ottoman update

Life on a budget, means design on a budget.  I love my creature comforts.  Having a cozy and comfortable home is important to me.  Having my personality shine through is also important to me.  Spending little money on accomplishing this can be tricky without making our home look like a page from an Ikea catalog.  

The story of the ottoman begins before Ryan and I even met.  He was shopping up a new dresser on Craigslist.  When picking up his new-to-him furniture, the former owners threw in this little wooden ottoman for free.  

When we were merging our belongings the piece didn't quite fit with my living room vision.  We did, however, need a footstool, and I wasn't really interested in spending money on acquiring one.  It's easier to see the potential in something for your home when faced with a tight budget.  I decided to give this sad little ottoman a makeover.  

I made a trip to our neighborhood hardware store, Cliff's Variety.  Side note, this is the most amazing store in San Francisco.  I could spend hours here.  It's not just a hardware store, it's an everything store.  Possibly the only place in the city where you could restock your toolbox while simultaneously purchasing a new metallic wig and hot pink feather boa.  It's amazing.  

What I needed: sandpaper, shiny black paint, paintbrush, and a drop cloth.  I got the essentials, then walked the three blocks home.

Step 1: Queue up The Tudors

Step 2: Lay out materials

Step 3:  Get to sanding off the ugly light wood finish.  Ideally I would have done my sanding outside, but hey, I live in an apartment in the city, I don't really have that luxury.  

Step 4: Paint it black

Step 5: Reassemble and admire your work

While I was satisfied with the new finish, I really was not satisfied with the stripy pillow case seat cover.  I immediately headed to Crate and Barrel, and looked through their dish cloth selection.  I found this super cute little pear number.  The colors match the rest of our living room, and the pears offer a bit of quirkiness.  

All in all, quite happy with my makeover.  

Ottoman: free

Drop cloth: $1

Sand paper: $2

Black paint: $10

Dish cloth: $5.95

Total: $18.95