• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Pillar Box Blue

  • Home
  • Denim
  • Maps
  • Valentines
  • Crafts
    • Sweaters
    • Marimekko Crafts and DIY’s
    • Seasonal
  • DIY/Upcycling
    • All Upcycling
    • Ikea Hacks
    • Tin Cans
    • Round Ups
  • Christmas
  • About Me
    • What Is Upcycling What You Need To Know
    • Press & Working With Me
    • Link Ups
    • Privacy Policy
    • DISCLOSURE
    • Contact Me
You are here: Home / Denim / Easy Denim DIY Storage Ottoman Crate an Ikea Hack

Easy Denim DIY Storage Ottoman Crate an Ikea Hack

1st February 2017 by Claire Armstrong 15 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
DIY rolling Storage Ottoman

I’m always looking for a bit more storage and extra seating in my home. With this rustic denim DIY ottoman, I think I have a solution.

I love how practical and nifty this rolling storage ottoman is. When unexpected guests turn up it provides both seating and somewhere to quickly hide clutter.

The casters on the upcycled Ikea crate make it really easy to move around. However, watch it, if you have wooden floors like I do. The kids (big kids too) will end up riding it around the house. The wheels are really nippy.

Personalized DIY Rolling Storage Ottoman

Another wonderful thing about this rolling storage DIY ottoman, it’s that it’s upholstered with my old repurposed jeans. I have also stenciled the family name to the great to give it the personal touch.

I had great fun with this DIY ottoman project as it involved two of my favorite DIY’s upcycling denim and an Ikea hack.

Even though this was an IKEA hack as I used an IKEA crate for the main body of the rolling ottoman and I used IKEA castors. This DIY ottoman can be made with any sturdy wooden crate.

The top of the crate was upholstered in denim, but again this was very easy to do and a simple old jeans no-sew project. This is a very similar method to a footstool I reupholstered with a tea towel without sewing.

Make a nifty DIY Ottoman from an Ikea Crate and an old pair of jeans.  Handy bit of storage too which can be personalized by stenciling your name.

 

 This ottoman featured under O in the A to Z of denim crafts.
 
This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.
 
 

What You Need To Make A DIY Rolling Storage Ottoman

  • Wooden Crate – Did I mention this was an Ikea Hack? It is, in that I used an IKEA KNAGGLIG box
  • IKEA RILL casters
  • Dark wood wax
  • Letter/number stencils 2″ high
  • Sharpie Pen

For the Upholstered Denim Ottoman Lid

  • Old pair of Jeans
  • Scrap fabric same size as the lid
  • Fabric glue
  • Chipboard/plywood big enough to fit the top of the crate. Plus some scraps of wood for batons approx 2″ x 2″ and 12″ long.
  • Upholstery foam for the top approx 2″ thick
  • Spray adhesive
  • Batting/wadding
  • Staple gun
Jeans for DIY ottoman Ikea hack s

How to Make a Denim DIY Ottoman crate

1.First, assemble your IKEA KNAGGLIG crate according to the instructions. Or if you are repurposing an exsisting wooden crate makes sure it is sturdy.

2. Stencil the sides of the crate. This is so easy, I used a plastic letter stencil and a sharpie for this.

You can really personalize the ottoman by stenciling someone’s name on the crate. Our family name is Armstrong so I decided to stencil that on my crate.

TOP TIP: Just make sure you stencil the right way up, you may think that is obvious but I still manage to stencil things upside down at times.

Stenciling a IKEA crate with a sharpie

3. The wood on the IKEA Knagglig crate is untreated. To protect the wood and to give it a more rustic and aged look, I rubbed the whole crate, inside and out with some dark furniture wax.

Waxing the crate for DIY ottoman

4. Next, fix the IKEA RILL casters to the base of the ottoman. As the base wood is not very thick you will need short wood screws for this.

Or even better drill small holes and use screws with bolts to attach the casters to the rolling storage ottoman.

attaching casters to rolling ottoman

Making The Ottoman Upholstered Lid

5. Next, to transform the lovely stenciled crate on wheels into a useful storage ottoman, you will need to add a lid.

Firstly, measure the top of the crate. Then, cut a piece of plywood to these measurements so that it sits nicely on the top of the crate. #

At the same time saw 2 batons of wood about 1″ shorter than the width of the plywood lid.

plywood lid

6. Next, using the plywood lid as a guide measure and cut a piece of foam the same size. Then, use spray adhesive to stick the foam block to the plywood.

sticking foam to lid

7. Next, cover the foam and plywood lid on the DIY ottoman with batting/wadding. You will first need to cut a piece of wadding so that it is large enough to wrap around the foam.

The wadding is then secured to the underside of the lid by using the staple gun.

wadding and lid

8. Next, cut the waistband off the jeans and the legs at the crutch. Then, cut the leg of the jeans up the seam to open them up into one large piece of denim fabric.

Denim for DIY rolling storage ottoman

8. Next, wrap the large piece of denim around the batting and staple gun it to the underside of the plywood lid.

Then take the waistband of the jeans and glue it around the outside edge of the ottoman lid. Use pins to hold the waistbands in place whilst the glue dries. Depending on the size of the repurposed jeans, you may need to use the waistbands from 2 pairs of jeans to cover the circumference of the DIY ottoman.

The waistband edging is just a little touch to add more interest and character to the storage ottoman.

How to upholster a rolling storage ottoman lid

9. To tidy up the underside of the storage ottoman lid, I used a piece of fabric to hide the edges. I simply cut a piece of fabric to size and glued it to the underside of the lid. Again using pins to hold it in place whilst the glue dried.

adding fabric to lid

10. Finally, to finish off the rolling storage ottoman add the battens to the underside of the lid. I used two wood screws to attach the battens to the lid underside.

The purpose of these battens is to stop the ottoman lid from sliding around.

adding battens

the finished DIY Denim Ottoman..

Nifty DIY Ottoman made from jeans and Ikea box.  Really handy storage too.
DIY Ottoman from upcycled jeans and an Ikea crate.  Makes for handy storage too!

The denim and the stenciling give the rolling storage ottoman a rustic industrial feel. I love it in my lounge but it would look great in a teen bedroom or man cave.

It can be personalized by stenciling a name and year onto the wooden crate. Also I find the storage bit under the lid really handy for magazines and general clutter when I want a quick tidy up.

The ottoman lives in our family room not only does it provide handy storage but extra seating when all the family is visiting.

This handy extra footstool also looks great with the upcycled waistband no-sew denim rug I made for the same room.

Nifty DIY Ottoman made from jeans and Ikea box.  Really handy storage too.
Yield: Ottoman on wheels with storage

DIY Rolling Storage Ottoman

Nifty DIY Ottoman made from jeans and Ikea box. Really handy storage too.

This is an IKEA hack that uses an old pair of jeans to make a unique DIY rolling storage ottoman. This ottoman is also personalized with some fun industrial style stenciling on the side. It looks fabulous in a teen bedroom or a man cave. Not only is it great for extra storage but it provides additional seating for unexpected guests.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Active Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Difficulty Medium

Materials

  • Old pair of jeans
  • IKEA KNAGGLIG crate or a sturdy wooden crate
  • IKEA Rill castors
  • Foam block
  • Wadding
  • Plywood and wood battens
  • Fabric glue
  • Wood wax
  • Letter Stencil
  • Black Sharpie

Tools

  • Saw
  • Screwdriver
  • Staple gun
  • Scissors

Instructions

  1. Assemble the crate, stencil name on the side using sharpies and plastic letter stencil
  2. Cover the assembled crate with dark wood wax
  3. Attach the castors to the base of the storage ottoman crate using screws
  4. Measure the top of the crate and cut plywood to size
  5. Stick foam block onto the plywood lid and wrap in wadding. Secure the wadding to the underside of the lid with a staple gun.
  6. Cover the DIY ottoman lid in denim, using a staple gun.
  7. Trim the edge of the lid by gluing jeans waistbands around the circumference
  8. Tidy up the underside of the rolling storage ottoman lid with a piece of fabric glued to the underside.
  9. Finish off the DIY ottoman lid by adding to battens to the underside. Secure the battens with screws, this will stop the lid from slipping around.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • IKEA crate
    IKEA crate
© Pillarboxblue
Project Type: DIY / Category: Denim

If you want to see more crate ideas you should check out my DIY nightstand from a wine box. I have also upcycled wicker basket storage for Christmas.

If you are wondering what to do with the pockets leftover from the repurposed jeans you used for this DIY ottoman lid, check out this tutorial for a great denim pocket organizer.

If you are looking for something even simpler some individual hanging denim storage pockets, or more handy denim storage ideas.

Nifty upcycled denim DIY ottoman made from an Ikea Crate.  Personalise with your own stencils.  Handy storage too!

Filed Under: Denim, Ikea Hacks Tagged With: box, crate, denim, diy ottoman, footstool, hack, IKEA, Ikea hack, jeans, ottoman, stencil, storage, upcycled, upcycled denim, upholstory

Previous Post: « A Fun Tropical Pineapple Stenciled Table Upcycle
Next Post: How to Make Simple but Beautiful Map Roses »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathi

    12th November 2020 at 6:53 pm

    I love this!!! I am using your idea but with leather for the seat instead of blue jeans. I will post pictures on my blog:
    http://www.craftykathi.com

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      14th November 2020 at 1:42 pm

      Thank you, your leather crate looks fabulous.

      Reply
  2. Maria

    18th December 2019 at 6:57 pm

    Truly a perfect match the crates and denim

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      19th December 2019 at 7:30 am

      Thank you so much ?

      Reply
  3. Brenda Young @ Unique Junktique

    21st March 2018 at 2:50 pm

    I thought the upcycled spool to ottoman was creative, had to check out this one too! I have to steal this idea for my place! Pinning for later… it’s so cute!

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      21st March 2018 at 4:50 pm

      Thank you, Brenda. It’s also handy for magazine storage.

      Reply
  4. Jess

    6th November 2017 at 12:59 pm

    Hi! Thank you so much for posting this! I am half way through making this for my dad’s Christmas gift! I hope he loves it as much as I do, otherwise I might just have to keep it. Hehe

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      6th November 2017 at 2:32 pm

      You’re welcome, I love to hear when people make my crafts and DIYs. I’m sure it will look gorgeous and I’m sure your dad will love it if you do end up giving it to him!

      Reply
  5. Gabi

    25th February 2017 at 8:09 pm

    I’ve seen this project on another website and I loved it. Then I read about your tin cans project after finding it in todays’ email from Hometalk, and I got here and found that one and also that lovely Marimekko bench that I totally fell in love with. I couldn’t believe the coincidence when you left a comment on my blog! I’m happy I found you! You have great projects and awesome pictures. 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Armstrong

      25th February 2017 at 9:55 pm

      Thank you so much and thanks for visiting. I enjoyed seeing your chair project it was very impressive.

      Reply
  6. Mary-the boondocks blog

    6th February 2017 at 10:00 pm

    Claire you know I love all your denim projects but this one also combines the rustic wood! That to me is such a winning combination.

    Reply
  7. Jes

    6th February 2017 at 5:36 pm

    I have a feeling my boys would love taking this for a spin down the hall!

    Reply
  8. Brenda Young

    4th February 2017 at 2:44 pm

    Claire, I adore this piece, combining two of my favorite things worn denim and vintage crates! And finally a great source for a substantial sturdy crate for creating projects with! Thanks so much for sharing your project at Fridays Furniture Fix!

    Reply
  9. Claire Armstrong

    14th November 2020 at 1:41 pm

    Thank you, your crate looks great.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Multi-Use Storage Solution | says:
    14th November 2020 at 5:42 am

    […] Nifty Denim DIY Storage Ottoman Crate an Ikea Hack Crate Seat […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow Me

Subscribe to newsletter

Search This Website

Denim feather wall decor

How To Make Denim Feather Wall Decor

Tiled square Boho Moroccan planters

Make Beautiful Moroccan Planters In Under 10 Minutes

9 unique blue jean rug DIY's

How To Make A Blue Jean Rug, 12 Unique Ways

Free printable maps

Wonderful Free Printable Vintage Maps To Download

DIY No Sew Denim Rug

How To Make A Cool Denim Rug Without Sewing

Copyright © 2021 Pillar Box Blue on the Foodie Pro Theme