Coffee Table Makeover

I've been eyeing some beautiful coffee table/ottomans on Pinterest for a while now (see here and here), and I knew I had to do something with this horrible coffee table we got from IKEA shortly after our wedding. I've hated this thing for almost four years now - especially because when we took it out to put it together (the day we bought it), we realized it had a huge gash right on the edge. Call it laziness, or the fact that it only cost us $20 to begin with, but we just never bothered to replace it. So there it sat in our living room - taunting me with that ugly gash.

So, the time has finally come to make myself a pretty coffee table.

The results?

I'm quite pleased!

Now here's the how-to:

{Please ignore the ridiculous clutter in these photos. I apparently have learned to walk through my living room with a blind eye and somehow avoid walking on puzzle pieces and whiffle balls, but these pictures are a sad reality of what my house looks like. All the time.}

Step 1: I wanted six buttons on my ottoman, so I used a button-cover kit from Joanns to make them (not pictured), then marked where they needed to go and made the mister drill holes for me (thanks, hubs!)

Step 2: Cut 2-inch foam to fit the top of table. I then covered the foam in batting (not pictured) and marked where my buttons would go again.

Step 3: Use upholstery thread to attach the buttons. I tied the thread to regular plastic buttons on the underside of the table to make them taught (you can kind of see this a few pictures down)

{Note: Use a LONG needle for this part. Mine was not long enough, so this part involved far more effort, time, and frustration than it needed to.}

In case you wondered what I look like at 1 in the morning,
wrestling with buttons...wonder no more!

Success with tufted buttons! 

Step 4: {Take legs off if possible} Use a staple gun to attach fabric, pulling extra tight as you go.

Start in the middle of each side and work out to the corners. Don't do one side at a time. Staple opposite sides, making staples in line with each other as you go.

The corners were tricky. Just work slowly and make a clean fold. I watched some videos on YouTube to get some idea of how to do it...

^See the plastic buttons?

Step 5: Trim extra fabric, reattach legs, and marvel at your new ottoman!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

We have another shelf that goes underneath that I'll add as soon as I find the pegs for it.

And I also need to get a fancy tray like those beauties on Pinterest.

But for now, at least I don't have to stare at that gash anymore!