Furniture Refresh: How To Recover An Ottoman

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Recovering furniture can be hugely influential in bringing new life to a space. Whether it’s a piece that has been in the family or is a flea market find, transforming its design with an updated style and new fabric can be tremendously satisfying. My mom recently reached out to me with such a project, as she had gotten a well-loved ottoman from my grandparents. While still in solid structural condition, the fabric was worn and dirty and the piece had long been separated from the chair with which it was bought. As she already had fabric on hand given to her by a friend, my mom was open to recovering the piece in an effort to bring new life to the ottoman and have it tie in a little better with the southwestern style boys bonus room where it would find its new home. With a little makeover to recover an ottoman, footstool, various chairs, or even a headboard etc, these pieces can once again become integral parts of your family’s home.

While I certainly do not claim to be an official upholsterer, these next steps are the primary process that I used in recovering the ottoman with which I was quite pleased and my mom ecstatic to use in her space. With fabric, simple tools, and a little patience, you too can recover an ottoman to bring new purpose to such a piece.

Supplies

Needle nose pliers
Screwdriver
Sewing machine
Scissors
Flexible measuring tape
Staple gun
- I used one similar to this Bostitch Pneumatic Stapler borrowed from my dad, however you certainly could use a manual or electric option if you have that on hand already or don’t have an air compressor.
Staples
Piping Cord
Upholstery fabric

Process

Deconstruction

1. – To begin reupholstering your ottoman, you must start with deconstructing the existing layers. First, flip over the ottoman to see the underside. Using your pliers and screwdriver, begin taking out the staples for each layer. While tedious, this step might even provide a few treasures like uncovering the original furniture tag, which in my case led me to discover this ottoman was produced in 1988. It’s safe to say it definitely was time for a refresh!

2. – Once the ottoman is fully deconstructed, you must decide on the style that you are looking to create. While this ottoman previously had a ruffled skirt, I wanted to give it a more modern look with a kick pleat skirt like the Baldwin Upholstered Ottoman from Ballard Designs. Seeing this, I next set out to make the cord and skirt to cover the base.

Sewing Your Pieces

3. – To make your piping, first measure the circumference of the ottoman to determine how many inches of piping cord you need. Next, cut a strip of fabric to the length you need with at least a 2 inch width.

4. – Begin with placing the piping cord in the center of the long strip. Fold the fabric over the cord and then sew as closely as possible to the piping to close the strip together.

5. – Once your cord is finished, again use the circumference measurement to determine the amount of fabric needed for your kick pleat skirt. Remember that within the folds at the corners, you will need additional length. I added about 8 to 10 inches extra for each corner just to be sure. Similarly, be sure to measure the length of your skirt with additional fabric in mind. I added about 2 inches extra to create enough for both a finished seam and a stapling point.

Furniture Refresh: How To Recover An Ottoman — Step 1 – A

6. – Having cut the fabric you need, fold over a portion of one of the long edges about 1/2 inch and sew to create a finished seam (for additional detail on seam allowances, check our this sewing tutorial). This will become the bottom of the kick pleat skirt.

7. – Next, measure the large rectangular top of the ottoman and decide how far down the sides you want the fabric to cover the cushion. Be sure to add the measurement of fabric coming down each side to your original rectangular top measurement. Cut out the larger rectangle before cutting smaller rectangles from each corner. Each smaller corner piece should be about the depth of your ottoman cushion. For example, if your ottoman top is 20″ x 24″ and the fabric comes down each side 5 inches, your total large rectangle should be 30″ x 34″. Once that piece is cut out, remove 5″ x 5″ sections from each corner.

8. – Using your sewing machine and with your fabric inside out, sew each of the smaller rectangle sides at each corner together. This will create a box cushion cover that will slide nicely over the top of your ottoman.

9. – Once the box cover is finished, turn right side out and place over the cushion. You have now completed the sewing portion of all of your pieces! Time for stapling.

Stapling Together

10. – Using your stapler, begin stapling the top box cushion around each side. Be sure to pull tightly when stapling down to prevent any loose fabric sags. Even though each corner will be already sewn, be sure to staple tightly with a nice crease and pull to adjust as necessary. While the stapling certainly can be accomplished by just yourself, I found that having one person hold the fabric tight while the other person (my better half Charlie!) staples made the entire process flow much more seamlessly.

11. – Having attached your top cushion, prepare to add your cord and skirt. If you are skilled on the sewing machine, you could attach your cord to your skirt beforehand, however be sure to account for the folds of each corner when sewing in the skirt. If you are not as familiar with sewing in corner pleats, proceed as follows.

12. – Staple closely to the cord underneath on the extra band of fabric to attach the pipping to the ottoman. I tried to staple thoroughly around corners and continued to pull tight along the way. If your fabric has a pattern (such as the checks here), try to line the pieces up as best as possible.

13. – Lastly, begin adding your skirt. Start with the skirt flipped up, covering both the cushion of the ottoman and the cord. Feeling your way around, staple the top of the skirt closely to the cord to provide a nice transition. Once flipped down, the skirt should fall seamlessly from the cord.

14. – Around each corner, stop stapling about 4 inches from the corner. Double up the fabric so that there is a layer that covers the leg before the outer skirt layer. This will provide the kick pleat at each corner. Once that base layer is stapled down, staple the outer skirt on top, but be sure not to let the staples show. Turning the corner, double up the fabric again, staple and then proceed with stapling the side.

15. – Having finished all 4 corners, flip the skirt down, iron the pleats thoroughly and viola, you are finished!!

Final Thoughts

With a little effort, you can totally transform your piece of furniture and give a phenomenal refresh. Especially with the supply chain issues of the day, recovering an existing piece or a special furniture find can be helpful to provide a new look without waiting weeks or months for a new item to come in stock. Why not use what you have on hand and give it an update with a twist! I found it not only was a fun experience but also was a joy to be able to share with my mom. Do you have a piece in mind you are dying to recover? If so, pin this post to remind you for later!

Happy recovering!