Old IKEA footstool gets makeover and new storage

I’m coming back with what I love the most, giving makeovers to old stuff and making them not just nicer but also giving them a new purpose.

I had an old IKEA footstool laying around my home for a while (so old it’s already discontinued). The cover looked not only worn out, but it didn’t match my living room color-scheme at all.

It also had the sole purpose of existing and taking precious space from my tiny living room.

Therefore, I have refreshed it using stuff I had at home and turned it into a beautiful footstool with storage for my blankets.

IKEA items used:

• Discontinued SOLSTA PÄLLBO fabric footstool (current production one is BOSNÄS)
• An old KIVIK couch cover

Other materials and tools:

• 3x12mm wood screws x 36
• 20mm square brackets x 8
• 30x40mm piano hinges x 2
• 2mm drill bit
• Drill
• Phillips screwdriver
• CA glue (optional)
• 5mm plywood board
• Measuring tape
• Upholstery stapler 

Footstool with storage instructions:

1. Take out the cover and disassemble the top board that holds the cushion in place.

2. Measure the width of the main legs and mark in the middle. You have to mark twice per leg, in both the inner sides of the leg.

Related: Give a little chic storage to the PÄLLBO footstool

3. Per mark, drill a hole using the 2mm bit and screw a 3x12mm through the square brackets. The hole will guide the screw through the wood and prevent it from from splintering. The brackets won’t be seen from the outside.

4. Measure and extract the inner shape of the stool.

5. Cut such shape in a 5mm plywood board. Pro tip: if you use a jigsaw, you can use a wooden strip as support to ensure cutting a straight line.

6. Use the leftovers to thicken the area where the screws will be. Glue them with CA and place the screws.

7. Using an old KIVIK couch cover, my mom (thanks mom!!) upholstered separately the cushion (including its base board) and the main body.

8. The edges are tucked in and stapled to the body walls and legs.

9. Screw the hinges to one of the walls and the cushion’s board.

The result is just awesome!

It matches perfectly the couch cover and the living room theme as well as serves as storage for those blankets that come in so handy in the cozy evenings of pjs and Netflix.

See my other hack – a headboard with lights.

~ by Diego Pintos