D.C. Stool

Dimensions: Height is adjustable to 31 inches, 26 inches (shown), or 21 inches, Seat is 12.5 inches square, Weight 6.5 pounds. The seat features a nighttime aerial photograph of D.C. printed on canvas. $25. Click here to purchase.

The Story

This was an easy (but rare) one-day project. I found the art sticking out of the top of a public trash can across from an apartment building in my Glover Park neighborhood of D.C.; believe me, it was clean, someone must have put it there just before I found it; I walk by there all the time. When I detached it from the wood frame, I started to think of it as material that perhaps could be used in a small upholstery project. A stool came to mind. For several weeks, I had my eye on one sitting outside a local Starbucks that closed, but it was in an area marked “no trespassing.” So, to my wife’s relief, I somehow resisted the strong temptation to climb over the railing and take it. But then I came across one sitting outside a nearby apartment building with a lot of other stuff someone was getting rid of. Perfect! I disassembled the stool and got rid of the original seat. I cleaned up the frame with a rough sponge, Virtually all the marks on the stool when I found it came off—they were not scratches—so I didn’t think new paint was necessary. I cut a new seat out of leftover pine lumber, making it the same size as the footrest bar. I thought that would be a nice design feature and knew that the size increase over the original would make it more comfortable to sit on. Also, to make it more comfortable, I nicely rounded the edges and cut and glued on two layers of foam padding leftover from other projects. Then I stapled the canvas to the wood and attached the seat to the frame with four screws.

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