Friday, May 27, 2011

A tutorial....of sorts

So, my story starts with my wanting an ottoman.  We've had a big, well-worn coffee table in our living room for years and years.  After we purchased a sectional sofa about 3 years ago, the coffee table slowly started feeling, well, too big for the room, that now had a BIG sofa.
So I started my search for an ottoman....I wasn't ready for a room without some sort of coffee table....to put down a drink, a book, to put our feet up.  But me being me, I didn't want to spend a lot of money when I knew in the back of my head I could re-vamp something to make it work.  I needed something just the right height, the right size.
And here's what I did......started with a Rubbermaid tote - just the right height:


I went out to the garage, found some scrap wood, cut it down to fit the top without the plastic lid, with a 1" overlap.  Using laminated cotton, I wrapped a piece around the top of the wood and staple-gunned it down:


I then sewed a piece of home dec (same colorway/pattern as the laminated) together to make a wrapped-around skirt, and tacked it to the top piece with decorative thumb tacks:


Here's another view:
I love the finished ottoman!  I have blankets stored inside the tote - easy to lift off the top and skirt to access the inside.  The only addition I'll make it to put some sticky-back velcro inside/under the wood to keep the top in place....it slides a little when feet are put up.  AND, I had enough home dec. fabric leftover to cover a throw pillow on the sofa!  Approximate cost for new ottoman: $25.  Happiness at having this new addition to the living room:  FREE.
And speaking of tutorials, go on over to Melisa's blog.....she's been doing some really neat ones, as well as seam finishes!  You can find Melisa herself these days at the Fiber Arts Fiesta - she's in charge of, well, a lot!

1 comment:

Sar-b said...

love it suzanne! what a wonderful idea!