Extreme Makeover Ottoman
Tonight’s Extreme Makeover Ottoman style! This has been probably one of my biggest transformations yet. I was feeling pretty confident after recovering my valence and kitchen table chairs that I felt I could tackle this project head on! I had an old coffee table that my parents gave back to me when we bought the house – I had made this really great coffee table in middle school shop class….well there is a good possibility my shop teacher made most of it! Haha! My parents actually had it in their house for years in their family room. I said that I would take it and I was planning on repainting it and using in our new home. I didn’t really have a great spot for it in my family room or living room. I saw a lot of coffee tables turned into ottomans online. I loved the idea and was so excited to transform my coffee table! I had seen other projects such as this on Pinterest and decided to use Not So Newleywed McGees blog as a reference when working on my ottoman.
I really wanted to use a quatrefoil fabric and I felt it was important to use an outdoor fabric. I went shopping at JoAnn’s Fabric one day and came across this fabric and I really liked the uniquness of it and that it was an outdoor fabric! I brought it home and laid it on top of the coffee table and lived with it for a couple days to make sure I liked it. Btw…I am SOOO glad I used outdoor fabric because with my little one it has already been spilled on multiple times and it just wipes right off! I used outdoor fabric for my kitchen table chairs as well which you can see in my Stenciled Table post.
Note that the above picture the room and ceiling have not been painted and we have also replaced our furniture! Also the table is taller than above. My parents used it more as an end table and since I wanted to make it an ottoman I needed to shorten the legs. My husband sawed the legs off up until the rounded part of the leg. We cut off about 1 foot of wood on each leg.
I ended up loving the fabric so I decided to move forward with the project. I turned it upside down and painted the legs one evening, while my husband was watching the World Series (Yeah Giants!) I painted the legs Accessible Beige from Sherwin Williams. Are you surprised? Haha didn’t think so!
We had to even out the edges of the table so I went to Home Depot and got a 2×4 cut to fit each side of the table so that it wouldn’t have an over hang. (Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this.) This project is what actually inspired me to start blogging so I wasn’t taking as many pictures of projects that I’m taking now.
I also measured where the tufting was to go and labeled it on the top of the table with marker and had my husband drill holes in those places. I used the below picture as a template for my tufting.
Photo from Not So Newleywed McGees
Once the legs were painted and the table was extended on the sides I was ready to starting building the ottoman. I bought 1.5 inch foam from JoAnn’s Fabric. (You will definitely want to catch this on sale because it’s pretty expensive.) I cut the foam to size and sprayed an adhesive on the top of the table and my husband helped me place them onto the table in alignment with the table.
After the foam was in place I covered the table with batting to ensure that everything was secure. I used a stable gun and stapled it onto the table from the bottom of the table. I also added a little batting to the sides as the wood was a little uneven in areas.
It was now time to put on the fabric!! I couldn’t wait to see the end result! I used a staple gun again and secured it underneath the table. My husband helped me stretch the fabric and hold in place while I stapled. With this large of piece of furniture I recommend having a second set of hands. I didn’t pull too tightly when stapling because I didn’t want it to change the form of the foam. I also folded in the sides of fabric so that I had a clean look on the corners of the ottoman. You can see in the blow picture.
I was really pleased with how it turned out and I even debated not tufting it because it looked nice…but of course I ended up doing so because tufting makes everything look better! 🙂
I’m not going to lie but I seriously struggled with tufting! I tried to follow how others did it on Pinterest and I really struggled. My husband started doing some research and came across a video on youtube and so we tried to replicate it. It worked and you can watch the YouTube video here. We actually used left over fabric when tying the thread around to fill the hole. The tufting, in my opinion, is a two man job as well, especially on a large piece of furniture.
I hope you love this ottoman as much as I do! To buy this at a store would have cost hundreds of dollars and I calculated up my costs and it only cost $75! We want to eventually get a King bed and I can’t wait to test out my tufting skills again and make a headboard. Have you ever transformed a piece of furniture into something completely different?
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Brittany says
Wow! Looks great! I love the fabric you chose
Ruthie says
Thanks, Brittany! I love it too!
Chantal says
Wow great transformation! The tufting really added to the finished product. It really pulls your room together! Thanks for joining the Link-It To Me Link-Up Party this week! I hope to see you again next week!
Ruthie says
Thank you so much Chantel! I love how it turned out!
Jenn says
What a creative makeover! It looks great!
Ruthie says
Thanks, Jenn!
Emily, Our house now a home says
I love how it turned out! That fabric is beautiful! I have done tufting a few times and it gets easier with each time. Your living room looks great!
Ruthie says
Thanks, Emily! I love the fabric and yeah the tufting was hard to figure out but once I figured it out it wasn’t too bad! Anxious to try it again!
April Rutherford says
I love it! It looks great, especially the fabric choice. And the legs are great too. So, the whole thing is amazing, haha!
Ruthie says
Thanks, April! I’m so glad you like it!
Cathy says
So pretty – I love the fabric you chose. What a great transformation. Cathy
Ruthie says
Thanks, Cathy! I love the fabric too! The outdoor fabric has been a life saver with my little one!
Gilly @ Colour Saturated Life says
I love anything tufted! This is such a great makeover and I love how light and bright the room is now.
Ruthie says
Thanks Gilly! I agree! I love tufted furniture! I can’t wait to try out tufting on another project!
Erica Sooter says
What a beautiful transformation! I’ve not made over many furniture pieces and am a little nervous about doing so, but this project looks like something I could do! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Ruthie says
Yeah it’s not to terribly difficult! It was a lot more simple than I had anticipated! Good luck with it!
Amanda @ Dwelling in Happiness says
This is too cute! I love how you tufted it, even though it’s a tooon of work. It was so worth it!! I’m featuring it today at our Motivational Monday party! 🙂
Ruthie says
Thanks Amanda! I’m so excited to link up again!! I can’t wait for more to see this project! Might be my favorite I’ve done!
Roxanne says
This came out amazing!! I need an ottoman in this shape and size for my living room, I’m holding out to hopefully find one that opens for storage. Pinning! By the way, your baby is adorable!!
Ruthie says
Thanks, Roxanne! A storage ottoman would be great! You could always make an old piano bench or something similar into an ottoman 🙂
Sydney @Tastefully Frugal says
Wow what a transformation!! I love that you made this table in middle school and now you get to have it in your home. I have been dying to find a coffee table I can do this with. Pinning so I can refer hack when I find one!!
Ruthie says
Thanks, Sydney! I’m so happy with how it turned out! It is fun to have an extra added story to the piece of furniture! Yeah let me know if you find a piece and I definitely want to see the outcome! Let me know if you have any questions! 🙂
Fondos says
This is an art
Brooke Riley~Re-fabbed says
I love this! Makes me want to find something just to try it 🙂 I love the colors you chose. So bright and cheerful! I am a huge fan of gray. Great job!
Ruthie says
Thanks Brooke! I am a gray lover myself! Sometimes I have to keep myself from continually using it! If you ever decide to make an ottoman please share it! I’d love to see how it turns out!
Terry says
Ruthie! What a stunning transformation! You did a beautiful job upholstering! I would be so happy if you would share this piece (or any other pieces) over at my Making Broken Beautiful party this week. It runs every Thursday thru Sunday. I would love for you to come and inspire! http://thecuratorscollection.wordpress.com
Have a great week!
Smiles!
Terry
Ruthie says
Terry thank you so much for checking out my post! I just went to link up and it said it was closed! So sorry I missed it! I’ll try and do it this week! 🙂
Emily @ Two Purple Couches says
Oh wow! This is beautiful! What an awesome transformation! (Stopping by from the Home Decor & More party)
Ruthie says
Thank you so much for stopping by!! This is one of my favorite transformations!
Iris Nacole says
Ruthie, it’s absolutely perfect! I can only imagine that I’d have to use outdoor fabric myself if I ever attempted to have anything this big in my living area for my son to lean on and play on. As it is, he’s really roughed up our coffee table, I’d like to call it “giving it more character” actually. Haha! Thank you for supporting us by sharing this with us at the Your Home Decor & More Link Party!
Ruthie says
Thanks Iris! I am now a firm believer of outdoor fabric for “homemade” furniture while having little ones. Lucy has spilled on it multiple times now and it just wipes right up! 🙂
Rachael @ This is our Bliss says
Beautiful transformation! I’d love to tackle an ottoman someday and I can’t wait to see your future headboard!! Thank you for linking up with us at The Pretty Project Party – hope to see you back again in March 😉 -Rachael
Ruthie says
I’m excited to make a headboard too! I’m excited to give it a try but I know it’s going to be a little bit of a task! 🙂
Debbie says
Looks great! I love the fabric.
Debbie says
Sorry. Somehow I put in someone else’s link. Darn computer!