An ottoman can be described as a piece of upholstered furniture that has padding on top of a box. It is one of the most versatile pieces of furniture you can have as it can function as a footstool, coffee table, bench or seat. It can also be made to store items in such as blankets, cushions and magazines. Ottomans also come in a variety of shapes including square, rectangular, circular or oval.
Ottomans are typically made from wood and can be upholstered in a just about any fabric such as suede and leather. On the market, they vary in price dramatically ranging from to 0. The cost is dependent on what materials are used and the function the ottoman is to have. For example, you can expect to pay more for leather and an ottoman that has a storage compartment. Making an ottoman from scratch however, is actually a lot easier than some people may think. You only need minimal wood working skills and by that, you only need to know how to cut wood, screw it together and use a staple gun to attach to padding and upholstery fabric.
Ottoman Coffee Table
Advantages of making your own ottoman include:
1. Cost - it can be a lot cheaper than buying one. In some cases almost a quarter of the retail price.
2. Can be customised to your needs - you can make the ottoman to your desired size (big or small), shape and upholster it to match your furniture decor.
To make an ottoman, this is what I did and you can do to:
1. Draw a diagram of what dimensions you would like the ottoman to have.
2. Assemble a wooden box to the dimensions or find a suitable wooden box that you would like covered. I made this box by myself and had a hardware store cut all the wooden pieces for me. I found this very convenient.
3. Glue a piece of thick dense foam (preferably around 5 cm thick) that is the same size as the top of the box to it.
4. Staple wadding around the whole box excluding the underside. Be sure to staple around the edging at 4cm increments to ensure the wadding is fixed flat with the sides of the box.
5. Upholster the ottoman with your desired fabric. Ensure you have enough fabric to cover the top, sides and part of the bottom of the ottoman. The easiest way to cover it is by firstly stapling the fabric to the underside of the box, then pulling the fabric over the side, top and opposite side and stapling the fabric to the underside. Ensure the fabric is pulled tightly to give the ottoman a nice flat finish. With the other two sides, pull the fabric down, tuck the edges in to give a nice clean line, and then staple the fabric down on the underside of the ottoman.
6. Under the ottoman staple a piece of black felt fabric measured slightly smaller than the surface to give the underside a nice finish. Staple at 4cm increments to give a nice professional look.