When my alma mater's architecture school closed for renovations, many of their old Lyon industrial steel stools were thrown out. Thanks to a friend who still lives near the university, I now have two of them awaiting a little TLC before being put to re-use in my kitchen. My initial reservations about using them in that room were relieved when I remembered that it's exactly what Martha Stewart has in her kitchen in Bedford. Bring on the Lyon stools!
As for my own stools, I plan to strip or sandblast the paint, then give the raw steel a clear coat for protection from rust-inducing moisture. The feet may need some special treatment, too, as they're pretty rusted and worn. I am considering dipping them in a rubber coating.
What do you think of these simple industrial staples being used at the kitchen counter? For more on Martha's kitchen where these stools are featured, check out The Martha Blog.
Find them: Lyon All Welded Steel Stool at Amazon, $72
Related: Get the Look: Industrial Modern Kitchen Furniture
(Images: Martha Stewart, Apartment Therapy, I'm Busy Procrastinating)
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I love Martha and am happy for you to have found these. But oh my (and feel free to disagree) they are not pretty in their present state. A lick of paint however and these babies would be coveted far and wide. In the last pic above (white kitchen), sorry but they don't look right to me amongst the white cabinets and wooden island top. The owners of those should paint them white/red/brown or blue... but please paint them...! LOL But thats just my humble opinion. Hope you enjoy them!!
must add...
in Martha's kitchen they look GORG!
I have these in my kitchen, in beige with some felt pads from ikea attached to the seat. One of my favorite furniture items in the house. But seeing them in pale green is giving me all kinds of ideas...
I had no idea you linked to my kitchen photo, and just happened upon it tonight. Cool! Interesting comment above about them needing to be painted. She mentioned blue, which is the color mine are (they come in gray, beige and blue). I am not great at styling my photos, but I now have more pops of blue in the kitchen. And certainly the living room that opens up to the kitchen has lots of blue, so they make more sense in context. However, I do wish they were a brighter blue. At the time, I searched and searched for blue stools (turquoise was my wish) but there weren't many available at the size and price point I needed. I do know I can have them powdercoated down the road if I'm looking for a color change! And I was thrilled when I saw that Marth used them in her own home. Makes me feel better about my choice!