Ottoman DIY

We finally did it! A full year after we built the frame, we actually finished the oversized ottoman for our living room.  Spoiler...it's not recycled, nor is it repurposed.

Why did it take a year? Well, that's how long it took me to finally commit to a fabric and find the right legs. When my Swedish man helped build the frame last year, we actually had a fabric to put on it...that was too short to go all the way around - this despite being on the phone with my husband while at the fabric store to get the measurements from him to be sure. Does that ever happen to you? Doesn't he realize that fabric can't be returned if it doesn't fit? And my first intent to recycle legs from a piece of thrift store furniture flew out the window after several months of searching. Do you know how hard it is to find turned wooden legs in the land of clean Swedish design? It's 1 year worth of hard! So I finally found a nice small business in Scotland with crazy good prices and had a box of legs sent over.

The poor thing sat dejected on piles of books in the middle of our living room for 1 year! And let me tell you, when you have two kids under the age of 10 who seem to believe that our living room is their own personal gymnastics facility, those books didn't have a chance. We were constantly lifting up the ottoman to restack those books underneath. 

Does it kill me that I wasn't able to get some recycled or repurposed features in it? Sure. But I also know that my design style is a funny blend of second hand, new, and repurposed. And when I look around at the furniture pieces in my living room, this is the only new piece...and we made it! It's not even store bought. We got exactly what we wanted - an oversized ottoman that could serve as a coffee table, extra seating, a foot rest for everyone who visits, and a gymnastic vault for the kids.

I love it! BUT...I don't think it's actually done yet. I'm actually toying with the idea of painting a design on the fabric. The pattern choices are marinating in my brain and we'll see if anything comes of it. I'm thinking darker blue swirls or square-ish shapes 'stamped' on with a DIY screenprint-style stamp on recycled styrofoam a la The Meta Picture. What do you think? Do I dare? I have some extra fabric to try some sample work beforehand, so that reduces the risk a bit.

Interested in making your own ottoman?  I'll tell you how we did it later this week.

And if you are like me, you enjoy peeking into other's houses to see their design style. So I thought I would also create a post this week with a little tour of our living room, including some 'before' pics when we moved into the house over 3 years ago. Our remodel process is slower than I'd like, but I'll start posting some mini tours so you can have a peek around. 

Until next time...
Mike



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