Soooooo smething crazy happened. Here’s a little hint:
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:
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).
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.
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:
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.
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…
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…
Those are perfect!!!
Wow! I thought those funky blue stools were amazing, but I love, love, love the chunky wood ones even more! Awesome score! Yet again, you guys are an inspiration! :)
i like those much better in the kitchen. makes it feel so much more cozy. very good fit!
Love these! I have a very similar singular stool I got from my parents house from my childhood. We keep it in our kitchen to prop on while we’re cooking. It looks very similar except the back is woven sorta instead of slats. Ours swivels too. The cat loves it. What a steal you got though! Can we get a mood board for the sunroom?!
Ooh that would be fun!
xo,
s
I love it when good things happen to good people!
I’m always tempted to buy things for my future lake house, despite the fact that we haven’t even started saving for said lake house. Does that count?
Haha, totally counts!
xo,
s
Love them. Adds more warmth to the room than the previous chairs. Great find :)
I was in love with the blue stools, but these really warm up the space nicely. I love the evolution of a room!
AWESOME!!! I thought I liked the blue chairs, but wow, these look so much better! Nice work!
What a find! They are so warm & beachy. Nice upgrade.
I love this upgrade. Confession: the blue stools were the only thing I didn’t like in your kitchen. Now I love it all. 100% amazingness.
Totally agree. I was never sold on the blue stools but wasn’t sure why – I think it’s the warmth this wood tone brings. Much more ‘homey’. Rollin with the homey-s!
Ditto!
Wow! Great find!!!
Those are amazing!! What an incredibly lucky find. They were practically made to sit right there too! Yay!
I love the wood stools! They make the kitchen look warmer.
I am posting a table and chairs on craiglist today and I hope someone falls in love with them as quick as you did those stools!
They look great. I hope Clara is a neater eater than my kids are. Those slats could be tough to scrub oatmeal out of!
She eats in her little yellow high chair (we just pull that into whatever room we’re in) so that’s thankfully easier to wipe down. I’m thinking as she gets bigger and really wants to sit in the swivel seats the rule will be that she can if she does her best to be neat. Here’s hoping the swivel function will convince her it’s a worthwhile effort – haha.
xo,
s
YES YES YES! I love these and they make the kitchen sooo much warmer, you should definitely put some wood on those shelves!
One suggestion, I think this chairs would look even better with a little gold around the bottom of the feet to define them from the surrounding cork.
But I love love love them!
Oh, that could be fun!
You guys have so many fun ideas!
xo
s
Yay, Team Painted Feet! I’d go with a little (off-)white though. But either way, it’s an excellent idea!
YES, I agree exactly!! So much warmer. I really like your kitchen, but I would love to see a few warmer elements added and some extra texture on those shelves! I’m on a big coral accent kick lately, it makes everything warm and happy. Can’t wait to see what you guys do with that sunroom. I’d have a hard time staying out of such a bright room!
Awesome find!!
I love these! I loved the blue stools too mind, but when I saw these photos, I swoooned! It’s so cool that just a few tweaks can make a room look totally different. Gem xo
LOVE, loved the other ones too, but these bring a great warmth!
Trish
http://www.mash-upchic.blogspot.com
Love them! I couldn’t find it before but could you share the link to the online school supply store? I have a hard time finding one with what I’m looking for. Thanks!
Here’s that post for ya! They were from stooloutfitters.com: https://www.younghouselove.com/stool-boom/
xo,
s
Well I’m in the minority but I prefer the blue. Now it’s brown floor, brown dining table, brown stools and brown dining chairs. That’s a lot of brown (and I LOVE brown), but I’m not sure I’m down with this brown. But … I will look at it again later because sometimes I don’t like change at first but really like it later (I know, I’m kind of strange…I guess I’m a “slow” reactor).
Totally agree… I miss the fun pop of blue. It seems a little drab to me. But what do I know – I have a brown coffee table, brown floors, brown couches, brown couch pillows and tan walls, tan chair, and a tan rug. So maybe I’m the drab one. ;)
I guess we are in the minority Karen on preferring the blue stools but I just loved the pop of color they added to the otherwise very neutral palette…
I agree. Too bland now. But I always gravitate toward more contemporary style and the cooler colors. These stools really change the overall vibe of the kitchen.
I prefer the blue ones too … they seemed a bit sleaker and matched the kitchen better … but that is only my opinion … it is your house. I do like the timber ones but would prefer them in a different setting.
Such a great find! Love it!
I think they look great in the kitchen. The blue stools will the right amount of color or to the sun room. my husband and I like to daydream about what we want to do to our house while laying in bed too.
Love the larger scale of these stools, too, as well as the warmth they add to your kitchen. Added bonus, you got to visit Surry, which is a neat little rural area to boot! Great find. When we go over there, we love riding the ferry across the James River which our grandkids so enjoy! So much fun to see the funky places in our great state. :)
I LOVE these chairs in the kitchen! (even though I loved the blue ones, too!)
I find that if I buy things *too* ahead of time, my tastes and/or ideas for a space may change before I even get around to doing said space. Our tastes seem to still be evolving and we now find ourselves hating the living room furniture that we bought 5 1/2 years ago, but replacing it is waaay down on the to-do list! That being said, I can’t pass up a great deal on something I am IN LOVE with. I’ll find a spot for it somewhere, right?
LOOOOOVE the stools!!
Love the stools, on their own and in the kitchen. They were meant to be in the kitchen.
Those are awesome. I was also a blue-stool (ick, that sounds bad) fence-sitter. I love these in your kitchen.
I LOVE THEM!!! What a find you guys! How cool that you found the things that “finish” the kitchen without even knowing your already awesome kitchen could be better than it was last week? Seriously, I am swooning. I hope your Craigslist luck rubs off on your readers.
GorGEOUS! They play off of your floor so well. And I think the blue stools will be so playful in the sunroom!
Awesome! I think they look amazing and really change the look of the kitchen. LOVE IT!
I love it! It might have something to do with the fact that we had those exact barstools when I was a little girl. They look great in the kitchen. :)
So funny! What a small world!
xo,
s
We had those exact barstools as well…this is a major flashback to being about 4 years old! My parents had this huge ugly brown wood and black leather bar, brown leather sofas, orange shag carpet, orange drapes, and these bar stools sat at the bar. Did I mention the bar also housed my dads collection of German Beer Steins! haha I have to say my first reaction was NOOOOOO!!! But I think that reaction was really more about the leather/orange room. They look much better at casa Petersik! Honestly I still love the blue chairs, but I’m an uber modern girl. I will say this, those chairs were crazy comfortable! :-)
Great ninja turtle reference – rest of the post is solid but pales in comparison to mentions of Leonardo, Rafael, Donatello, and Michelangelo.
But the important part is who was your favorite? I was a Donatello girl all the way.
xo,
s
I just have to chime in and say that I was always either Donatello (or April) when my friends and I “played Ninja Turtles”. I liked his personality and the color purple, so it was a no brainer.
Amen!
xo
s
OH MY GOSH, LOVE! I so wish I could make LOVE in bigger text right now.
meghan, your comment stopped me in my tracks. I’m reading along, and then I got to your “I so wish I could make LOVE in . . . ” and I thought “she wants to what where?! how?!?” Then I realized you were just talking about font size. whew!
Haha, best comment so far on this post. You just weren’t sure where it was headed after “I so wish I could make LOVE…”
I am totally doing the Austin Powers “Yeah Baby, yeah!” Over here. They are a phenomenal fit! Your blue ones will totally balance out a chunky wooden bar in the sunroom, and your purty new stools will give your kitchen bar the little more chunk that it needed. Okay, this comment is getting weird. Chunk chunk chunk. The end.
Haha, you’re hilarious.
xo,
s
I really like the blue stools, but these ones…. OMG…. I’m seriously in love! You’re right, they were meant to be in that room! It really does make the whole room feel much more homey. The blue ones will be a great contrast to the wood bar, which I can’t wait to see John make! (I’m hoping there will be wood blow torching. I know there’s a fancy name for that, but I don’t know it!)
Oh man, John + wood + blowtorch = his idea of heaven.
xo,
s
“And now I will wow you” – ha ha ha – this line made me laugh out loud. I love it.
The stools are awesome. I’m relieved too – when I read the heading and saw the photo my first thought was that your basket light shade caught on fire!
You guys find the best stuff on craigslist! I’m a rustic kind of girl though so these stools talk to me. I’m loving how they tie into your new basket light and mirror too. sighhh oh dreamy new stools…
I like both sets of stools, and am looking forward to more wood on the shelves – it would look great and cozy for the coming winter! :)
In addition to all the angles you already had shot the chairs from, here’s one more I’d like to see: stand between the fireplace and the pantry, and shoot towards the dining room, so the new stools and the counter are in the left part of the picture and the whole of the armchair can be seen in the right part of the photo. Pretty pleeease? :)
I’ll have to add that pic to an update post for ya soon!
xo,
s
Oh, thanks in advance! :)
Wow! That looks très chic! ;-)
Love the warmer colours.
Wowww, they look AWESOME in your kitchen! Kudos for scoring such a good deal. LOL @ “SOLD!”
Those stools are absolutely gawgeous!!! I don’t blame you one bit for putting them in the kitchen. They look awesome with the white counter top and cork floors. A match made in decorating heaven!!! :)
Wow – what a find! I love these so much!!
I liked the blue ones well enough, but these are great! Gotta love Craig and his list.
*drool*
LOVE LOVE LOVE! And I also love the blue stools, but these just make that kitchen something out of a magazine :) They were made for you guys – congrats on your awesome find. I need a find like that. Best. Feeling. Eva.
you guys have the best craigslist luck! i really like the look of the wood stools better than the metal ones as well. it just ties in so well with the other accents in the room!
can’t wait to see what you do with the sunroom. will you actually open the window from the kitchen during parties and pass things through?
on a side note, this past weekend i found another great use for those felt furniture pads: using them to level out the bottom of a picture hung with monkey hooks (to get them to hang evenly from the wall).
That’s one of those things we can’t actually do that we planned to share as we went along (the sunroom doesn’t have the same heating/cooling system as the rest of the house, so opening them up to each other would be an expensive endeavor – but we still think we can make it cute in there without an actual pass-through!
xo,
s
Perfect! I would choose these over the blue set any old day!
Wow- such a great find! Totally meant to be!
Those are awesome! I love the idea of being able to switch out your stools depending on mood, but at the same time having a use for the other set so you aren’t all crazy and frivolous and have to have a special stool closet like some people have shoe closets. Not that shoe closets are frivolous, I have a vintage purse closet. I just think a stool closet is going too far ;)
Haha, yes I think John is borderline not ok with my pillow collection, so a stool closet would be pushing it. Haha.
xo,
s
Thank goodness! I really never liked the metal stools, they just weren’t refined enough for that fancy new kitchen of yours. Maybe they’ll work better in the sunroom, but the new stools are infinitely better. The kitchen now looks “complete” to me!
I have to agree with this 100%! These are way more grown-up and really fit in much better.
I totally agree. These stools are SO much nicer and fit the space way better. The blue stools will make more sense in the kid-oriented sunroom.
I know- I have to agree as well. I was never in love with the metal stolls but these have so much character and fit the space so well. I agree- it does seem “complete” now.
Agreed! I ADORE these; they’re definitely going on my “future kitchen mood board,” lol.
Ditto. I never liked the school stools–not that I don’t like the blue, but they just didn’t seem like enough to me. They would be funky in a sunroom, but not for a kitchen. These are wonderful! Earthy and substantial while still being airy, fresh and retro. Love them!