Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Stool samples

Somebody else is ill now after a late night at an Awards supper with my entourage in tow and the indomitable Grandad along for the ride. She can keep the toddler occupied with Soduko so I can ask you for some much needed advice on stools.
After looking at Fun and Vj's handsome stools the other day, I thought about how many stools we have accumulated in this house. I don't even like some of them but I'm stuck with them.
The Scottish best little mother in law in the West-ern suburbs gave us a set of FOUR of these country cottage pine beasties because she thought they would suit a country cottage pine kitchen. The fact that I will never have a country cottage pine kitchen seems to be a moot point. I can't even do a Sonia and paint them because Nanna mentioned pointedly how much she "hates people who paint perfectly nice wooden furniture". She is a darling and I don't want to hurt her feelings but I really dislike these stools. Should I just paint them? Really Bright red??? I have Sonia's paint just sitting there. There's an excellent yellow too.
As an aside this is what my 80+, best neighbour ever, Bob, used to do with his asparagus. He was full of depression era cleverness. There would always be some asparagus in a glass in his window sill. You trim the bases and he swore they grew more and became juicier. He also swore but we still loved him.
This one is meant to be for my tired plates of meat at the end of the day but is rolled from room to room by Shorty and used as activity base/ stool/ jumping off point.

Meet my nemesis. I loathe this stool but haven't found one yet that matches it for correct height for my Fishy boy. It's plainness is not even worth recovering. It came with the piano from Lily's house (she was 100) and one day I will replace it with the perfect pointy legged 1960's one. It will be teak, please, with charcoal or cream vinyl pad, stitched in squares a la Parker. OK? Have you got that op shop karma fairies? Oh, can it have a compartment for all the sheet music he brings home, too.
I love this sweet little stool. She has been on here before and came from- you guessed it- Ron and Brian's. She is living in the bathroom for now.
This one has been moved by the poltergeist to the window. Danger, danger!! She came from Bob's next door. When the family were moving him out I found it next to the wheelie bin out front. It had been made by his eldest son at the local high school in the 50's. Needless to say, she came to live with us.
She is meant to live here for access to the big high cupboard when necessary. There are confiscated items like hard plastic swords up there that I can't reach that will come down only when there are grandchildren. "If you fight over it and don't share it will go in the Big, High, Cupboard!" And invariably it did. Look who is sleeping on the big fella's side while he is camping on rocks and lichen. Usurper!
A sneak peak at his riveting bed time reading...there are some Golden Books in there too.
Now I'm taking you somewhere you have never been before. This is the dark abyss we refer to as Underthehouse. That black one is from an old science lab and we had a set but nowhere to put them except maybe under the recycled SCIENCE LAB ISLAND in the kitchen. He gave the others away because he thought I didn't like them!! This one is to be saved somehow. Once again...paint? Where has that Sonia gotten to.
The turquoise one was from my nanna's house. It is a tad special because, legend has it that my Dad would churn butter and sing in an angel's voice to himself on that stool. So Nanna said. Once again what to do with it?

The 2 year old poltergeist seems to have a particular liking for seating as well. Although I am not discussing stools with her at the moment as they are becoming a sensitive issue between us.
When all else fails, I can always ponder the history of the stool and see if I can be inspired like these people.

7 comments:

  1. Firstly those pine stools are a lovely shape but a beastly bland colour- either red or yellow would be fantastic. The piano stool- definitely an oilcloth cover job would be fantastic and the turquoise one should stay as it is, too much wonderful history and a fab colour already. The bathroom stool is kindy groovy but could also work in that dirty greenish blue that is quite popular around the traps and I'm sure the ducks would be impressed. melx

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  2. I have to agree with everything BungalowG has said. I'd be wanting to paint those pine stools. Pine's pine.

    And the piano stool would look great in some of that Mexican oil cloth with the wild flowers ... or maybe just Ikea spots which are more suited to boyz.

    Get those two gems out from under the house and paint them! They needn't be stools, you could use them as tables to put things on. Tables are good like that.

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  3. Go the yellow and red and face the music. One day I'm going to paint our bloody fishtank while D's at work. And the oilcloth idea is superb. She's on a roll, that MMMC.

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  4. You know I've had the red spotty Ikea oilcloth sitting here for a while but I hated the legs on that stool too much to use it. Now I just have to decide red or yellow or both. Too circus?

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  5. Nothing's wrong with a circus. Might make that kid play the piano with more oomph.

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  6. I like what you've done with the pine stools. I have never thought of keeping asparagus in a glass of water before. We tend to put it in the crisper then forget it's there until the tops start to go slimy. This might work better.

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  7. You do seem to have a plethora of stools.
    It would be a shame to separate them while you are in the paint zone.
    Bright coloured flower pots would look good on them (with plants, of course).
    That would cheer up the odd corner.
    You could even grow asparagus it seems , on them.

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