Revive, Renew, & Repurpose... a Toy Box Makeover.

I have been desiring an ottoman in my living room for some time now.  I consistently shop online seeking that perfect piece; a place to put your feet up and something that will double as storage. However, with a stay-at-home Mom budget that perfect piece generally is out of my price range... so I got to looking over the existing items in our house to see what I could repurpose.

One day I was in our boy's room and saw the toy box and began thinking about how they were out growing the Winnie the Pooh theme and that I should do something different with it when we finally get to their bedroom makeover and suddenly my pregnant brain kicked in and remembered my ottoman project! 

 

I measured it and was thrilled to discover it was the perfect height for a comfortable foot rest and had all the qualities I was looking for in a storage ottoman. So I got to work and began digging through my craft supplies. I found the foam padding for the top (previously removed from an old broken recliner) canvas fabric (adopted from my Mother's craft room purge) and the leftover paint from our front door makeover.

I started by removing the character decals that were attached with screws and glue. Thankfully I only had one that took a bit of the finish with it. Then we got to work prepping for paint. My three year old was an excellent helper as this was his first "real paint" project  he was allowed to help on.

I found it was easiest to take it apart and paint the pieces separately. 

While those were drying I got to work on the padding for the top. I started by cutting the foam, batting, and fabric to size. I laid it out and used my staple gun to secure it to the underside of the lid. 

  

 

The final fabric positioning was a little tricky as I had to work around the hinge pins that were originally attached with rivets and I didn't want to jeopardize the safety/stability of the hinge by removing it. 

By that evening everything was dry and ready to be put together. My helper was very excited and filled it with his toys first thing!

 

Everything came together nicely and now we have a beautiful FREE ottoman and I have a comfy place to put my puffy pregnant feet up after a long day of chasing busy boys. I love being creative with old items and saving money!

Until next time,

Sonja