Rolling Foot Rest or Stool

When I moved into a new office at work, I thought it would be nice to have something to put my feet up on. I choose a height that would be pretty comfortable for my legs and feet, but which could also allow the item to serve as extra seating. So, I designed and built this piece using a lot of scrap pallet wood. I first built a four-sided box structure out of 1.75-inch-square lumber (as the vertical pieces in the corners and underlayment for the sides. I sanded all the pallet wood; cut it to length; stained it with Minwax “Red Mahogany,” which was close to the tone of the wood furniture in my office; applied three coats of Minwax water-based clear satin Polycrylic; figured out an arrangement for the 16 pieces needed on the sides (I had to be selective, given slight variations in width, so each side would end up a similar height; I also wanted the nail heads to alternate left-right on each row); and glued each piece to the frame one at a time. I screwed casters on the bottom of the four corners. I created a seat top out of medium density fiberboard; cut out some thin foam and upholstered it in a faux leather (both newly purchased from Joann), and attached the seat to the frame with corner braces and screws. It has served me well.

Related Items: Small Wooden Bench with Cushioned Seat, Pirate Treasure Chest.