How to Build an Ottoman with Inside Storage

Finish the inside of the Ottoman lid

To create a nice finished look, I’ve added a small rope piping from the fabric store around the edge of the lid. This has about a 3/4″ strip of fabric on it that allows for stapling. Just start where you want your seam, and staple evenly around the inside of the lid. Where the seam meets, I took a small piece of canvas about 3″ long, and wrapped the seam with it and glued it in place with hot glue.

After the piping is finished, it is time cover the rest of the inside and hide your staples. I added another piece of batting inside the lid, glued it down with spray glue, and covered with a simple piece of canvas that was cut to fit. Rather than exposed edges on the canvas, I measured, folded under, and ironed a creased edge all the way around. Then used hot glue to attach this over the staples from the upholstery. Before the final edge of hot glue, I sprayed another bit of spray glue between the batting and the canvas for slippage, and pressed it down lightly to adhere.

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Finish the bottom of the Ottoman

I picked up a piece of black furniture mesh from the fabric store to cover the bottom of the Ottoman. Simply cut a few inches larger than you need, fold the edges under, and use hot glue to glue all the way around hiding all your staples and exposed fabric edges.

After the black fabric is in place, install your legs/feet. I purchased a set of bun feet from Amazon that came with the mounting hardware. I spraypainted them to match our colors, and let dry. Simply drill the holes for the feet according to the manufacturer instructions, but remember, you’ve only got 3/4″ plywood down there, so don’t go too deep. I had to use a hacksaw and cut the bolts on the legs so that they wouldn’t be too long and still sit flush on the bottom.

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