How To Make A DIY Lazy Susan From An Old Stool

When I set out to make my own DIY Lazy Susan I came across some very annoying obstacles that actually formed me to think outside the square. Those moments when you are forced to think that little bit harder are great, because you end up making cool new projects from the most unexpected objects.

When I think of the word Lazy Susan I’m instantly taken back to my childhood. My mum had this pretty average looking white Lazy Susan that sat in the middle of our dining table and displayed salt, pepper, napkins, wooden toothpicks and even some tabasco sauce. This thing got used a lot and it definitely served it purpose. We had it for years.

In my mind I couldn’t see a Lazy Susan as anything more than an outdated item that was simply an eyesore. Though practical, I struggled with the idea I could ever display one in my house because I hadn’t seen one that fit my personal style, so I set out to make one that I loved and let me tell you, I LOVE it!

How To Make A DIY Lazy Susan From An Old Stool

Now allow me to quickly tell you the story of this worn out stool I no longer had any use for. This guy had been with my husband and I since around 2007 when we first moved in together and had about 5 cents to furnish our home. No joke, we had nothing! It was handy, sturdy and trusty. It was our side table for years. But it was time to say “bye bye”. I didn’t want to throw it out or give it away because I felt like I owed this stool a second change for all the years it served us well. I promise I’m not a creepy hoarder lady, it was just a little sentimental because it was one of the first pieces or furniture we owned together! haha. I really wanted to give it a new purpose in our home.

So with this in mind, I did what any normal person would do. I turned this beaten up old stool into a beautiful farmhouse style Lazy Susan.

Read on to see the full tutorial!

Here’s the before:

DIY Lazy Susan – Supplies and Tools:

• Old Stool  (If you do not have an old stool you can buy a wood round made from pine or other materials for this project)
• Lazy Susan Turnable Hardware (you can get one here or at most hardware stores near you. The size you choose depends on the size round you purchase)
• 4 x Pan Head Screw – 1/2 inch length. (length of screws will depends on the thickness of the wood you use)
• 2 x Brushed Bronze Cabinet Pulls
• 4 x M4 x 40mm Phillips Flat Head Countersunk Screws 
• Dark Wallnut Stain 
• Ikea Cork Heat Trivet
• Bosch Electric Hand Drill
• Hand Held Sander
• 80 grit Sand Paper (for sander)
• Hammer
• Screw Driver
• Black Chalk Paint (I used this one)
• Clear Chalk Paint Wax  (To seal the chalk paint)
• Paint Brush
• X-Acto Knife
• Flat Stensil Brush
• A4 white paper (optional)
• Printer (optional)

How To Make A DIY Lazy Susan

This project is a little photo heavy, but please do not let the quantity of photos scare you. It’s quite a simple project that can be done easily in a couple of hours.

I started off by taking the legs off the stool seat. It was quite simple. I used a screw driver to do this.

I used a hand held sander with 80 grit sand paper to remove all of the paint. I had to do this for a long time and went through a few pieces of sand paper because the paint was some sort of industrial stuff! Let me tell you, this stuff was tough to get off. But when I finally removed it all, it felt really good! I admit I gave up on the bottom, but it’s not on display so it didn’t matter. I cleaned off the stool seat and I had my piece of round wood ready to convert into a Lazy Susan!

I chose a dark walnut color which I absolutely love and use a lot on my projects. I stained the top and also around the rim of the base.

Once it had dried for about 10 minutes I decided at the last minute I wanted the wood to look more worn as I was going for the rustic / farmhouse / industrial feel. So I grabbed a hammer and started hammering all over the top to make indentations. Once I was done I then rubbed on a second coat of stain. I found this was enough, but if you want it really dark, you can do more coats until you get your desired look. I allowed the stain to dry for 24 hours before I continued with the project.

While I waited for the stain to dry. I created a stensil that was quite simple to make – read How To Make A Stensil to learn how. I could not find a pre-made stensil I liked and I wanted to use a very specific font. I used the font Stencil STD. I chose the words “Tea, Coffee, Wine”. As you can see I ran out of ink so my printer printed the words this funny green/blue color.

After I printed out the words, I used an X-Acto knife to cut out the outline of the letters. This is a little time consuming and you do require a steady hand but don’t worry if you make little mistakes. The great thing about rustic farmhouse is that the imperfections make it absolutely perfect! If you don’t want to worry about designing the words yourself and you like what I have used you can download the “Tea, Coffee , Wine” Stensil Printable Here!

Once the Lazy Susan round was dry and I had the words cut out, I placed them exactly where I wanted them. I used a flat stensil brush and black chalk paint and started gently sponging the paint on the letters. I made sure to wipe off excess paint before starting the sponging process so that no paint got under the stensil and mucked up the words. The beauty of Chalk style paint is that it dries very fast. I let the paint dry for about 15 minutes before it was completely dry. I finish by rubbing on chalk paint sealing wax. This wax helps protect the paint from scratching off.

I had my husband help me finish the Lazy Susan. We decided to put the handles on first.

We measured the Lazy Susan round and decided where we wanted to have the handles to go. Then marked the spots so we had them evenly opposite to each other. I drew circles around exactly where we had to drill. If you use a handle that you can drill down from the top like this one then you do not need to do this. But to make sure we did it accurately we marked the exact spots where we would drill. I’m happy to report we got it right! Phew!

We used a cordless electric drill to make the holes for the handles. We then slipped the Pan Head Screws in from the bottom side of the Lazy Susan and secured them on to the handles.

*Remember to place wood underneath the area you will be drilling so that you do on to drill a hole on to your work bench.

We turned the lazy Susan around and screwed on the turnable hardware using the flat head countersunk screws. To do this, it is very simple: Place the hardware exactly where you want it. We measured and marked the centre of the circle and placed the turnable hardware right in the middle.

Twist the turnable hardware so that all holes are exposed. Insert the screws on the holes directly touching the Lazy Susan round. Screw tightly.

To finish off my diy Lazy Susan I hot glued an Ikea Cork Heat Trivet to the base of the Lazy Susan hardware. This was to give it extra balance and to protect any surface from the metal hardware.

I finished off by painting the rim of the Lazy Susan in the same black Chalk paint. I didn’t like how the stain looked on the rim and I’m glad I painted it. It didn’t take long for the paint and wax to dry and my Lazy Susan was all ready to use!

Though this DIY Lazy Susan tutorial has a lot of steps, it really is a very simple project that can be easily done in an hour or two (minus drying time).

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial today and that it inspires you to make your own Rustic Farmhouse Lazy Susan.

If you enjoyed this DIY Lazy Susan tutorial today and ti inspired you to think outside the box!

Love the idea of a Lazy Susan by don’t have time to DIY? Here are some of my favorite finds on Amazon!

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