Before and After- Ottoman Makeover for Mom

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I made my mother an ottoman for Christmas.  I took an original low coffee table, added a shelf and upholstered the top.  (Details broken down below!) This was my first time attempting anything like this, and while it’s definitely not perfect, I’m pleased with the result.  My mom is thrilled, so that is what’s most important.

The story of this ottoman began almost a year ago when I was shopping for a coffee table for my own apartment.  I walked into Phantastic Phinds (a consignment shop in the Philadelphia area) and knew right away that this little table had potential.

(I forgot to take a before photo, but managed to find the picture above here!)

It was much too low though- only about 11” high- so I had my trusted carpenter, Angelo, build me an extension.  He created a piece with arched openings on each side so that I could access a shelf below the table top.  I thought it had great potential, but ended up falling in love with a different coffee table for my space.  For about 9 months, it sat in this state...

And then I took a good look at my parents’ living room and realized their current ottoman set-up was totally non-functional.  It was too long, too narrow, and junk always piled up on top of it, not leaving much room for drinks or feet.  That’s when the light went off that my little thrift store find would be the perfect gift for my momma.

Since we weren’t changing out the dark sofa or dark rug, I knew I needed to add a little happy color with the ottoman.  So I went to task priming…

And then painting the base and lower shelf…

I chose Sherwin Williams Naval Blue.  I felt it was a nice compliment to the rug- dark while still feeling a little bold and lively.  You can see in the shot above I put the shelf in place.

I had my dad cut me a piece of plywood for the top.  I then layered on 2" foam and batting and stapled away.

The next step was sewing the cording and then stapling on the fabric and cording.  I've never done cording and the stitching was terribly crooked.  Oh well, hidden from view! (Hehe, sorry, Mom.)

Dad helped me screw in the top and it was all done!

Now the clutter is hidden on the lower shelf, the tray actually fits the ottoman and the room is colorful and happy.  That's my kind of makeover.