DIY Stump Foot Rest With Hidden Compartment

Prior to the start of this project, we stored this stump in the garage for a year to give it time to thoroughly dry out. Steph loves to bring natural elements into her home decor and she thought the stump would make a unique footstool for her living room.

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Dried out tree stump

Reciprocating Saw

Bernzomatic Torch Kit

Staple gun

Casting Epoxy

Clear Aerosol Lacquer Spray

Wood Underlayment

Casters

Fabric

We wanted to do a minimal amount of clean up to the stump so that it would maintain most of its natural character. We used a reciprocating saw to remove a random branch and to clean up some of the top and bottom. We finished the bottom with a little polyurethane. We also did a little clean out of the cavity on the top of the stump. This will become our hidden compartment.

We turned the stump over and traced the top onto a piece of scrap underlayment and cut it out with a scroll saw. Padding was glued into place and a dog-themed fabric was stapled into place. The excess fabric was trimmed off to remove the bulk.

Using a Bernzomatic Premium Torch Kit, we gave the bark a good char. We used a wire brush to remove the white residue and continued torching until the desired look was achieved. We brushed away any bark that seemed to be loose and then sealed it with many coats of a clear finish.

In the year that the stump was drying, part of the top started to decay. We decided to make this into a secret compartment. We used epoxy with a little bit of blue pigment to create a flat bottom to the area.

The last step was to add casters to make it easy to move.

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