DIY Tufted Foot Stool with IKEA Lack Side Table

I just made my unofficial reading corner in the living room a little more official by DIY-ing a tufted ottoman/foot stool out of an IKEA Lack side table!

Before I begin to tell you how I made my ottoman, let me rewind a little to explain to you how I got the idea to create this ottoman in the first place.  Early last year, I made myself a tufted headboard using screws instead of a needle and thread.  I liked my tufted headboard, but I didn't love it.  There were mistakes I made and little imperfections I saw that just drove me nuts.  So, instead of just throwing the entire headboard away, I decided to dismantle it and reuse the materials.  I will be reusing the wood to build my workbench and I used the foam and batting for this ottoman!

This is what the headboard looked like before I tore it apart...

Are you making the "yuck" face?  I know I am!  

Now, this is how I put my ottoman together.  I decided to use the IKEA Lack side table because it has been sitting in my garage for the last 2 years and it has the perfect dimensions for my green arm chair.

For starters, I screwed off the legs of the side tables and threw them away because I don't like the look of them and I knew they wouldn't go with the ottoman.

Next, I cut 3 inch foam down to size to fit the top of the table.  I used some spray adhesive to stick the foam to the top of the table.

Then, I cut 2" holes in an alternating pattern like you see below.

I covered the foam with batting and stapled the batting to the bottom of the table with my staple gun.

This is not one of my best pictures....but let's trust the process m'kay?

Once, the batting is attached to the top of the table, I poked holes through the batting, into the foam so that the 2" holes were exposed.  Finally, I centered my fabric on top of the ottoman.

The drilling part is pretty easy.  I assembled my washers and screw like so.

I started with the upper most left corner and worked my way outwards, making sure that the creases and tufts were just right before screwing the fabric onto the tabletop.

My tip for this step would be to make sure that the fabric is pulled taut.  Also, using your finger to push the fabric into the hole before screwing it in with the screw driver will allow you to see how the fabric will lay once everything is screwed in.

After you have created all of your tufts, go ahead and attach the fabric to the bottom of the table top with a staple gun.  Trim off the excess fabric.

For the legs, I purchased 4" decorative legs from Lowes and stained them using Walnut by Rustoleum.

This is the final product!  Tada!

This little foot stool is the best addition to my little ready corner because it prevents my short little legs from dangling whenever I try to sit in the chair.  I also wanted to try something different and screwed in the legs using angled plates.  I'm not too sure how I feel about the angled legs, but I definitely love the foot stool.  Let me know if you try this out or tell me what you think in the comments below!

This project is linked up to the The DIY Showoff: