Going to Build

DIY Tufted Ottoman Complete!

 The tufted ottoman is complete!
 Ive been wanting one of these for a long time ...

So I figured I would try to make my own version, and picked up some tips from here, here, and here

All provided great insight and tips when making mine!

I originally bought a coffee table to use as the base, but decided to craigslist it and make my own because:

1. it was cheaper
2. I could make it the exact size I wanted
3. I could choose the table legs


We started with a 30"x30" 1/2" piece of plywood and cut 1x4s for the frame


Stained 9" table legs with Minwax water based stain - applied with a foam brush and wiped the excess off with a rag


Holes were measured and drilled for the tufting


Pieces were assembled and attached with screws - table legs were attached using screws and for added strength, gorilla glue was used to connect the leg to the table 


Foam was purchased pre-cut from www.buyfoam.com - which was pretty affordable compared to Joanns.

** Update: Since then, Ive also found 3" foam camping pads at Home Depot for $20 (great price!) 

From top to bottom I used - 1" 28x28, 1" 30x30, and 1/2" 46x46 foam (46x46 is not in above photo)

Making the bottom piece of foam slightly smaller helped to make the corners round on the finished product. The 46x46 piece was cut large enough to wrap around the whole piece.

We applied spray adhesive to attach foam to avoid sliding during tufting


We stapled the foam, cut off the excess on the corners and edges - Next we put a layer of batting and then the fabric - medium weight light gray linen from fabric.com


Made buttons from a kit purchased at Joann Fabrics - used heavy duty thread doubled up and a long needle

To make sure the buttons went in straight, David poked through the foam with the end of a meat thermometer (weird huh?) it was pointy but not enough to poke through the fabric

Starting from the middle - the needle was guided through the hole


I  pushed from the top 



While David pulled and stapled from underneath - this would have been very hard with one person!


Between each button the fabric was pulled tight to get rid of any wrinkles


1x4s were cut and wrapped in batting and fabric and then stapled 


It is a little hard to see from this picture, but the top fabric and batting were pulled tight behind the side pieces - which were attached with screws while tightly held in place - fabric was stapled underneath and excess was cut off

Since we dont have one of these for 45 degree cuts


The corners werent very pretty


Batting was wrapped in fabric and attached to the corners with nail head trim

and the finished product!




I dont have the whole price broken out, but it was a lot cheaper than ones Ive seen in stores and I the size is perfect for my living room.

We really enjoyed working on this project! I hope you like it as much as I do!