Ottoman From Scratch: Guest
Becky at Tea Party, has made a nice ottoman from scratch for a lot less than buying one.
So if you guessed from yesterday’s post, dear hubby and I built an ottoman this weekend. After purusing them for some time, I just couldn’t justify spending $1,500 on an ottoman. Nor would hubby let me… 🙂 So, after seeing this ottoman from Restoration Hardware, I knew what I wanted.
I considered the option of fabric, but after remembering that i have a toddler, two dogs and a husband who gets dirty on a daily basis, this wasn’t a very good idea unless I wanted to cringe every time my 2 year old walked over and stuck her sucker on it or decided it was a beautiful pallete to draw with her crayons on. So leather it would be. So, after I found this tutorial from Michelle over at Three Men and a Lady (which I might add is a very talented and sweet lady), I figured “I can do this”. I used the tutorial as a guide for what materials I would need, but we ended up adding more supplies and taking it a little further. I had looked for coffee tables to recover and use, but because we live in such a rural area, I have to drive an hour and a half just to get to the city to pick up thrift or craigslist finds. Everytime I found one, it was gone before I could get there. So I started getting everything I needed, using my 50% off coupon at Joann’s saved me huge. I told dear hubby what I wanted it to be and for him to work his magic. He laughed at me when I said “how hard can it be, it’s an ottoman.” On sunday I was eating my words and praying for cheese fries (more on that another time!) I’ll just point out now, this project is in no shape or form an easy one…and I’ve done a lot of projects, and this one had me almost in tears toward the end. So here’s some pics from the project. It helped tremendously that dear hubby used to have a leather shop and built boots and repaired saddles, so his awl and wax thread, along with his imagination came in VERY handy…as with all our projects.
Here is hubby measuring the tufting holes, getting ready to drill.
This is the start of the frame. We did extra supports and brackets in the corners as well, so this thing is STURDY.
Drumroll please…here it is first time in the house.
Here’s a closeup of the legs. I wanted a turned leg with brass casters. Beings my love for all things Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn, these babies were the icing on the cake for me.
And here she is…in all her glory!
I wanted to add that my initial plan was to adorn her with nailhead trim on the bottom, but after she was done, I think I like her the way she is, but hubby thinks I should put the nailhead on. What are your thoughts??
Hope you like her as much as I do…I love how she grounds the white in my home. I promise a tutorial a little later!
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
>What was the total cost of this project?! Any tips you picked up during the process? Anything you'd do differently?
>Absolutely super-beautiful! The legs with brass casters are amazing and really make this project gorgeous!!! I know this is off-topic, but is your sofa the IKEA Ektorp sectional? If so, do you like it? I'm gearing up to convince my hubby for the financial plunge. 🙂
>I LOVE IT! I think I would go the extra mile and do the nail heads though. Just my opinion =)
Nice work!
>What a fantastic job and I love the legs – which made the table in my opinion. I also love your living room. And your sofa is from Ikea? Wow.
>Wow! What a terrific project.
>As much as I love nailheads, I think it looks great as is!
>gotta go with the Hubs on this one…or maybe a burlap ruffly skirt, doubt he would go for that?
>Thanks so much for posting our ottoman…it was a great surprise!!
>holy crap! that's awesome!
>I'm impressed…great design. Looks good as is.Better than good.
>That is amazing!!! Beautiful!
>I can't believe you made that!! My hubby is pretty crafty, so I might have to show him this posts since we are looking at new living room furniture too! And I also have two dogs and a baby on the way. How much did it cost you to do it yourself? Did you get the leather at a fabric shop?
>Love it. I say no to the nailheads. GREAT job.
>You did a great job!
I’ve been searching high and low for turned ottoman legs with casters! Could you let me know where you found yours?
Thank you so much!
Laurie
Hi Laurie,
This is a guest post from several years ago, so I don’t think that the author is still monitoring the comments, but I bet you can either find the info on her site (linked at the top of the post) or ask her more directly there. Thanks!