DIY Deconstructed Ottoman Knock Off

I would say who doesn’t love a deconstructed knock-off ottoman. Like the ones, you see on sites like Restoration hardware or on other social media home decor accounts. But then I know it’s kind of a specific taste. I am sure it is one of my likes that my husband has no idea why I like it or why I would ever want one. But I kept seeing the look on IG accounts, Pinterest, and other social media. It kept attracting my eye and I wanted one. Sometimes on IG accounts they came across the best ottoman “bones” and deconstructed it, but finding a similar ottoman is difficult. I had been scouring Facebook marketplace, thrift stores, and antique malls to find an ottoman that had good bones to no avail.

Then when searching sites, I would come across the examples from Restoration Hardware and just think, well I am certainly not paying that price. During these times, I am reminded that I have enough skills personally to just recreate it. Plus this gives me the opportunity to take the aspects I liked of each one and put them together in the one that I make.

I was drawn to adding an ottoman to our home because I wanted an extra spot for a bottom when our family and grandkids came over. I didn’t have the room for something too big because we really don’t have a lot of extra space in our home. I took a piece of paper and basically folded it up til I had the size I thought would work. This was the same way I determined that pieces off of a marketplace were either too big or too small.

I love the look of Alder wood. When Lowes was clearancing out keeping them in the store, I was lucky enough to snag the few remaining pieces. I have made a few other DIY projects with them, but knew I had two 8′ 1×4″ boards left. Since I wanted a good portion of the wood to show on the sides, I stacked the boards to be 7″ in width to make my ottoman box from.

At first, I thought I would mitre cut all the corners and then stack the two boxes together. I don’t know if it’s because my saw took a tumble off my workshop bench or just that my mitre cuts were not perfect enough, but either way, I had to scrap this method and do a simple box frame with raw edges on the short sides. Since I had to recut this box down and re-use the wood, my frame ended up being 24.5″ x 18.75″. Not much difference and still a great size for my home (and a butt).

Since I was going for a rustic look, I didn’t worry about the rough ends too much. Once I had the box constructed, I used a board I had purchased from the damaged pile at Home Depot. You know the pile! The 70% off pile! It’s a perfect pile to look through to see what you can stockpile for future DIY’s and cut your cost.

I made two inserts to be the top and bottom of the box. Once the top piece was laid in, I reinforced the box support with remnant 1×2″ boards and the leftover 1×4″ alder boards as the size supports to transfer the weight to the legs. See below.

Then I added in the final piece to make the bottom and I was ready to customize the look. Originally, I was going to go to Canton Trade Days and scour the aisles for 4 antique legs, but Texas was due an ice storm the same weekend. I really wanted to finish the project in a short time frame so I just purchase2 4 legs at Lowes for around $12.00 after tax.

Not only did I have a day before the ice came in, but I also had two sick males at my house so we all had to stay at home. Some of the inspiration pieces had burlap to the frame like you would typically see in an ottoman that had been deconstructed. Luckily, I had leftover burlap ribbon from Christmas and for some reason I had carpet tacks in the garage. I knew I had them, but to be honest I can’t recall why I bought them in the first place.

I added the burlap around the edge and used the carpet nails to give it a realistic look. I am hoping that in a few more months, the burlap may actually look a little more deconstructed and less perfect. I am laying odds that my grandkids will make that wish happen.

Then I was down to the look of the top. Did I want upholstered foam? or something a little more basic? I’d like to say the options were endless, but remember I was housebound. Since I had no option to go out and buy the foam and also because I really don’t have any experience recovering an ottoman top, I opted for using materials I had on hand. I figured if I didn’t like the outcome of what I made, I had so little invested in the ottoman ($32 for all the wood and legs at this point) that I could just pay someone to make a top.

I had leftover matelasse material from curtains and I had painters canvas cloth from Home Depot in the garage. I also had two feather down throw pillows in my pile of thrift store donations that I was planning on purging. In the end, I decided that an old-style big pillow top would be my best FREE option. I would say I am not a great seamstress, but I can sew a straight line. A pillow top was within my skill level.

I love the basic look of the down feather topper. I may just add a removable white slipcover to it to both change up the look at times and also to give an extra layer of protection for people who sit on the feather topper but may not want the occasional feather sticking through as easily. Another good thing about the slipcover is that I can pull it off and wash it from time to time. Stay tuned to see how well I create that because you already know I hate to sew. Also, no swear words were mumbled when I created the pillow top so I at least was successful there.