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Tractor Seat Stools

tractor seat stools from fade interiors
tractor seat stools from fade interiors

Look! Just look at these. Height-adjustable stools made with old tractor seats. I have been looking for something like this for ages. Ever since the vintage Singer sewing machine stool snapped in half (I’m blaming the eldest child for swinging on it) we have been hunting for a suitable replacement. The old Singers ones seem to cost around £300 these days and that’s if you can even find them.

white stoneware jugs
white stoneware jugs £36

We had two for years and years which were used as bedside tables, occasional tables and finally as kitchen stools, which proved to be the death knell for one. Ironically, I realise, as it had spent many years being sat on in a textile factory before it met my 12-year-old but still…

copper candlesticks
copper candlesticks from £28

Anyway, the old stool now reposes in pieces in a cupboard waiting for a magic solderer or blacksmith or possibly just a magician to repair it, and we were looking for more. In the end, after six months of dithering, we found a couple of 60s stools on ebay for £50 each which was a real bargain.

batik cushions
batik cushions £42 each

But now I have seen these. They cost £275 for the pair and were brought back to Fade Interiors from France by the owners  Jean Kennedy and Fionnuala Maynard. Fionnuala told me that when they found them they were completely rusty so they cleaned them up and sprayed the seats white. They are also height adjustable – from 44.5cm to 69.5cm – so perfect for a kitchen island and as an extra seat at the table.

french matches
french matches £2.50 a box

Technically the shop doesn’t really do online or mail order, although they will arrange delivery if you require. I just thought that as it’s that time of year when there’s a bank holiday every five minutes, if anyone was taking a trip out to Oxfordshire they might fancy a little browse round the store. It’s in Woodstock (click for the address and map).

metal trolley
metal trolley for £225

Of course the nature of stores like this is that things tend to be one-offs but it’s always worth keeping an eye out for things you might like. I have included a few more images so you can see the sorts of things they stock.

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.