Ideas for a Nautical Stool Seat

Paint

• A few coats of paint do wonders to a plain stool. Paint the whole thing in your favorite ocean blue or sea green for a simple nod to the nautical theme. Other ideas include using stencils to outline the tops of the stools with seashells, sea stars or other ocean creatures. Paint on simple ship outlines in black for a more contemporary feel.

Decoupage

• Buy a kit to decoupage the stools with maritime souvenirs. Ideas include pieces of old maps, ship postcards or copies of old sailing photographs. Cover the entire stool, from the legs up, in these mementos or just decoupage them on the seat. Add a decoupage medium to seal the images in. For a vintage look, use a sealer that has an antiquing tint in it.

Fabric

• Cover the stool seats in a nautical themed fabric. For a country or traditional look, use simple prints such as blue and white stripes. For a whimsical seaside feeling, choose colorful prints. Ideas include fabric that features ships, fish, sailors or other sea creatures. Mix and match a few prints for additional texture and color. For example, upholster the bottom of the seat in a ship pattern and add a smaller seat cushion in a striped pattern on top of it.

Rope

• Wrap a plain stool in rope for an instant nautical feel. Start at the base of the legs and work your way up if you plan on wrapping the entire thing. When you wrap the top, start in the middle and work your way out to ensure a smooth seat. Other ideas include just wrapping the base of the seat with rope or interweaving different seaside colored rope, such as blue and green, on the same stool.

Other Trimmings

• If the seat of your stool is larger than its base and you have a decent-size overhang, trim the bottom of the seat with seaside items. For example, glue seashells all around underneath the rim. Other options include a mosaic pattern of sea glass or blue and green glass tiles. Pair this with any of the other ideas for paint, decoupage, fabric or rope.