apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Love it! Would make for a great hostess gift for summer bbq parties.

Ugh! That pattern is completely inappropriate for that stool.

I agree with Comicgeek...

While I'm not a fan of the pattern, is there some reason it's "inappropriate"? Is it because the base carries a "pattern" of its own or just that you folks don't care for it either or some other reason entirely?

The pattern of the fabric is too bold for the strong structure of the stool. They are competing with each other and are looking very much like a this and that situation. If you are going to upholster a stool with a strong radial structure like that one has, you need to either make the upholstery simple by picking a solid fabric with an interesting texture (a boucle or brightly colored weave) or if you want a pattern it has to compliment the stool itself, a bold patterned radial fabric would work in this case since it will mimic the symmetry of the wood parts. Also when picking your fabric one should also be conscience of the era of the piece came from. This fabric is contemporary and although the bold black and white would play well with a vintage hollywood regency piece, it does not work for a danish modern stool.

Forget about the stool; I want to know about that rockin' chair! I think the fabric choice for the stool detracts from the entire look – the fabric is simply ugly, and doesn't complement its surroundings whatsoever. I'd give it another go, perhaps in a William Morris pattern to pick up on the arts and crafts look of the rocking chair and the pillow on it.

I don't think the fabric works very well with the style of the stool either, but I appreciate the simple, step-by-step tutorial on how to reupholster it. The fabric choice is completely up to you, so get what you think works and makes you feel good. If she thinks the fabric works and she likes it, who are we to say how "inappropriate" it is?

The fabric adds some zip or as she called it "friction" to the room. Maybe you want to exalt the stool, but maybe to her it's just a neat little old stool, an eye-catching accessory with no demands of appropriateness.

Here's the deal. The fabric on the stool was annoying me. I had the black and white fabric on hand. As you read from the tutorial, it only took 30 minutes! I can change it as soon as I want to. I agree that the style of fabric doesn't play up the structure of the stool. I do change this stool often so when the next eye catching fabric shows up, I'll do it again.
I just like the peacefulness of the gray rocker. It should really be done in leather. The whole point is to illustrate how easy it is to reupholster small pieces. You can have the freedom to enjoy a fabric for awhile and then recycle it for pillows and change your furniture. It's great.