Make A Unique DIY Bar Stool To Remind You Of All Of Your Favorite Vacations

Collecting items as you travel can be an amazing way to bring home both a piece of your favorite destination as well as fond memories of your trip. All too often, once you arrive home, you find yourself struggling to find a place to store or display them if you are already strapped for space. Finding clever ways to incorporate pieces you collect into your existing decor is crucial. Instagram DIYer @cotton_clara, however, recently showed off a super easy tutorial on how to use souvenir tea towels as coverings for simple wood stools. This is a great solution for creating fun and functional memories of your journeys while also adding a great statement piece to your kitchen.

This project is a fun way to decorate with stools in your home. It's also a creative way to use tea towels, be they souvenir items or thrifted ones you love. For this easy fabric upgrade, you will need a souvenir tea towel from your destination. The base is a simple wooden stool. If you don't have one, check out your local thrift stores or snag the Linon 24-inch barstool on Amazon for $38.99. Just make sure to measure your counter height beforehand to make sure it will fit. You will also need a brush, Mod Podge, and scissors to complete the project. 

To create your souvenir stool, begin by removing the seat on the stool, if possible, to make it easier to work with. Trim your tea towel into a circle about 3-4 inches larger than the seat you will be covering, allowing enough fabric to wrap over the sides and underneath. Coat your stool seat and sides liberally with Mod Podge, then place the towel over the surface, and smooth it down to eliminate bubbles or creases. Add another layer of Mod Podge along the underside perimeter to adhere the fabric underneath, pleating it as you go. Paint on an additional layer of Mod Podge over the fabric to ensure a sealed surface that will resist damage. Reattach the legs and allow the stool to dry completely before use. 

This project works great for circular stools, but is amenable to any seat shape or size, including square, rectangular, or triangular stools. Just cut your fabric to the shape you need. While souvenir tea towels work perfectly for this project, you can use any travel-obtained textile like a handkerchief, throw pillow cover, or scarf. You can also use paper items like maps, wallpaper, wrapping paper, and posters. For a fun spin, use the surface of the stool to create a travel collage of postcards, ticket stubs, maps, photo prints, and other ephemera items adhered with a thick coat of Mod Podge for protection. 

These cool souvenir stools can be used anywhere and for everything from seating to creating small stylish tables perfect for tucking near the bed or next to an armchair. Higher stools would make great seats at a counter or bar. Or keep a grouping of stackable stools in the corner to pull out for extra seating when entertaining and as an interesting conversation piece about each journey.  They also make great footstools. 

If you decide to use them as small tables, you could also cover them in a glass or clear acrylic for a more finished look and a more protected top.  Use a large souvenir shower curtain or tablecloth to create the same technique on a larger table or collage together smaller pieces to make a bigger one. While the Mod Podge surface will fare best inside out of the elements, you can also add another water protective poly coat over the surface and use them as extras seating or side tables in your outdoor spaces.