COST: $9
EFFORT: 1 out of 5
RESULTS: 4 out of 5
Remember when we chatted about reupholstering my sister’s living room ottoman in what I called “the tricky way” — sewing a new cover and then keeping it in place with upholstery tacks?
Well, today we’re going to try “the easy way” — wrapping one with new fabric and going wild with staples on the underside — to turn a zany old footstool into a fluffy fur pouf.
There are so many footstools and ottomans sitting in thrift stores, priced at just a few dollars each, just waiting to be taken home and redone. I think this is the fourth one I’ve remade for our house so far. It’s such an easy, inexpensive project!
My mom picked me up a truly wacky one at one of her local thrift stores: leopard-print fabric, gold braid and dangling gold tassels. The tassels were so tacky that they were kind of fun, but her kitty had clawed at them and they looked pretty messy.
It took less than 30 seconds to snip off all the tassels with a pair of scissors, but it took much longer to figure out what I wanted to cover it with.
I wandered through the drapery and upholstery sections of my favourite fabric store trying to get inspiration, but nothing felt right. Sure, I could easily get some nice charcoal grey fabric that would match our sectional sofa, or maybe a speckly black fabric.
Then I found myself pawing the faux fur.
Remember last winter when everyone was buzzing about the Danish design trend “hygge” (pronounced “hue-guh”) that was all about snuggling up in cozy spaces? I was petting a piece of tan-coloured faux fur that made me think cozy hygge thoughts of fireplaces, wooly throws and mugs of hot chocolate.
I looked around some more but ultimately came back to the tan-coloured faux fur. The 60cm x 80cm precut piece was $10.99, but with my Atlantic Fabrics rewards card discount plus a tax-free sale, I paid a grand total of $8.24 for it.
I came home, spread the faux fur on the floor — furry side down — and placed the top of the footstool in the middle of it. I started with the shortest sides of the fur and pulled them right up to the footstool’s legs, stapling them in place. Then I stapled the two centre-points and worked my way around the rest of the circle, trimming off excess fur where necessary and adding more staples.
In just a few minutes, the footstool was transformed into a fluffy fur pouf. It looked so cute, I couldn’t help by Google around to see how much it would have cost to buy something similar. I almost choked on my water when I saw that Pottery Barn’s Mongolian faux fur stool — that looks very close to mine — retails for $319 plus tax. Three hundred and nineteen dollars!
True, the legs on my footstool aren’t “kiln-dried wood with a hand-applied pecan finish,” but I’ll take my $8.24 DIY fur pouf any day. If we spill something on it or get tired of the fur, we’re out less than $10 instead of more than $350.
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