Vintage Mop Bucket Ottoman

@JagCagDesign
by @JagCagDesign
6 Materials
$10
2 Hours
Medium

I turned an old bucket into a storage piece that's also an ottoman!

Step 1 : I cleaned my bucket. A wire brush can be helpful if the bucket is rusty. Then I sprayed it with a clear sealer to lock in all the rusty "goodness" (I spy a helper!). You can see how two coats of sealer gave the bucket a little bit of a sheen...but not too much! Before, it felt "chalky" to the touch. After, it had a nice smooth feel.

Step 2: I turned the bucket over and traced it onto a paper grocery bag. My tracing wasn't perfect (the bucket isn't perfect, either) and so after I cut the initial template, I folded it into quarters and evened all the edges by cutting them together. Then I made sure that my template would fit down inside the bucket a little bit. I needed it to fit inside (instead of on top) because the handle of the bucket rests on one side of the top rim, making it uneven.

Step 3: I out the jigsaw (EEK! Mr. TBG was not home and so I had to do this all by myself!). I traced my template onto a piece of scrap plywood leftover from my yardstick table project, and then decided to make it a little smaller to allow for extra space needed to wrap fabric around the plywood (next step). It took about 2 minutes to cut this & I still have all my fingers! It would have been even easier if I had a better work table, but right now I am using an old typing table that is on wheels - not the best choice. Here's to girls and power tools - where there's a will, there's a way!

Step 4: I cut a piece of foam that my friend Ashly gave me last week. Somehow, she knew I would want it for something! It was perfect for this project - an old piece of bed foam. I found the best tool for cutting was a serrated knife - use an up-and-down "sawing" motion to make the cut. Then I hot glued my foam to the plywood.

Step 5: I decided to cover my plywood with an old coffee sack. It's pretty easy to upholster something like this - here's a good instructional video.

Step 6: Just to neaten things up a bit, I covered up the fabric edges with another piece of plywood, held in place with screws.

Step 7: I needed to stabilize the top a little bit, so I cut some pieces of molding (got this for free in the scrap section at my local hardware store) and adhered them to the pail with some glue.

By setting the lid down inside on top of the wood strips, I can use this as a handy storage container as well as a foot stool/ottoman. My nephew also loves to pull it up to the coffee table and use it as a little bench!


If you decide to make one, please send me a pic via messages on Instagram @jagcagdesign. I'd love to see it!


xx Jamey

@jagcagdesign

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
  1 question
  • Mary McDonald Mary McDonald on May 16, 2021

    Can you actually sit on it? Also what on earth can you store in it that won’t get all rusty and stained?

    I love your creativity however being from a different generation than you, a sign of rust on something was a sign of “uh-oh!” 😊. Probably because rust technically eats away and destroys things like an old tractor from the 40’s sitting in an overgrown unused field.

    Things like that are nice to look at but not to own, lol!

    Your home is quite unique and as long as you are happy in it, that’s all that matters. 🌸🌼🌻🌺🌷🌹

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 26 comments
Next