How I used AI to upholster a stool – it gave me the confidence I was lacking
Discovering how to use AI as a tool for DIY, rather than a replacement for creativity
Home decorator and content creator Leah Hodson is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on overhauling a home with clever DIY and decorating tricks. See the rest of her articles here.
I’ll be honest, I have a love-hate relationship with AI. When it comes to dealing with admin (like writing difficult emails) or arduous, monotonous tasks, AI is my go to assistant. But when I’m being creative like doing DIY, reimagining a room, or crafting, I hesitate to use AI as I worry that it will stifle my creativity.
Creativity is something that is deeply personal and the idea of handing over any part of the process to technology feels very uncomfortable. I’ve tried asking AI how to use C24 timber (that my builders left in the skip) to make into a bench, and their designs were highly textbook that I gave up altogether after several prompts.
However, recently I was introduced to Google’s AI tool, Google Gemini, and how it can be a great assistant when carrying out DIY tasks. I recently attended an event where Edge Upholstery taught us how to upcycle an IKEA KYRRE stool, hosted by Google Gemini. I’ve never tried upholstering and it’s been on my DIY list to learn one day!
The lovely Claire and Nicola showed how to use upholstery spray to stick the 1inch foam and 4oz poly wadding onto the seat. Then, they used Gemini Live to demonstrate how you can speak to the app to ask questions and troubleshoot live.
They asked Gemini how long after spraying to know that it’s ready, and if it’s possible to reposition the pieces after adhering.
These were questions that I would've asked too! I’m guilty of diving straight into a DIY project after only doing minimal research. Oftentimes, I’m quickly faced with multiple problems to troubleshoot because of my lack of in depth research. This is where I think AI comes in handy!
After sticking the foam and wadding to the seat, it was time to use the pneumatic stapler! It wasn’t as scary to use as a nail gun but having stapled my fingers with a stapler when I was younger, I was cautious. I stapled a wool safe felt barrier (a flame retardant interliner) using the pneumatic stapler.
Deciding on the fabric was one of the hardest parts of upholstering for me, apart from the initial fear of using the pneumatic stapler! There were so many options and all of them were so beautiful that I was spoilt for choice!
I couldn’t decide between 2 different striped options, a red thin stripe and a chunky black ticking stripe. I asked Gemini to show me how they will both look like on the KYRRE stool, and the image it generated confirmed for me that red was too busy for my liking.
Another way to use AI during upholstering is to check for print placement - very useful because my husband is very particular with things being straight and plumb. So a quick question to Gemini and it told me I was ‘incredibly close’ and how to fix it.
I’ll take ‘incredibly close’, thank you! Knowing that it was (almost) straight, I had the confidence to staple the rest of the fabric in place.
The end product looks professionally made - you wouldn’t believe it was my first attempt at upholstering! And when I was asked where it would go, I asked Gemini to create an image of how it will look in my utility room, using an image of our half completed room and the finished stool.
This is very useful to help convey my ideas which I see clearly in my head but find it hard to get others (read my husband) to visualise it too!
Perhaps the question isn't whether AI will replace creativity, but how we choose to use it. I was apprehensive about how AI can help with DIY projects, but now I can see how it’s a helpful tool for troubleshooting and to reduce mistakes made.
After all, ideas, decisions and the final product will always be mine, but AI can help get me there!
