June 21, 2011

Ottoman Makeover






Here's a ottoman I recovered last week. When I found it, the legs were cracked and discolored. Unfortunately, I didn't take a true "before" pic, because I decided to knock out the stained portion while up at my in-laws. They have a garage, while I only have a condo. 

Recovering an ottoman is simple and easy. You'll love how fast the little piece can be transformed! 

  1. STAIN: I decided the legs would look best stained dark because of the chrome feet. So I used some I got on clearance. Ragged it on and wiped it off.
  2. STRIP: That takes us to the next potion- the silk fabric was all discolored. Initially, there may have been only a small stain- which someone may have impatiently used some Resolve Carpet Cleaner on, which was sadly with her at her in-laws. Yeah, it didn't work. No matter, it needed to be updated anyhow. It was easy enough, just a few screws held the base to the top. Rip off/remove the black backing hiding 30,000 staples. I also pulled out the tufting at this stage. I like tufting- as you can see here for my dropcloth ottoman makeover- but I thought this one would feel too "stuffy".
  3. WRAP: I seem to gravitate towards geometric patterns. But this was a lot easier to work with than stripes were on the headboard I covered. It's simpler to keep everything lined up when the object is small enough to manipulate and move around. I grabbed this fabric from JoAnn's ~ it's a Waverly print.  got it for 50% off-so 10 bucks a yard. If you've never reupholstered an ottoman, it's very easy.
(a) Lay the fabric, good side down, on the floor.
(b) Lay the fabric, good side down, on the floor.
(b) Lay the cushion on top of it and line up the fabric.
(c) Staple one side, then the opposite side, pulling fabric taut but keeping pattern lined up.
(d) Then do the same to the opposite two sides

(e) Pull the corners down and staple them once you like how you've folded them. It's like wrapping a foam and fabric present-umm, with staples.



Thanks for stopping by! What fun patterns are you using in your home? Have you redone an ottoman lately?
Update:  Check this out! I was featured on About.com in an article and "Color and Pattern"!! Make sure to check out these other AWESOME sites that featured my makeover!
Hope you like the "after"! Now if I could just learn to sew I could tackle my other ottomans.