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Hey Everyone! How are you all doing? The Husband and I have been working on lots of fun projects for our home… and last weekend, we started working on our bedroom! Oh, and we finally graduated from the queen air mattress that we’ve been using for a year (don’t be horrified.. okay, be horrified) to a REAL, soft & fluffy mattress. My WHOLE home is finally coming together.
But back to business. You know that awesome pinterest trend of people converting tables into ottomans? Well, when I saw this pair of nightstands my mom was giving away, I just HAD to try my hand at it too. And I am crazy in love with how they turned out.
The first (and most obvious step) is to get yourself a table, or in my case, a pair of nightstands.
Next, mark where the top ledge needs to be cut so that the top will match the rest of the frame.
Now you can unscrew your legs (or have your baby helper do it for you.. excuse her hair… it’s in the “s crazy you can’t do anything with it” stage! 😛 )
We sawed off the edges we marked, and I sanded down the legs and discovered REAL wood. YAY! It looks so gorgeous. I purposefully didn’t sand all of the existing stain off, because I wanted an antiqued raw wood look.
And then you can screw it all back together.
Now for the photos taken at night. Don’t you just love the yellow hue? Haha. At this time you will need some foam for the top. I wanted our ottomans to be cushy, so I added a large piece. Use a super sharp serrated knife for cutting this stuff. It’s harder than it looks.
Once I had it the exact shape of my table top, I cut it in half so I would have one for each ottoman.
Now to pull out the sticky stuff. I used Super 77 adhesive (you can buy it HERE) to attach it to the top of the table. It holds in place pretty well!
Use the “non-cut” portion of your foam for the top, to keep it even looking. It’s starting to look promising.
Now add some batting to the top of your foam, but cut it so it can wrap underneath the table.
Lay your fabric of choice over the table. It should be cut so that it covers the whole ottoman top with lots left over. I used a table cloth from Target. It was about $15 and I was able to cover both ottomans with no problem. To get rid of the excess fabric on the edges, pretend you are wrapping a box with paper. Pull it together and tack, or staple, the excess underneath.
Then pull the remaining fabric over, creating a crisp edge. Repeat with corresponding side.
I tried out a few different methods, and this one was the easiest and cleanest looking one.
Next, staple the excess fabric, pulling it tight. Not the prettiest staple job, but who is going to see (whoops… except all of you guys!)
Now for the trim. And just in case there is ANY doubt, those are my husband’s legs.. not mine. ;)I’ve always told him he should be a hand model… and now he is one on my blog! Haha.
Now we need to create some trip to cover our stapling. I cut the straight hemmed edges off the table cloth and ironed and hot glued them into a ribbon.
For super crisp edges, make sure to use permanent press when ironing.
Next, I added the trim to my almost ottomans. I decide to staple it on, as I wanted it to be tight, and stay in place. However, I only added staples on one corner, to hide it as much as possible. Just plan on that side facing the wall. 🙂
Next, to get rid of any gaps, I stitched the trim on using fine thread.
Looking good.
Then my husband and I decided it would look awesome with buttons…. so we drilled holes and used a strong needle to pull some big buttons down. This was the hardest part for me, because we did this spontaneously, and hadn’t pre-pierced the foam, which made it difficult to pull the needle through.
Tip: Use pliers to pull if the needle is stubborn.
There are plenty of tutorials out there about upholstering and pleating with buttons… so I will leave you with google for those steps.
It was worth it! I am SO glad we went the extra mile and added those big fabric wrapped buttons!
Look at those table legs.
When my mom came over to visit, she said that they wanted their nightstands back. Too late mom.
That’s it for now. Can’t wait to share everything else I have been hiding from you all.
So cute! I wish I had the patience to do something like that!
Pam @ Hodge Podge Moments
These look amazing! Great job… I'll definitely add this to my garage sale finds to-do list 🙂
Just love how these turned out! Great job. Pinning.
Did you use a special type of needle or just a sewing needle to get the buttons on? I'm a little confused how you sewed them on through all the foam and batting. Thanks…and I love this project!
I used an extra large sewing needle… And I actually pushed a dowel down first to make room for the needle to go through. I didn't really share too much about this part, because it was almost more of an afterthought for us, and other tutorials (that were planned) can probably do a better job describing the right way to do this part. Lol 🙂
Thank you! That's a great idea…
These look great!! Can't wait for you to share everything else you've been hiding!! 😀 LOL!!! The ottomans looks awesome and you're right the buttons do just finish it off – like icing on the cake!!
You guys did a great job! Your house is just going to be so lovely! I love checking out your updates as they come.
Thank you Tiffany! That means so much to me. XO
Fabulous project – they look great! I can't believe you slept on an air mattress for a year! Just don't try it when you're in your 50s – we did it for 2 weeks and it nearly killed us!! HAHA
Ann
http://theapplestreetcottage.blogspot.com/
Haha! We are quite attached to our real mattress now! Thanks for the encouragement! XO