DIY Chic Storage Ottoman Project Tutorial - Tire Upcycle

by Meredith Schneider

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

diy storage ottoman project tutorial tire upcycle, diy, how to, organizing, repurposing upcycling, storage ideas, reupholster

Step 1

Get your tire. I got mine from my local America’s Tire. This tire had a nail in it and was going to disposed of, but I was able to rescue it for my project!

Step 2

Create a circular shape with your jigsaw for your base. I measured about 1″ from the edge of the tire so that the screw would stay secure and safe. I want people to be able to sit on this piece.

Once my plywood was cut I used my 2 1/2″ screws to secure the plywood base to the tire with my power drill. I just followed the circumference of the plywood.

Step 3

Attach the legs. I decided to use 3 legs instead of 4 for the style.

Step 4

I took my hot glue gun and my rope and I began winding it around the base to clean it up a little. My first circle cut wasn’t the cleanest. I was power tool shy… I haven’t played with mine in awhile. But I nailed the top. It came out looking great.

Step 5

I decided to upholster the rest of the ottoman once I used up all my rope. I used my spray adhesive, batting, and my crown stapler to secure the batting in place on the interior and exterior.

In the interior of the tire, I found that using my manual stapler worked better to secure the batting because it fits better in awkward spaces.

Step 6

I cut, placed, used my spray adhesive, and my crown stapler to secure the fabric in place over the batting. I also did this on the interior of the tire. I wanted to make sure my storage space was controlled and looked pretty.

Step 7

On a whim I decided to clean up my edges with some chic looking thumb tacks. Once stuck in the tire, they were not coming back out. I love the decorative look it gave this piece.

Step 8

I measured out and cut my top for my storage ottoman from my left over plywood with my electric jig saw.

Step 9

It came time to upholster the top of this ottoman.

I used the rest of my fabric to secure over upholstery foam. I wanted to create a tufted effect in the middle of the top.

I made my top upholstery button the DIY way aka out of cardboard that I cut in a circle, with a little bit of foam placed on top and secured fabric tightly around it. Works like a charm. This is also how I made my Faux tufted headboard in the past.

Step 10

I decided to test out my creation! I am really pleased with how it came out and my mom will be so excited to add this to her “She Shed” in her retirement bliss! I am so happy I was able to turn this old tire into something beautiful that can be enjoyed by another. This is why I love what I do.

I encourage you to share your sustainability efforts + projects and presents with me!

All you have to do is use the hashtag to share your DIY project on social media.

Enjoyed the project?

You can do it! Saved to your projects

Old Tire
Upholstery Staple Gun
Batting
Fabric
Needle
Thread
Spray Adhesive
Wood
Jig Saw

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#oldtiresturnnew #DIYProject #upcycleideas #DIYottoman

Frequently asked questions

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3 of 7 questions

Kathryn Cochran Hooks on Sep 17, 2017

How much material do you need for project

2
Rebecca on Nov 25, 2018

Amazing, look great. My question is where do you use needle and thread?

1
Bonnie Velazquez on Apr 17, 2020

How has the ottoman held up since you made it? I plan on making a similar project but I was just curious.

0

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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.

2 Reply
- Sharon Gehrke Wolf on Oct 24, 2018
  
  Beautiful! But why not remove the hanger from your flowers?
  
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Tricia on Apr 24, 2020

I ❤️ it!! What a great idea!! Thanks for sharing... 😊

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