DIY Chic Storage Ottoman Project Tutorial - Tire Upcycle

by Meredith Schneider
(IC: blogger)
9 Materials
$100
2 Days
Medium
I decided to gift my project to my mom. She is retiring this week and she just moved into her dream home near San Diego!
My step dad is building a special enclosure space for my mom’s 3 kitties to live. He is allergic to felines and if you met my mom, you would wonder how they found each other because she is a crazy cat lady. We have big hearts. What can I say?
This space will be her own. She wants to set up a desk and a reading corner etc. Think of it as my mom’s “She Shed.”
It’s her happy place.
My mom also tends to have a lot of things and stuff everywhere. I inherited this trait too btw. But we both try so hard to keep it in check. Hidden storage is perfect for us and for those of you in small spaces!
I decided to make a cute modern feminine tufted storage ottoman for my mom to store her books. She loves to read and I know she will be doing a lot of that in this space with her fur babies.
Supplies you will need for this DIY project:
- 1 Tire
- 3 Matching Sofa Legs
- Enough Plywood to create a solid base and lid (any thickness will work) Make. It. Work.
- 66 yards Cotton Rope
- Silver thumb tacks
- 4 yards of fabric
- 8 yards of quilting batting
- Cardboard or Foam core board
- Upholstery foam (any thickness will work)
- Power Drill with drill and screwdriver bits
- Staple gun with 1/2″ staples
- Electric Cordless Crown Stapler with 3/4″ crown staples
- Jig saw with wood blade
- Wood Screws – 2 1/2″
- Spray Adhesive
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue Sticks
- Pencil
- Plastic Curves
- Ruler
My step dad is building a special enclosure space for my mom’s 3 kitties to live. He is allergic to felines and if you met my mom, you would wonder how they found each other because she is a crazy cat lady. We have big hearts. What can I say?
This space will be her own. She wants to set up a desk and a reading corner etc. Think of it as my mom’s “She Shed.”
It’s her happy place.
My mom also tends to have a lot of things and stuff everywhere. I inherited this trait too btw. But we both try so hard to keep it in check. Hidden storage is perfect for us and for those of you in small spaces!
I decided to make a cute modern feminine tufted storage ottoman for my mom to store her books. She loves to read and I know she will be doing a lot of that in this space with her fur babies.
Supplies you will need for this DIY project:
- 1 Tire
- 3 Matching Sofa Legs
- Enough Plywood to create a solid base and lid (any thickness will work) Make. It. Work.
- 66 yards Cotton Rope
- Silver thumb tacks
- 4 yards of fabric
- 8 yards of quilting batting
- Cardboard or Foam core board
- Upholstery foam (any thickness will work)
- Power Drill with drill and screwdriver bits
- Staple gun with 1/2″ staples
- Electric Cordless Crown Stapler with 3/4″ crown staples
- Jig saw with wood blade
- Wood Screws – 2 1/2″
- Spray Adhesive
- Hot Glue Gun
- Hot Glue Sticks
- Pencil
- Plastic Curves
- Ruler
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
I encourage you to share your sustainability efforts + projects and presents with me!
Enjoyed the project?
Suggested materials:
- Old Tire
- Upholstery Staple Gun
- Batting
- Fabric
- Needle
- Thread
- Spray Adhesive
- Wood
- Jig Saw

Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published December 15th, 2015 9:56 AM
Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 39 comments
-
Sheri Horbachewski on Apr 30, 2018
Your mom must be so happy, what a beautiful job you did. I think I might have to try doing one. Here is a photo of the planter I made a few years ago. My husband made the legs and I sanded and stained them. I wish I had seen yours first because I like the larger white rope you used.
-
Sharon Gehrke Wolf on Oct 24, 2018
Beautiful! But why not remove the hanger from your flowers?
-
-
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Amazing, look great. My question is where do you use needle and thread?
How has the ottoman held up since you made it? I plan on making a similar project but I was just curious.