As you can tell, the ottoman we purchased five years ago has seen its better days. I really didn’t want to lose such a great, conspicuous storage piece though, so I decided to reupholster it myself. It might sound complicated, but it was actually very easy. With just $20 and two hours, this project was completed!
What I used:
Staple gun
Staples
2.5 yards of lining fabric (mine was $2/yard)
2.5 yards of decorative fabric (mine was $6/yard)
Scissors
Drill/Screwdriver
I started by draping my lining fabric over the ottoman and cutting it to fit. I used these pieces as a guide to cut my decorative fabric. After cutting, I took off all the legs, hardware and hinges. Be smart, unlike me, and put all the scews in baggie so they don’t get lost and you don’t have to hunt through your husband’s screw jar for perfectly fitting screws that don’t actually fit perfectly and only screw halfway in. A day later I found all the missing screws.
Next, I folded the fabric over to hid frayed edges and stapled each end to the ottoman and then the middle sections. I did it that way so my fabric stayed tight. Most people get nervous about the corners, so here is how I avoided any corner catastrophes:
Take your fabric all the way up to the edges and staple, then pull it down and staple. This makes a beautiful corner! So easy! I had to cut my fabric into two pieces for the length of the bottom, so I ended up having a seam on both sides.
Does it look like I’m missing anything here? Ugh. Yes, the hinges! I did not mark the holes! Putting the hinges back on was NOT fun. It was a complete guessing game. So I got smart when I reupholstered the top. As I covered the hinge holes with fabric, before moving on, I screwed the hinge back in. Thirty minutes of my life could have been spared if I had known that the first time around! Anyway, I lived to tell the tale and I love the finished product.