even better! I’m a big fan of mixing woods and metals (stainless).

    Reply

  28. greenbean says

    I’m loving a lot of your re-do’s or replacements lately! For me, these chairs totally complete the kitchen and pull it all together.

    Reply

  30. Emily says

    Those are super awesome stools. I might consider only putting out three at a time instead of all four (ie two on the side and one on the end)…it is a *little* cramped-looking with four and you can always pull out the extra when guests come around!
    But either way, great find, as always!

    Reply

  33. Blair R says

    I love seeing how your “finished” rooms are evolving. I’m always hesitant to buy certain things for our home. I worry that I won’t love it in a few months, or that I’ll find something that I like better – even if I really love it at the time. Or worse, that I will have wasted money in some way. It’s nice to see that it’s okay to change things and adjust decor and add to rooms that you might have thought you were pretty much finished with. Thanks for the nudge of confidence!

    Reply

  34. schmei says

    I’m SOLD, too – those stools are perfect! Our new place doesn’t have any place for stools, and you’re making me miss the peninsula in our old (teeny, cramped) apartment. (AND they swivel? I’m trying not to be jealous…)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It’s just that darn wall color. It’s the exact soft color of the inside of an avocado (light greeny yellow) in real life. But in every photo we take/share it changes! Haha. So hard to capture!

      xo,
      s

  36. Allie ~ This Yellow House says

    Wow I love how it warms it up so good in there! I love the blue stools too! It’s fun getting to switch things around whenever you wanna change the “look” of a room.

    Great find! I can’t believe they weren’t already sold. Every time I try to buy something on there they are always gone.

    Reply

  41. leah says

    Wow. They are perfect. You guys always find the best stuff on CL. I never have such luck. Maybe people don’t have as much awesomeness to sell here in Colorado.
    Seriously, love them.

    Reply

  43. Ali Miller says

    Just a quick tip – I used those felt pads on my kitchen chairs, and they kept coming off somehow (read: boys scoot in chairs). So I found some that actually nailed into the bottom of the chairs, but were still covered in felt. They worked so well!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Love that tip! John did that for the two white bentwood chairs in our living room and it’s amazing how well they hold! If these pop off we’ll definitely give them the whole tiny-finishing-nail treatment!

      xo,
      s

  44. Amy says

    Those look great! I’m a big fan of some natural wood tones in every room to warm things up. I also love that you guys, even after declaring a room “done”, are still open to changing and letting it evolve.

    Now I vote for replacing that white bowl on the counter with something more colorful. :P

    Reply

  45. Allyn says

    Pretty sure those stools are making me drool. I’d say I wanted to lick them, but a) splinters and b) it sounds a little creepy.
    What a killer find! Craigslist can be such an awesome way to go.

    Reply

  46. Vanessa says

    I’m concerned that this is what you two discuss in bed at night. Hmmmm. Ha ha – of course it is what you would discuss…

    Love those stools. When I first looked I thought – “Those look comfy” or ” I like how they form to a persons bum.” Well done.

    Reply

  48. Desiree C. says

    Oh my goodness! They’re so warm and home-y! I’m not kidding when I say that my reaction to your hint photo at the top of the post included wide eyes of amazement and an outloud “Wow!” moment at my desk…at work.

    I love the strips of wood and the warm wood tone that make the stools. Needless to say, if you change your mind, I’ll take them.

    Reply

  49. tara says

    LOVING the new stools!! It really warms the space up. And the metal ones will look very cool with the chunky bar:)
    Have you guys thought of doing anything with that awesome basket light? Like making it a warmer/contrasty-er tone to go with the floors, mirror, and lovely new stools? It sort of blends in in the photos looking towards the gallery wall. Either way – kitchen looks amazing! I’m definitely SOLD:)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have thought about painting it but love the natural basket-y texture it brings for now (might be more obvious in person since pics are always hard when it comes to capturing stuff like that). Who knows where we’ll end up though!

      xo,
      s

  50. Lauren says

    LOVE THOSE CHAIRS!!! Love them so hard! The kitchen looked good before, but now it looks FANTASTIC!! I have never liked a change of yours more :)

    Reply

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