Making a Tufted Ottoman for the Family Room

About a month ago we shared some images of our updated family room and mentioned that we had made a large tufted ottoman to go in front of the sofa so that we could put our feet up more comfortably every night. Our original plan was to purchase one but I wanted it to be close to five feet long and about two feet deep which ended up being a much harder to find size than I anticipated. Eventually I gave up and decided to attempt to make one. I made a basic one several years ago so I figured it couldn't be too hard to make one again. I wanted the base to look a little bit different this time though, and I needed it to be quite a bit larger.

This project took a little longer than I anticipated but it was actually pretty easy (just a little time consuming) and I am so happy that I did take the time on it because I loved being able to get it the size and fabric I wanted. Technically, it's not completely done as I still have to add a little bit of trim to the spot where the fabric and wood meet, but seeing how it may be a while before I get around to that I figured I would go ahead and share the photos now (and at the bottom of the post are more details on how we made it). It's definitely not perfect. I wish I had spent a little more time working on the tufting, but all in all we are quite happy with it!

A while ago I saw a tutorial on Kristi's blog, Addicted 2 Decorating, that showed a new and much easier way to tuft. I decided to try it for this project and have to say it was sooooo much better than the way I did it in the past.  And if you've never been to her site before you have to head over and check it out. The things she does all on her own are absolutely incredible!

This isn't going to be a tutorial here seeing how you can get the tufting tutorial from Kristi, and then the base is quite easy. But here are a few photos from the process. The first thing we did was mark out our x's. I had two little helpers who thought this part was quite fun so our x's were definitely not super precise =) but that's okay. After we marked the spots we just followed the tutorial for the top.

Once the top was finished I went out to the garage and started working on the base. I used my kreg jig and basically just attached the side rails to the legs like this:

Once the rectangle was built I decided to add some bracing because it was so long and I wanted to make sure it had plenty of support. In the photo below I had just balanced some extra wood I had across so I could mark where to cut them and after that I used my kreg jig to screw the cross braces in so they were level with the side bars that way the top of the ottoman can rest nice and flat onto the frame. Also make sure to make pocket holes on the side rails so you can easily attach the top of the ottoman once you've finished building and staining it.

For the stain I just put on one coat of Rustoleum's Weathered Gray and then you can see on the left part of the photo above that over top of the weathered gray I added Minwax's Provincial. Once the base was dry I just use my drill to connect the base to the ottoman top and it was finished! 

Source List:

Fireplace Color - Winter's Gate in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Wall Color- Horizon in Eggshell by Benjamin Moore

Trim Color - Simply White in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Door Color - Mopboard Black in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore

Sofa - 94" Emory Sofa in Deso Sand from Arhaus Furniture

Rug - The Nellie Rug from Birch Lane

Stone Colored Pillows of Sofa - Armelle Pillow Covers from Birch Lane

Other Pillows on Sofa - HomeGoods

Slipcovered Wingback Chairs by Fireplace - Savvy Home and Garden 6 or 7 years ago

Pillows on Chairs - HomeGoods

Blanket on Chair and Sofa - HomeGoods

Side Table - Pottery Barn

Lamp - Aidan Gray during a 75% clearance sale 8 or 9 years ago

Lamp Shade - HomeGoods

Milk Bottle Vases - Painted Fox

Metal Sphere - Target

Script Chairs - TJMaxx

TV Console - Antique shop in Camden, SC about 8 years ago

Frames above chairs - tutorial here 

Drapery Panels - IKEA Ritva Panels

Drapery Rods - Lowe's 

Sconces - RH Baby and Child

Mirror above Fireplace - Restoration Hardware

Blue Bottles on Fireplace - TJMaxx

White Pitcher -JoAnn Fabrics

Antlers - World Market 

Ottoman - we made it using lumber and legs from Lowe's and fabric from JoAnn's

Tray on Ottoman - HomeGoods

Rocking Horse - gift from my mom (from RH Baby and Child)

Painted French Cabinet - makeover here

Flush Mount - Lowe's

Blue Bottles on Fireplace - TJMaxx

Aqua Colored Pitcher - Joss and Main

Antlers - World Market 

Flush Mount - Lowe's

Table - Pier 1 years ago and has since been painted in French Linen from Lady Butterbug
French Bistro Dining Chairs -Arhaus
Slipcovered Dining Chairs - IKEA

I hope you all have a fabulous week!