Handmade Carved Foot Stools

Animal Theme

• Animal theme foot stools can be interesting while providing a light-hearted touch. For instance, a sleeping fox foot stool featured at Maison de Kristine is a hand-carved hardwood stool with a special upholstery of handwoven aubusson and antiqued grass nail heads.

  The African Crafts Market website displays a hand-carved, black-and-white, wooden cowhide foot stool that represents South Africa’s Nguni cow. In Zulu culture, the number and health of the Nguni cows symbolized the status and wealth of the owner. No two foot stools are identical because of the handcrafting process.

  The Plow and Hearth website features cat, dog, rooster and hen foot stools, hand-carved from sustainable acacia wood.

Needlepoint Theme

• Fans of needlepoint, cross-stitch and crewel have a number of choices in foot stools and accessories at websites such as Spinayarn.com. Furniture reproductions of the Chippendale, Louis XV and Queen Anne periods are made to display works of needlepoint, cross-stitch and crewel art. Classic square and rectangular hardwood foot stools, Louis XV carved hardwood foot stools and cherry Chippendale foot stools with a red mahogany finish are among the selections.

  The Sudberry House website offers a Louis XV hand-carved mahogany finish rectangle foot stool created by artisans in Indonesia. With a fixed pad, the foot stool has muslin upholstery to accommodate needlework. This foot stool comes in two sizes.

Floral Theme

• Colorful flowers provide a cheerful theme for foot stools. For example, the Plow and Hearth website displays hand-carved acacia wood foot stools that depict a blue aster, white daisy and pink zinnia. The artisans who create these foot stools utilize scrap wood for the legs wherever possible. These foot stools are suitable as hearth accent pieces or as stepping stools as well as for resting tired feet.

  The Belda French country foot stool at Maison de Kristine also features a floral pattern, in needlepoint. It is upholstered with hand-woven aubusson and has antiqued brass nail heads and two sets of legs to create two heights -- one for a foot stool and the other for a vanity table.

English Theme

• For a more formal style of foot stool, companies such as The English House offer top quality pieces made by Wesley-Barrell, furniture manufacturers based in England. Established more than a century ago, Wesley-Barrell features an array of elegant foot stools. Examples include the Clanfield buttoned foot stool with four turned legs on castors, the Hazelton foot stool with piping, turned legs on castors and an optional compartment for storage, and the Evenlode foot stool, which is contemporary and comes with or without buttoning.

  Also in the United Kingdom, Footstools2U offers an extensive range of handmade footstools in an array of fabrics, leathers, sizes, shapes and selection of legs and feet. The website provides free samples to help customers decide which options they prefer before the manufacturing process begins.