Ottoman Makeover: From Fuzzy to Funky

This ottoman had seen better days.

The legs were in great shape, but the upholstery was a prickly animal hide (cow? horse?). It was worn thin in places and faded. Time for a redo!

Step One: Shearing The Fur

In order to detach the hide, I had to remove the decorative studs.

One. By. One.

There were over 500.

And under the studs? Hundreds of staples to remove as well.

Two very sore hands later…

Step Two: A Facelift

Even though the wood was fine, I wanted to paint it for my design plan. First, I used 220-grit sandpaper to remove some dings and rough up the surface so the paint could adhere.

Then I applied two coats of Annie Sloan® Chalk Paint in “Oxford Navy.” No need to prime here as the color was so dark. Once fully dry, I topped that with a layer of Annie Sloan® clear wax to protect the painted surface.

Step Three: Going Vegan

With the hide removed and the legs prepped, it was time to add the new cotton upholstery fabric. The stuffing was still in great condition as the ottoman wasn’t that old, but I did add a fresh layer of batting to spruce it up. (My Surebonder® pneumatic staple gun had been feeling neglected over the holidays.)

This awesome bold print on Spoonflower® nearly leapt off the laptop at me. It was perfect to give this plain old ottoman some zing! I stapled it in place atop the batting, tucking the excess at the corners into neat pleats.

Then I created some bespoke double-welt trim to attach along the bottom edge for the finishing touch.

One step I don’t often show is the attachment of the dust cover beneath the furniture. It’s not the most exciting part of a makeover but it’s an important step to protect the innards of the piece and secure the unfinished edges of the upholstery fabric.