A year ago I bought a boring red ottoman at a yard sale for $5.
Snore. But lovely legs, don’t you think?
I get my fur from Mary Jo’s Cloth Store. This is the same fur I used to make the fur wreath years ago. It looks luxurious and the hair is long~the longer the hair, the more forgiving the fur when it comes to hiding seams. This fur was $13.99 a yard and I only used about half a yard. In the store I don’t remember seeing as many $13 a yard whiteish furs but online there are many, my receipt doesn’t say which fur I bought, so sorry. Why do I insist on doing projects and not recording exact sources?
This project was stress free and pure fun because if it didn’t work out, I only lost $5 for an ottoman that had been sitting around, and $7 for half a yard of fur. TOTALLY worth the risk of it looking hideous.
First, I lined up the edge of the fur with the long edge of my ottoman. See how I’m holding the hair part up? When I let it drop, it comes down an inch or so past the cut mark, simply because of the length of the hair. Once you have it in place you can just fold it up over the top to expose the ugly fabric. Then…
You guessed it. I used a heavy duty super hot burn your hand to smithereens glue gun. Just run a strand of molten hot boiling liquid glue along the edge of the ottoman. And then plop your fur back down and press down to attach it. Let it cool for about a minute or less if you are impatient.
{I turned the ottoman 90 degrees to get better photos}
Don’t worry about the sides right now, just work your way up the front edge and then over the top. Fold back, glue, press down, fold back….
Don’t worry about doing it all perfect. Just work fast and get you some hot glue on there and then move right along. You don’t have to slather it everywhere, as long as it’s enough to hold you are good. The up side about using a high heat glue gun is that the hold is much stronger than low melt/heat glue guns. It’s worth almost maiming your hands for.
This is not how I hold the scissors~just the only way I could get a photo. It is easier to cut fur from the back side. Make sure to slip your scissors in under the furry side close to the backing so that you don’t chop off all the long hair. You need that part.
OH NO!!!!! I made a mistake, I cut the fur too short, I have failed!
No worries, that is why we are using fur, just pat the fur down and you’ll never see it.
See? You can’t even tell. Now go ahead and glue down the side, do the same with the other two sides and we’ll talk about these corners.
You’ll end up with these poofs on each corner.
Cut a slit right up the middle.
Then take one side and cut straight up. You’ll end up cutting off a little triangle shape. Do that for each part.
This is what it should look like. And you simply put a little glue in there and then mess up the fur and the seam disappears.
Isn’t fur amazing? Hides the seams like they don’t exist.
It doesn’t look like that big of a mess but trust me, fur was flying everywhere. After you glue everything down, it’s good to vacuum the ottoman and the floor and yourself.
Naturally, I like it in every room of our house.
And depending on your mood you can make it more like Ty Pennington or slicked back like Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend.
I didn’t make a fur ottoman because I had been dreaming of a fur ottoman. I made one because I had the ottoman already but I hated the fabric. I could have slipcovered it but, I wanted something daring, fun, super easy and different. Fur just seemed like an interesting choice. I wasn’t sure I could dislike it any more than I already did, so it was worth ruining.
I bet you have something sitting around in your home that you don’t love. Is there a little risk you can take to see if you can make it better? What’s the worst that can happen?
*this post linked up to TDC’s before and after party* check out all the goodness
Love it and thinking, “What can I cover in fur?” I love your projects: fur, glue gun, very forgiving…I can get on board with that!
I really like that!! :) Love the white fur!! I was scared when I saw the title!! :)
Love it!!!!!
Ruthie
I love it!!! So cute :)
How fun! I would have never thought about doing that but you have such a way of bringing classy and fun together…
I LOVE the fur!! My stump is coming along nicely except for my blistered hands last night. If you ever take the bark off and sand, wear gloves!!!
It’s absolutely adorable! It’s such a cool piece that you can move around into your different rooms depending on your morning mood. :) And I love the shot of your husband on his phone in the background….such a familiar backdrop in my home. Have a wonderful day!
I think it’s pretty fabulous! Love the Ty Pennington look. ;) You did a great job, Nester.
Nester, yours is my favorite blog of ALL TIME, but with that said, I feel like someone out there has to be the voice of reason about this one… it looks crazy. And not crazy good, crazy cheap (SORRY). Luv you though!
You are into the fur Nester!!
You need to invest in a cool glue gun. Cool temp, I mean. LOL
tina
I have 5 glue guns you silly girl! But, you need a high temp glue gun for this project, it holds much stronger.
Haha!!! I didn’t know that (that they hold stronger). Well alrighty then! Maybe some heavy duty gloves???!!!
tina
Well, I like it and it seems to be one of the “in” things right now. I think it’s like an animal print ~ it’s good to have in your home and a little bit goes a long way! Nice job and nice price.
I love it! It looks fabulous. Great idea!
Sheepskin!! I just got a pillow identical to this in New Zealand…picture on my blog! I love it <3
Love it! This is my kind of project– quick easy and instantly gratifying. With feet and fur, I’m wondering if it needs a head now. :)
LOL at slicked back like Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend!
I love this! thank you so much for sharing!
that is so cute in your house…but it would look crazy in mine…
creative you are!
sandy toe
Not according to Adam …
http://www.thenester.com/2010/11/decorating-truths-from-adam-lambert.html
I don’t comment much but I am a faithful reader. I am always inspired by what you share and love your philosophy of what home should be. I love how you took a chance on that ottoman. I recently painted a little dresser (one of those cheap ones with the wood looking sticker type stuff over pressed plywood) and it looks so cute now. I needed a place to store my son’s puzzles and books and now I have it…for free too since my paint was a recent free sample from valspar! Can’t go wrong with that! Thanks for putting so much heart and hilarity too into your posts…love the Kardashian comment, too funny!
Blessings, Grace
And naturally, I could use that too!
I love your new furry friend! No house training required! I can’t wait to find something to make fur- fabulous! I love everything you do!
I LOVE it! I have a summer yard sale ottoman find that’s still waiting for it’s face lift. Maybe I’ll give her a fur coat too. Very cute. Thanks for sharing!
-Aaron
I like it! I like it! The legs are pretty and looove the fur. You did good!
Love this gorgeous creation. I’m going on the hunt today for a used ottoman!
I love it! Job well done, friend.
And, yes, I do have a BUNCH of stuff sitting around this place that I don’t love!
It’s all goin’ to the curb and Good Will today! LOL!
(We’re makin’ room for little ones!) :-D
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I think it would have to go in the kid-less area of the house though. ;)
Too cute, and great instructions! I love it.
Why do we form opinions at first glance? I saw the fur and thought…well I’ll just skim the article and check out any photos..totally uninterested. And I am glad I did!! Now I might…or might not….make a fur ottoman. But…even better….you have challenged me to look at things differently….and maybe even better….not worry about the *right* way to do it….just *do it* and have fun.
Nester…you rock my world good!
Fantastic! I would LOVE to know where the black and white rug from the 1st picture is from!!
Pier 1, just wish it were larger, it’s a 3 x 4? maybe?
Great project, so unexpected, but I love it!! Unfortunately, so would our Cairn Terrier!! LOL
LOVE THIS! I want to make one too! Thanks for sharing.
Love it!!! I’m thinking “do I have enough time at lunch to run to the fabric store so I can make one tonight”? So simple yet elegant! Great job Nester!
I love the reference to Kourtney Kardashian’s boyfriend. Ha!
No matter what topic I usually always get a good laugh from your posts! :)
Love it! How fun and done so cheaply. Love that you just gluegunned right over the top of the old fabric. Thanks for sharing.
I love the juxtaposition of chippendale legs and fur!!!! i can’t wait to get a closer look of the fur chair!!!
The legs look like they’ve got claws on the bottom, so the fur is perfect! It’s like the ottoman can walk itself from one room to the next. :) Very cute – both my cat and my baby would be obsessed with it!
yep, they are ball and claw, you are right, that is perfect!
Hi
I love your blog; I’m in the middle of searching for a stump! I can’t wait to make the side table you showed!! I have an idea of a boy’s bedside table I wanted to show you! I came up with the idea for my little boy’s room and I’m so excited with how it turned out! I thought maybe some other thrifty momma’s would want to try it, or it could even be used in a main room! The direct link to the post is http://bananasanddamaskinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/03/bedside-table.html.
Thanks
Anna Kintigh
Bananas and Damask Interiors
Fancy shmancy, Nester… Fancy shmancy! I like it.
:)
xo
I love how forgiving the fur is- great project for a newbie like myself! The ottoman looks fantastic!
I actually have a fur-covered loveseat.
We have two cats. :-)
i totally have an ottoman sitting around that i don’t like. we use it every day. but the fabric is gross. thing is, it’s round. not sure how that would work with the fur. but i like the idea and love how yours turned out. it may be worth the risk!
love the fur coat…and great legs!
I love this project! Thanks for the toot.
Your comment about Ty Pennington vs Slimeball made me snort a little coffee out of my nose.
Well done. Adds a great texture to the room!
Yikes..no where did I read that most important word….*FAUX* fur….my heart stopped a beat, when I looked at your item….please….that is a very important word….Thank you, Valerie.
So Cute! You’re lucky your Lab doesn’t tear into those furry pieces! Ours use to tear collars off of coats and trim off of gloves…anything that looked like an animal was history!
Ty Pennington or Scott Disick–now that was funny! I love how this turned out!
I ADORE this! If I could find an ottoman with such cool legs I’d do this in a heartbeat. Amazing. Did you see Decor Adventures’ reupholstered ottoman yesterday?
I love the fact that it’s NO SEW and very FORGIVING.
And, you already had all the materials.
Perfect.
It kinda looks like our Main Coon cat has draped herself across you ottoman.
And, fell into a deep sleep.
While I love this, I think I’ll pass.
She leave enough fur on our ottoman – lol!
I really LOVE it.
That, my friend, is the definition of rad.
Thanks for the inspiration- we’re trying to get together a sitting corner (for me!) in my husbands office. We have the chair, but no place to put my feet up. I see ugly footstools at the thrift stores all the time- this shows me I can do something with them!
Thanks!