Turning an IKEA LACK table into a cute upholstered ottoman

I'm still waiting on my fabric for my chairs to come in, so in the meantime, I did this little project...

I haven't purchased a coffee table for quite some time because my living room is small and it's difficult to find one that is the right size.  So I've been using a cheap IKEA LACK side table as a stand in because it's small and cheap and I had it on hand.  Everyone on the planet is familiar with this table.  They are $7, and come in lots of colors.  But I wanted mine to be cuter.  So I decided I'd upholster it.

Now, I wanted a fabric that was mostly white because my living room furniture is brown and light brown, so I needed something lighter.  But, I couldn't find any white fabric with a cute design on it.  So I made my own.

I got a yard of white fabric and some fabric paint, and I found a pattern that I liked online.  I made a stencil from that pattern and cut it into a sponge.  Then I used that sponge to stamp the pattern all over the fabric.  This was super easy and super cheap!

After I finished stamping, I immediately washed the fabric.  Because I used a sponge to stamp the design instead of just painting, I got exactly the look I was going for.  Kind of vintage and worn looking :)

Now, I wanted this ottoman to be tufted, so I drew an X on top of the table and drilled a hole through the center, and then at the point that was half way between the corners and the center.

I got some 1 inch foam from Hobby Lobby - and I used their 40% off coupon from online.  I put the foam on top of the table, and then covered that with batting.  Then you just turn the table upside down, and start staple-gunning away.

Once you've done that you can put your fabric on.  Now I'm tufting, so the first thing I did was cover 5 buttons with white fabric.  This is super easy.  You just buy the covered button kits from your craft store and follow the directions, and voila!  If you are NOT tufting, you can just staple your fabric on at this point.

You don't want to staple your fabric on and then tuft, because then the fabric won't stretch to get nice deep tufts.  So you stand the table upright - so leaving the legs on is good - and start with the middle button.  Now, I tried using fishing line first, but it was not strong enough.  So I used some twine that I had.  Twine is sturdy and thick and doesn't stretch, so I really liked it for this.  I got a long weaving needle - again from Hobby Lobby - and used it to thread the twine UP through the center hole of the ottoman.  Then you put the button on.  Then you put the needle back through to the bottom of the table.  Then you pull HARD to make a deep tuft.  I tied the twine under the tabletop and around a piece of fabric, to keep it from slipping back through the drilled hole.

You repeat this for the rest of the tufting holes.  Then your last step is to turn the table on its top, and staple gun the rest of the fabric to the bottom, and trim!

That's it!  It really was super easy and only took about an hour to do.  I love the way it looks in my living room, and it was all done for about $10!  You can't beat that!

Costs:
1.5 yards of white fabric $4
Button Covering Kit $2.50
Fabric Paint $0.99