Upcycled Ottoman
Several years ago my husband and I were ecstatic when we made our very first big purchase, a sectional couch! We were so excited when it was delivered to our tiny apartment, and quickly realized we may have been overambitious with the size. 5 years and 2 moves later, I decided it was time the sectional had an upgrade. So, I created a storage ottoman from the original ottoman that came attached to the couch. And I have zero regrets!
The ottoman cushion for this couch was originally attached to the couch! After another project wherein I detached the ottoman, the cushion remained unupholstered for several weeks. Who knew a crib sheet would fit it so perfectly! But I was over looking at this eyesore and having my 1 year old ripping the foam from the cushion. So I decided this was the perfect opportunity for some upcycling and got to work to make this ottoman into a dual function storage piece.
It is remarkable how many staples they put into these things. After taking the cushion off, I spent a solid 20 minutes just removing these staples. I used a small flathead screwdriver to work some magic and ended up with a pretty little pile of metal.
After the billion staples were removed, I kept the foam on the Ottoman to save some time and money! I then used brute force and hammered out the wood beams from inside the Ottoman.
After a trip to the craft store and a deal on fabric, I came home with 2 yards of patterned outdoor fabric. I chose outdoor fabric because A) it was 50% off and B) outdoor fabric is really hearty.
I wrapped the fabric around the Ottoman base and measured the height And length of the ottoman, adding a few extra inches for sewing and stapling and cut the fabric to size.
Time to sew! I had to attched the ends of tje fabric for the ottoman base. To do this I turned the fabric inside out and brought the ends of the fabric together. Then pinned them together and sewed the fabric to create the cover for the base of the Ottoman.
After my ends were sewn together I slipped the fabric tightly over the Ottoman and used a staple gun on both the top and bottom of the ottoman to keep the fabric in place.
Then I added 2 hinges to the base of the Ottoman To create a storage unit.
Now for the top. Using a piece of wood cut to the same size as the cushion, I layered 1 yard of fabric underneath the cushion with the wood piece on top. Like a present I wrapped the fabric over the cushion and wood and again used my staple gun to keep the fabric in place.
*If you don't have a saw at home, Home Depot will make up to 6 cuts for free!
Last but not least, I screwed the Ottoman top onto the hinges of the base! Now I have a recovered ottoman that's been upcycled to a storage bin for my favorite blankets👍
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I saw a really nice ottoman at the salvation army store yesterday and didn't buy it because I thought I would have to pay someone to recover it, but am on my way back over there after seeing this!! In fact they had 3 so I will be able to pick the one that will have the most storage. I recently bought extra fabric to match a chair that had been recovered to make toss pillows for my couch and a small stool. This will be perfect to make it look like it all goes together. I will have to be careful not to go overboard! I love the idea of storage in my living room for my great-granddaughters toys. I don't sew but a staple gun , glue gun, hammer and nails and I am in my element. Thanks so much for sharing!!
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I had already recovered ottoman to match our suite but going round the sales we have bought two new sofas,I refused to pay 600 pounds for a new ottoman.As my old one doesn't have storage I'll give it storage! Thanks a bunch for these great ideas.
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