Learn How to Reupholster an Ottoman in One Day

Welcome to DIY Diary. Each entry covers a new home improvement project. Here, J.R. Coffin and George Coffin, partners in business and life, take on an abandoned ottoman.

When J.R. Coffin, architect and partner at Studio Den Den, found an old, lackluster ottoman sitting on a curb, she took it as a sign that it’s time to test her sewing skills. The discarded piece of furniture is just what she needed to increase the style-quotient of the new Providence, Rhode Island, home she is currently renovating with her husband, business partner, and industrial designer George Coffin. “The short, round shape worked perfectly with our flexible living room layout and low coffee table,” George says.

The couple purchased a two-family abode last year from an old married couple who lived in separate units—and hadn’t updated much in three decades. “We knew it was the house for us when we walked into powder blue shag carpets and some of the ugliest wallpaper we’d ever seen,” J.R. says.

But how to reupholster an ottoman to suit the space? The duo selected upholstery to work with the newly designed interiors: A medley of colorful-meets-warm tones. “In the spirit of spontaneity, we went to our local fabric store and browsed through all of their options until we found a collection of colors and textures that worked together,” George says. “We knew we wanted some sort of leather [in this case faux leather], because the piece would be living near our leather sofa. It should relate to the sofa in material, but we also wanted it to stand on its own as a unique piece of furniture.”

Armed with materials, J.R. and George reached out to Diane Montgomery, owner and upholsterer of Coventry Lane Upholstery in Nashville, for advice on revamping the once abandoned ottoman into something of a pièce de résistance. See how the project unrolled.

To reupholster a circular ottoman, you’ll need:

Step 1: Remove the existing fabric

“If you take your time disassembling everything, you’ll learn a lot about how it was originally built,” George says. “You’ll have a clean blueprint of pattern pieces to trace, cut out, and puzzle back together.” The old decorating maxim—measure twice, cut once—is just as true when undressing a piece as when you’re upholstering it. Exactness is key. “When taking the old fabric off, be careful to keep all existing padding in place to be reused,” Montgomery says. “You can also reuse the dust bottom fabric [black fabric on the bottom of the frame].” To ensure you don’t get confused with different pieces, mark “border” or “top face” with chalk on the old fabric, though that’s not always necessary on a circular face.

Step 2: Create a template