{DIY} Upholstered X-Leg Stool

So.  I had such good intentions of having a full tutorial for you today on how to make this stool but instead I'm going to have to give you a little sneak peek and save the tutorial for another day.  I've been working diligently on these guys (there are two in the works) for a couple weeks but I had some stops and starts and frustrations to work through and it's taken me much longer than expected.  We leave for vacation tomorrow for 2.5 weeks but I promise you, I will have step-by-step instructions the week I return on how to make both the frame and the upholstered seat.

My two main inspiration pieces were these:

Boston Interiors

I modeled the legs after the chunky ones on this one above, though I went with a darker stain on the wood to better complement the fabric I'd chosen.

Casey Grace Design

I patterned the upholstered top after this streamlined stool and, if you've been following along with me for any length of time you could probably guess that it had me at nailhead trim (see here and here for other upholstery-and-nailhead projects).

I've known I wanted to try making these stools for awhile.  I distinctly remember telling a friend back in May that I wanted to try building a couple X-leg stools and she said, "Really?  Don't you think it'll be hard with the angles and all?"  And I kind of waved my hand in the air and said, "Nah, shouldn't be too hard."  Weeeeeeell...it was a little hard.

I managed to complete one stool and the other has the legs assembled and stained but is waiting for the top to be finished and attached.  Once they're both finished I think they'll live under a sofa table in our family room and serve as both extra seating when we need it and as footrests for two upholstered chairs we have in there.

I'm also considering a layout like this one below, but would need to rearrange the other furniture a bit, which I've been thinking about anyway.  Now that the one stool is done I'm not sure I want to store it under a table most of the time.  I kind of want these babies on display!

I'm quite certain if I made one of these from scratch again it would take me a fraction of the time, but the first time through there was a lot of figuring of angles and lengths and how to get the proper support in the base and the best way to make the cover.  I built the frame and made the upholstered top two times each before I got it "right."  But the good news - I can share all of this knowledge with you!  Should you wish to tackle this project yourself you will have all my mistakes to learn from.

For now, here's a preview of the one finished X-leg stool in the family room.  I'll be sharing more photos of this room and some others in our house next week as part of a little "House Tour" series while I'm on vacation.

You can see our screened porch in the background behind these chairs.

I went with a warm gold-tone pattern (Waverly Ellis in Hemp) that worked well with both the gold and the red chairs.  The main colors in this room are cream, gold, and cranberry red so I wanted to stay in the same group with the upholstery on the stools. 

I'm thrilled with the results and can't wait to finish the other stool and decide how to arrange them in the family room.  Stay tuned for detailed instructions on how you (yes, you!) can make your very own X-leg stool.

Linking to House of Hepworths, The 36th Avenue, Live Laugh Rowe, 52 Mantels, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Home Stories A to Z, and I Heart Naptime.