Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover

I have a thing for old step stools. They tell such a fabulous story and I love the “wear” on them. Just imagine everything they’ve seen.

Needless to say, I was beyond thrilled when I found my own farmhouse step stool… er, or a stool to make into my own farmhouse step stool.

After giving it a little farmhouse makeover, here’s what it looks like…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

I’m just utterly in love with it…. love, love love. And love.

But when I first found it, it was bright purple…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain CottageI just knew it could be so much more… so I chose a much softer paint color, Timeless in DecoArt’s Chalky finish paint line

It’s such a soft and wonderful color….

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

Once I had the stool covered, I used the clear creme wax and went over the entire stool…. the wax deepens the color just a bit.

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

Then I sanded down the areas that I wanted it to look aged…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

And applied the deep brown creme wax to add the appearance of layered wear and grime. Yes, you read that right, grime.

I rubbed the deep brown creme wax over all the paint, and pushed it into all the dings and dents of the stool…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

Then, I just kept adding the dark wax until it looked “aged”.

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

In any areas that I wanted to tone down the dark wax, I just applied the clear creme over it.

It’s such a sweet little step stool…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

And I honestly love the “grime” on the stool… I love that it brings out all those details…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

And I was even happier when I asked Anthony what he though of it… He said it looked like it needed cleaned after heavy use…

Farmhouse Step Stool Makeover by The Wood Grain Cottage

Bingo! That’s exactly what I was going for… It had previously been used (heavily) and I wanted to bring out all those little details. Typically I don’t use the dark wax to this extreme, but I couldn’t image this step stool not having it.

Now, it looks like a piece that was pulled right out of an old farmhouse. I love that…

You can find the new Chalky Finish paint online at Home Depot! They have so many fun colors to choose from too! Happy Painting!

*This was a sponsored post by DecoArt. However, all opinions about the new Chalky Finish paint and this lovely farmhouse step stool are my own! For my full disclosure policy, click here.

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20 Comments

  1. Ok Shayna, you did it again! I’ve been looking for a step stool like that for ages, and you made it look exactly the way I want mine to look when I finally find it. Now i’ll come back to this when I find it, and refresh my old lady memory on how to get it to look like that! Thanks! 😀

    1. THANK YOU so much, Amy! I’m so happy you liked the tutorial! 😀
      Happy step stool hunting!
      -Shayna

  2. This is beautiful and go perfectly with your laundry room. I love it. My husband would say the exact same thing..”Why does it look old and used?” Well, that’s how I like it! Great, great job.

    1. THANK YOU so much, Ashley! I love how it turned out, “grime” and all! Husbands… 😀
      -Shayna

  3. Super sweet! Hmmm, could it be used for the “wee” ones of WGC? Sorry, could nut resist saying something… love it! Blessings & <3
    M

    1. THANK YOU so much, M! You never know… our “wee” ones may take full advantage of it! 😀
      -Shayna

  4. You’ve done a wonderful job transforming this cute stool….why would anyone have ever painted it purple?!?!? I love that a little paint can make something look so right for a space. I love all the “grime” you added to it, too!!!

    1. THANK YOU so much, Jamie! I’m with you… why would anyone paint it purple? It definitely needed “grime”. 😀
      -Shayna

  5. I wanted to say I am so glad I found your blog! While our styles may differ tremendously, I’ve been reading through some of your previous posts and your happy attitude and the way it come out in your writing is so contagious that I will have to keep coming back to read more!

    1. THANK YOU so very much, Ali! I’m so happy you found me too! Welcome to The WGC!
      Happy reading! 😀
      -Shayna

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