the goose loves diy ottomans - part two

Welcome to Part 2 of the DIY Ottoman Project. Just tuning in? Start here if you want to read the background (how we got the table, our inspiration, and spray paintin'!!).

Part 2 of the project was fairly simple, and took us about an hour. Three basic steps:

1) Foam
2) Batting
3) Fabric

Oh and like a million hundred staples.

So Step 1) Foam. Joann's and similar craft stores sell foam. But it's super pricey, unless you buy the skinny stuff. Which is not so great for a cushy ottoman. So I put off this project for awhile, waiting for the foam to go on sale while I collect the right coupon and therefore only spend $20 on the foam size I needed.


Luckily, my sweet husband was trolling Fred Meyer a few weeks ago and came home and said, "Lucy, didn't you need foam for some dumb house project? How much was it at Joanns?" To which I replied I'd be lucky to spend only $20. Then he announced he found a big sheet of 2.5" thick stuff at Freddie's for only $18. Score!


Yeah, save only $2, you say? Well every dollar counts. Plus, the $18 foam sheet gave me twice as much as I needed, and twice as much as I would have gotten at Joanns. So it was as if the foam was only like $8. Go husbands. So I cut laid the painted table on the foam and sawed off the extra foam with our bread knife. No joke.

Perfect sized foam.

Then I wrapped my batting (Step 2) under the foam and up around to the sides, and started stapling. But then I realized that the foam+fabric would be bunchy up against the table ridges, and would hide the nice spraypaint job I did. So I took the edges off, temporarily. It was really easy.

Back to batting. I had enough to double it, then wrap it lengthwise along the whole ottoman, and staple up the long sides. I didn't have enough for the short ends, but no big deal. I used my sharp shooter staple gun, for about $20 at Home Depot. It works great.

And the final (and fun!) step - fabric! I had this fabric already, which was a home dec weight by Premier Prints called Amsterdam. I started by centering the design on the top of the foam, then pulling it up around the back, and stapling at 12-, 3-, 6-, and 9-o'clock angles.

After flipping it over to make sure my design was still where I wanted in front, I finished stapling all around.

Bentley's testing it out mid-way through.

I'm not going to lie - the corners were a bit tricky. But I just wrapped them like a present, and did my best to get them very tight. They aren't perfect, but they work okay!

Finished stapling! I used a lot of staples.

Then we (yeah, Billy was my trusty DIY-er buddy) put the framing and legs back on! We actually reattached the sides with sturdier screws than the originals.

Nice legs, Billy.

I like this side, Mom. Nice work.

And ooooooh! Finished!!! Of course, Bentley had to test it out first. He approves.

He's taken about three naps on it since then. And sorry about the random lighting. The photo above is fairly accurate, color wise. I could should have waited for the morning and daylight, but I have no patience.

Like my chevron curtains?

What nice metallic-y legs.

And testing out the softness. Our feet certainly approve.

Just wait til we get a good TV show on and the fire roaring... cozy!

Not bad edges!

From farther away...

And even farther!

So there you have it. Done ottoman! And another item checked off the list.

P.S. Want the budget breakdown?

Table:  $28
Foam:  $8 (originally $18, but I only used about 45% of the foam)
Spraypaint: $7 (about one full can - I splurged for the better stuff, but plenty around for $3-4
Batting: $3.50 (for about 2 yards, with 40% off coupon)
Fabric: Free (already had, but you'd need about 1.5 yards)
Putty: Free (already had, but you might not need)
Staple Gun & Staples: Free (already had, but about $25 for a good gun and lots of staples)
Total:  $46.50

Not bad, huh. Probably would have spent over $50 on an average one from somewhere. Yay for saving!