Wednesday, July 23, 2008

ottoman 101

One of the bigger projects I attempted when redoing my living room was recovering this ottoman. Now, I am by no means a professional at this. Seriously. I am just a girl with some fabric and a staple gun (that I borrowed, no less.) But, it did turn out well and I am proud of what a little creativity can do.

Just, say some prayers before you begin.

Here is what she looked like before the face lift. She was a navy blue and had seen better days. We gave the couch to Goodwill, but I kept the ottoman, thinking it might come in handy someday. Seems I was right about that.

My mom and I bought this gold weave fabric in the discount area of a local fabric store, where I also bought the silk on my draperies. We draped it over the top and two long sides and tucked it in under the top cushion. Then I got out the very scary electric staple gun that was made to staple down carpet and stapled all around the cushion where there was wood under the fabric.
Ok, here I am looking all proud and stuff with the staple gun, but if you notice the outlet on the wall behind me, the gun is not plugged in. I unplugged it EVERY time I stopped using it. EVERY time. I was so paranoid that it was gonna go off and shoot staples everywhere.
Here is my mom posing for this lovely picture. I don't know why she wanted to be pictured like that, but here she is. Welcome to my blog, Mom. You're scarin' the people away.
Then we took more fabric and tucked it around the ends. And stapled more staples with the scary staple gun.
Flipped it over and tucked it under the bottom to staple it down. Flipping it over was fun. I was so scared we were going to hear all the staples pop out and we would have to start over, but it held up. We got everything stapled in and let me tell you the corners were a challenge. I made several phone calls to anyone I knew who I thought might have any idea how to help us and no one else had a clue either. We made it up.


Once it was turned back over, it still looked unfinished. So off I went to Hobby Lobby to get some cording. And I hot glued it in. Yup. Hot glue. Not the scary staple gun. Whew! I can handle the hot glue gun.

I think it finished it off really nicely. My husband was even impressed and he is hard to impress with decorating stuff. And it looks so nice in the room. Without it, there would have been a huge open space in the middle and it would have felt incomplete.

So, if you are feeling brave, have $20 bucks worth of fabric and can manage a scary staple gun, you too can do this project. If you had an ottoman you wanted to cover. And a Mom that makes scary faces but helped you anyway. And a hot glue gun.

Ok, so maybe you won't try this at home.

65 comments:

Debbie said...

I am so impressed! It looks great!

Lula! said...

I will try this in my home ONLY if you are here to help me. All projects this summer have impressed me, Sissy. Truly!

Karin @ 6ByHisDesign said...

I love how your mom showed some spunk on your blog. She must be special. (and I don't mean that in the remedial sort of way)

Jennifer P. said...

Much clapping for you, your ottoman, and your whole room makeover! It looks like such a glamorous, well-loved room now! And you COULD use your PB giftcard to buy a C. Pottery Barn Kids sells white letters ;)!

GREAT JOB SISSY! (and Sissy's funny mama!)

Moi said...

I just stumbled across your blog and wanted to comment on your great ottoman makeover. I have attempted this before and stapleguns can be a bit scary. Kudos to you for a great job though! I enjoyed reading your blog - I plan to visit again!

Caroline said...

Gosh, aren't you the decorator extraordinaire!

emily freeman said...

I can't decide which I like better: the ottoman or your crazy fun mom! What fun you've had together :)

Keys to the Magic Travel said...

Wow. I so need to recover the couch and love seat in my basement. They were from my husband's bachelor pad. And they are black veleour with purple swirls on them. I am sure that the people at the furniture store were thrilled that he had walked through their door.

Right now the couches - which are really comfy - have denim slip covers on them. But I despise them. They never stay put. Especially being in the basement. With my children.

So...wanna come for a weekend to Georgia? We can recover my couches. And make a cool new head board for my bed with a door.

And you'll be blessed with my eternal gratitude...

Anonymous said...

You may not have a lot of money to spend on furniture. You can choose few pieces of furniture and use them creatively to furnish your house. One such inexpensive, stylish and multipurpose piece of furniture is an ottoman. Use an upholstered ottoman to decorate your room and you can be sure that you have made a style statement. An ottoman need not be used just as a comfortable footrest. The ottoman is a versatile piece of furniture that can be used in any room to sit on and store things wherever necessary. An ottoman is both comfortable and sturdy and can to made part of any style of décor.

Karrie said...

WOW!
That's looks GREAT Sissy!
Impressive... very impressive!

Unknown said...

who is that...bedroom furniture commenter...have to go check out their link...anyways
Nice ottoman! I love it. I am trying to get brave with a couple of chairs I have...thanks for the inspiration.

Unknown said...

I had no idea advertisers were stalking our blogs like that...disguising themselves as fellow bloggers with intelligent things to say...weird.

Biteofpunkinpie said...

i have almost everything on the list that you mentioned, and what i don't have i can get so i think i WILL be trying this at home. thank you for the how-to!

Rebekah said...

Looks good. I am impressed

Scrapper Mom said...

The ottoman looks great and the pic of your mom...so funny.

That "bedroom furniture" comment is pretty strange.

Don't miss out on my 1st giveaway today!

Amy said...

I LOVE your ottoman makeover! It looks so professional. It has made me think of recovering my ottoman...one day.

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

I've never used an electric staple gun. Just our electric stapler at work scares me!
Great job on the ottoman.

EmmaP said...

staple gun & hot glue gun - sounds like my kind of project! I don't sew - but i LOVE power tools! Good Job!

Buttons and Dots Photography said...

Can you and your mom come recover my sofa? Great job!

wendy said...

Nice job but I'm laughing at your fear of the staple gun! :)

Happy SITS day!

Creative Junkie said...

I think it looks great! I LOVE your mom's expression! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun, anxiety aside!

Lori said...

Very nice! Your mom looks like a hoot!

Cassie said...

Very impressive! It looks pretty nice :)

Anonymous said...

Looks great and I love that scary pic of your mom!

Karol said...

Great job!!

What A Card said...

That did turn out really well...nice job. And your mom looks like she's a big hoot! I think I want her to come help me with some home decorating!

Unknown said...

Wow - well done! That looks really professional!!!

Sisterly Love Card Co said...

Your ottoman looks really nice. I knew a staple gun could be used to recover furniture. I am about to attempt to recover my couches with a staple gun and fabric. My husband is not convinced that this will work. I will prove him wrong (hopefully!)

Debbie Y. said...

I think you did a fantastic job, but I am not going to attempt something like that. I'll just go buy a new one or have my husband do it.

EmBee said...

"Welcome to my blog, Mom. You're scarin' the people away."

Okay, that comment right there had my laughing hysterically!

Now if I could just get my hands on an old ottoman and a scary staple gun... Hmmmmm? Awesome Job!

Anonymous said...

Dude, I love the expression on your mom's face. Will y'all come to my house? I have a couch or two that need attention.

nikkicrumpet said...

I've done an ottoman before...it brings great satisfaction when you get it done. And less worry if it gets stained because you know you can just cover it again! Great Job

Ronnica said...

I love your little blurb on the side. It's so beautifully written!

Love all the pictures. To be honest, I didn't really read the how-to part. I'm not really into such things unless I'm really motivated! My proudest DIY accomplishment was rewiring the dryer.

Rhea said...

Ok, I'm impressed. I really haven't taken on any home improvement projects. I'm a wuss.

I think I could do this though...if I had a mom to make those faces and help me. :o) Come to think of it, I do!

You look like a natural with that staple gun and hot glue gun.

thotlady said...

I think I will try this with our ottoman. I bought a cheap one for our dogs to sit on when they are looking out our picture window.

They tore the fabric almost right away, so I bought a throw to cover the tear. But reupolster...maybe.

Jamy said...

Wow! It turned out GREAT! And I totally cracked up about your mom's pose!

Melissa Lester said...

Nester would be proud!

Aubrey said...

It's so cool you did that! Your mom looks like she's a lot of awesome fun.

Gretchen said...

You go girl! The ottoman looks awesome. And your mom doesn't look scary at all. She looks DETERMINED.

Great Job!

♥ Becky ♥ said...

That looks awesome!!! I'm totally impressed. I would have thought it was so much harder than that. And I love the color of fabric you chose.

Jenni said...

It looks great. I have a fear of any power tools with blades, but that staple gun could do some damage!

Unknown said...

The ottoman really turned out great. You are inspiring me to try some home improvement that I have been thinking about.

Michelle said...

Nice job - I'm totally impressed.

Ok, except for one small detail. You seriously didn't take the staple hun outside and see how far it would actually shoot staples? I mean really... you could just do it from the safety of your doorway and send someone else out to measure. Yeah, that's the guy in me, I suppose.

Suburban Correspondent said...

What? No duct tape?

Party of 5 said...

I think it looks wonderful. Great job you and your Mom did. Your mom looks fun not scarey. :-)

Congrats on your SITS feature.

Anonymous said...

Well done! I think you just inspired me!

Tabitha Blue said...

Nice work! I really like the new look!

Insane Mama said...

YOur mom is so cute joining in.

Anonymous said...

I love it! I think one could do almost anything with a hot glue gun, a stapler and some creativity. Nice job.

Happy SITS day!

AJ @ A Little Bit Nutty said...

You did a great job. That staple gun sounded scary to me too... and your mom is so cute!

Happy SITS day!

Mama Dawg said...

Oh, man, I do stuff like this all the time. Glad to know I'm not the only one.

mrsmouthy said...

Martha Stewart couldn't have done it better herself. (Though maybe her staff of 1,000 working together could have.)

Summer said...

It looks like you did save it for a good reason! What kitchen isn't complete with an ottomon on the island. Don't want to take food over the carpet, but still need a comfy place to park it with a view of the TV? No worries- there's an ottoman right here on the counter! Now that's thinking outside the box.

sassy stephanie said...

I love the pic of your mom! Cracks me up! I sooo could not ever do anything like this.

Alison said...

Your mom is too funny with that expression! And the finished product looks great.

Andie said...

You did a great job!!! Very nice!

Melanie Dickens said...

Great job! Wish I were this handy.

Kelly said...

Wow, creative and crafty!! Love your mom's picture - too funny!

Amy said...

I love that.I like to see projects step by step. Love the pic of your mom, I bet she's a hoot!

Anonymous said...

Nice work. Your mom looks like a lot of fun. And most importantly she works for you.

Live.Love.Eat said...

Too funny with the pic of your mom. Good job on the ottoman, it came out great!!!!!!!!

Rachelle Lynne said...

LOL! I take the staples out of my manual staple gun after each use. My husband calls me a sissy! LOL! Great job though. Oh, I forgot to say Happy (late) SITS day! ;)

WheresMyAngels said...

My favorite part is your mom's face! Priceless!

Rela Pantaleon said...

I love your mom hamming it out for the camera! She's game!

Anyway, I think you have a healthy fear for that mean staple gun. Better safe than sorry!

Heather said...

It came out great! Your mom is funny!