What a fine looking Otto-MAN!

For a man that cooks and eats at home a mere few times a month, my boyfriend Sid has got all kinds of assorted kitchen gear.  The man has got a COMPLETE set of teacups and saucers and he's not even British.  It's mind blowing to me.  I've also known him for almost 3 years and not once have I been offered a spot of tea...  But anyways, in the eclectic clutter of his belongings, I have found some fantastic crafting gems.  Sid is a wonderful sport and happily donates his fixer-upper items for my craft projects (thanks babe!).

Sid and Me in Florence Italy!

One of the best crafting pieces I acquired from Sid was this depressing looking tiny table.  

How sad does that look?  One friend actually commented after a quick glance "oh that's a nice marble tabletop."  If you can't tell from the picture, that "marble" is really stripped away paint.  Originally this table was covered completely in tape.  Because tape totally hides everything.  But for fellow crafters, this table has got so much potential!

The table is really not that sturdy, so even after trying to tighten things up, the construction is weak, and my initial plan of making a bench wasn't going to pan out as there is most definitely a weight limit on that thing.  So instead I settled on an ottoman.

 Step One:
Sand all over and thoroughly clean.  I had some difficulty as my cat Ivy discovered a fondness for playing with sandpaper.

Step Two:
Paint!  I used this light-navyish blue color, brand MyColor, which I bought at Lowes because the bottle looked so cool.  I'm a sucker for those marketing gimmicks.  But, I liked the paint and it covered the wood easily.  I used two coats.

Before Paint

After Paint

 Step Three:

Get your foam cushion and fabric.  I went to DJ Liquidators, who will cut customized foam pieces for you for a  super cheap price.  Or, you can use whatever you have lying around the house.  I spent $6 on this foam piece!  And this fabric that I got is so awesome.  There's an adorable shop called Baltimore Threadquarters in Canton Baltimore that is small but it's got a lot of flavor.  They just got this fabric in when I went to the store, so it was totally meant to be because 1 - elephants are my favorite animals, and 2 - this color scheme is awesome.

Step Four:
Measure/cut your fabric as needed to fit over the cushion and reach the belly of the ottoman.  Turn over so the cushion is on the fabric, and the table is on the cushion.  Staple the fabric, using a staple gun, to the underside of the ottoman.  You'll have to be careful to fold/smooth out around the corners.  Make sure you pull tight enough on the fabric so you don't have wrinkles.  

Step Five:
You're done!  Add some pillows, use as an ottoman, bench, cat bed, whatever you like.  I'm in love with this piece and get so many compliments on it.  Plus, it's a super easy project for us lazy folks.   NOW that' a fine looking Otto-MAN!