Pourfect perch: A DIY paint drip stool

28 May 2024

Give an old stool or seat a new look with this colourful DIY idea. You can use an old stool you have lying around at home or head to your local Op Shop to see what you can find. Choose your favourite Resene testpot shades to make it as vibrant and unique as you like – it might even become the best seat in the house!  

You will need: 

• Stool  
• Sandpaper 
• Resene Quick Dry 
• Resene Lustacryl paint 
• Paintbrush 
• Pencil 
• Teaspoons 
• Resene Aquaclear 
• Resene testpots in your favourite shades. Fleur used Resene Joanna, Resene Gingko, Resene Iko Iko, Resene Freestyling, Resene Half New Denim Blue, Resene Rusty Nail and Resene Green Leaf 

Step 1: Start by sanding the stool’s legs with a medium grit sandpaper, wipe away the dust and apply one coat of Resene Quick Dry. Tip: Drill a screw into the bottom of each leg so that the stool sits up off your painting drop cloth. This will allow you to do a nicer paint job around the feet of the stool.  

Step 2: Once the primer is dry, apply two coats of Resene Lustacryl paint tinted to your chosen colour. Fleur used Resene Joanna.  

Step 3: Fleur coordinated her paint colours with the existing foot stool cushion and used a pencil to mark where each colour stopped and started along the four sides of the stool. Use a teaspoon to drip paint down the edge of the stool, and the back of the teaspoon to roughly smooth out the paint on the top edge. Leave the paint to dry for a couple of days.  

Step 4: To make the paint more hardwearing, apply two coats of Resene Aquaclear in a low gloss finish.   

Wall painted in Resene Half Pavlova, Resene Laser, Resene Tussock and Resene Afghan Tan and trims in Resene Half Rice Cake. 

project and images Fleur Thorpe 

Published: 28 May 2024