Before & After: Alyssa's Stinky 70s Mushroom Stool

Alyssa of Baroque Chair Makeover fame is back with her latest project — transforming a $10 eBay mushroom ottoman from the 70s into a stylish and cute accent piece...

From Alyssa: The story of the “Stinky Mushroom” gets its origins from the Greek “Fungus foulsmelicus.” Actually, this do-it-yourselfer’s-dream sprouted up on Ebay for $10 and it was love at first sight. “It will go perfectly with our new Thomas Wold Mushroom Table!” I thought to myself… but unfortunately it wasn’t love at first sniff when I opened the box 2 weeks later! It smelled heavily of smoke and had stains all over it, but you get what you pay for! So the day dawned on a new project…

Check out her project on her blog: Before and After – Stinky 70s Mushroom Stool.

Thanks, Alyssa!

MORE BEFORE & AFTER
• Before & After: Alyssa's Silver Baroque Chair Makeover
• Before & After: 5 Painted Furniture Projects
• Before & After: Wood Shop Turned Home Office
• Before & After: Mary's New White Chairs
• Before & After: Kitchen Console Table

Comments (14)

Just Wow!

posted by bepsf on July 14th 2009 at 1:06pm
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Well done! I was totally skeptical that it could be salvaged, but you did a great job.

posted by home body on July 14th 2009 at 1:17pm
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well better, but...still sore thumb standout.

posted by ubertimmo on July 14th 2009 at 1:18pm
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I think it's super cute!

posted by alaylam on July 14th 2009 at 1:32pm
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Really nice job, light-years better...but still ugly.

posted by zaky on July 14th 2009 at 2:21pm
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whoa! what a transformation - such a cute fabric. Great job!

posted by lexinchicago on July 14th 2009 at 2:23pm
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I definitely thought she was going to go Super Mario Galaxy on that mushroom.

posted by MollydeA on July 14th 2009 at 2:36pm
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MollydeA: I like that idea better. I've seen these mushroom stools on eBay and Craigslist too and they seem irredeemable to me, but Mario Bros. toadstools might be great for a kid's room.

posted by slowdown on July 14th 2009 at 2:44pm
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yes - great makeover, and I think it could work with the right interior.

posted by lovelyrita on July 14th 2009 at 6:20pm
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I think I would have gone for the Super Mario mushroom instead that fabric is definetly not to my taste.

posted by SJwashere on July 14th 2009 at 6:44pm
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Woohoo, Love, love, love!!

posted by Ldub8 on July 14th 2009 at 9:56pm
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so funny... I did the same makeover last year w/ a junk store find... covered it with red paisley velvet. I used it in my classroom and the kids LOVE it. cute @ home, too.

posted by baba yaga on July 14th 2009 at 10:15pm
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I have 2 similar mushroom stools my husband and I purchased from a thrift shop. Also probably someone's 70s diy project, but very well done minus the hideous brown/beige striped corduroy fabric. I recovered them in a pale robins egg blue micro suede type fabric, but have never really been happy with them. After seeing your transformation I think I could love them if I recover them in a bold print. Yeah!

posted by rebeldress on July 14th 2009 at 11:47pm
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The pattern size and repeat is too much for both the cap and stem. The stem would look great in a cotton velvet in the same shade of green.

posted by Seaside on July 15th 2009 at 12:50am
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