Ottoman Refresh

I'm a little obsessed with not throwing things away. My family and friends tease me about it all the time... I'll take 4 french fries home from a restaurant and eat them the next day. Wastefulness just doesn't sit well with my spirit.

So I've had these 2 ottomans since circa 2012. They're a little dated, and they were cheaply made to begin with if we're being honest, but I wanted to find a way to give them a little more life instead of tossing them or giving them away.

Our living room in our new place had this beautiful green and brown original ~1930's tile on the fireplace, so those set the color palette for the room. They made the fireplace a statement piece in and of itself, so I didn't want too much pattern everywhere competing. I wanted to do a nice neutral on the ottomans so they blend more.

The first (and arguably hardest) step was a trip to Joanne's to try to pick a fabric. I measured before I went so I could get the right amount of fabric. I considered a seemingly endless array of options... light? dark? smooth? textured? pink? rose? tan?

After what felt like 3 lifetimes of running laps through the vast aisles of Joanne's (damn you, Joanne, and your plethora of good fabrics!), I picked a winner.

I also accidentally bought a sewing machine that day from a judgey grandma who doubted me on my impulsive quest to suddenly teach myself to sew, but that's another story for another day.

The fabric is a warm off-white with a slight pinkish hue to it, so absolutely perfect for the space. Plus it had a furry AND gridded texture, which I loved. So unique!

I had inspected the ottomans (ottomen?) before diving into all this and determined this one could be a solo project. I wouldn't even need Dave and his power tools. So I gathered up my supplies and got going.

First, I detached the tops from the bases. This was simple enough– just had to unscrew lots of little screws.

I didn't bother removing the old fabric... remember, it's a B-plus project, not an A-plus project. I just spread the fabric out on the rug face-down, placed the ottoman top face-down on the fabric, and measured roughly how much it would need.

Once I had each ottoman top laid out on its fabric, it was time to start stapling away.

Pinch, staple, trim, turn.

Pinch, staple, trim, turn.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.

And then... screw all the screws back in to re-attach the bases to the tops and...

ta-daaa!

As you can see, space is at a premium in this tiny little living room, so small modular furniture like these ottomans is a must. Every piece does double duty in small space living.

This project took about 1 hour (if you don't count the untold hours at Joanne's making fabric decisions), and cost about $20 (if you don't count the random unrelated sewing machine purchase).

Hope it inspires you to waste less and upcycle more!