New kitchen stools

The past week went by in a flash. We had our lab Christmas party last night, with about 40 guests. The prep for it almost killed me, but on the bright side, most of our Christmas decorating is now complete.

And some of my Christmas baking is done. On Friday I enlisted the help of two of my favourite people for that.

I've been on a bit of a tear with re-upholstering things this month. Last week I got some new (to me) stools for the island in the kitchen. We had some that I got for Christmas one year from Janine when I was a grad student, but they were a bit modern for our kitchen. They've served us well, as they seem to be covered in some miraculous finish that stands up well to the abuse of two small boys. They look as good now as when I got them 13 or 14 years ago even though we use them every day.

I've been keeping my eyes open for ones that have a bit of an antique feel to them. Last week I came across these beauties

Hard to believe that anyone would get rid of them, with their lovely straight-from-the-80's fabric covering.

I popped off the seat and made new covers for them. They aren't perfect as I didn't bother taking apart the old covers to use as a pattern - I just flew by the seat of my pants. They turned out pretty well, though.

When I picked the stools up I thought I would paint them black to coordinate with the fabric. But I kind of like them with the dark wood, so now I can't decide. Any votes one way or the other?