DIY: Upholstered Ottoman/Coffee Table

Well hello there, and happy Friday!  Today I'm going to share a project with you that has been a loooong time in the making.

I haven't had any sort of a coffee table in our family room for several years now.  This is mainly because my children have inherited my clutziness (word?) and manage to beat themselves up on anything with corners.  It's not really that I'm clumsy, it's just that furniture and other items tend to jump out in front of me.  Two weeks ago, I was attacked by a Cheerios box, and still have the giant bruise on my thigh to prove it.  Truly.

Anyway, I decided it was high time for a coffee table, but decided an upholstered one would be best due to our propensity for bumping into things.

I really had my eye on this one from West Elm, but I didn't love that it's $600:

So.  I hit the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and found a coffee table for $25. (I'm a terrible blogger because I didn't take a proper "before" photo.  Here's what the legs looked like before.  They were a glossy green:

Here was the top before.  I don't know how to describe the color.  Muddy coffee?  And a bad paint job.  You can see I've already painted the legs here:

So.  I started by spray-painting the legs a glossy brown. (Well, actually I didn't START there.  I started by trying to strip the paint off the legs.  It ended badly.)  It took two coats of brown paint, and then I spray-painted a coat of glossy enamel over it.

Then, using spray-adhesive, I added 2-inch foam to the top of the table, as well as around the apron:

Then, I covered the whole thing in batting:

And stapled my fabric around it.  I've never upholstered before, so this tutorial was super-helpful.  The corners were the hardest part.  I wound up doing hospital-corners.

It's DEFINITELY not perfect.  I have to beef up the batting in some spots.  I'm also planning on going back and trying to rework the corners.  (Also, I CANNOT get a photo with a clean house.  That's just reality, folks.  There are also always going to be toys on the floor.  And there are always semi-dressed kids in the background.  Cuz that's how I roll.)

But, for now, it works!  What do you think?

Linking Up Here:

Family Room (Slow) Progress

We moved into our house in 2003.  Since then, my tastes in home decor/design have changed pretty dramatically.  My needs in terms of space (and the use of it) have changed pretty dramatically too, due to the three-kids-under-the-age-of-5 thing.

I knew that I was ready for a change, particularly in my family room.

Here was how it looked last winter:

Ugh.  I can't tell you how much I dislike it.  So boring!  Here are some things I knew I wanted to change about the space:

I want to keep the cute little kid sitting on the love seat (did you spot him there??) and, let's face it, I don't think The Wiggles on the TV are going anywhere anytime soon.  Nathan is somewhat obsessed, and I'm still wondering why Jeff is always so sleepy?  That's a question for another day, I suppose.

One thing I really noticed as I stepped back and looked at this photo is the absence of color.  Everything is just so neutral and nondescript.  COLOR is something that was sorely missing in this room.

I'm sorry to tell you that not TOO much has changed with this room, yet.  Part of the reason is because of my indecisiveness, and part of it is due to lack of time.  But the process has begun.  You'll be happy to know that I'm getting ready to turn a coffee table into an upholstered ottoman.  Look at the fabric I chose:

COLORFUL, right?   We also got a new sofa that I am LOVING.  It's gray (I know, neutral!) but I wanted a neutral couch so I could dress it up with some great pillows.  I received this Chicago Textile Accent pillow from TheFurnitureDomain.com, and I knew it would go perfectly with the couch, especially because I'm using lots of blues in the room.

It's a microsuede, and the color is Glacier.  Isn't it pretty?  I love it!  It's extremely well-made, and I know it's going to hold up to the demands of the little ones as well as our pets.  Wanna see the best part?

It's machine washable, baby!  Woo-hoo!  I also think it will look great with the new ottoman:

It's a great start to the room, and I'm going to add more patterned pillows around it.  If you're interested in new pillows, or any living room furniture for that matter, check out the huge selection on their site!

For now, I'm busy adding color to the room wherever I can:

This post is sponsored by TheFurnitureDomain.com.  All opinions are 100% my own.