Personalized DIY Ottoman Using Jeans and a Wooden Crate
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 DIY ottoman is. When unexpected guests turn up it provides both seating and somewhere to quickly hide clutter.
The casters also make it really easy to move. Watch it, if you have wooden floors like me the kids (big kids too) will end up riding it around the house. The wheels are really nippy.
You know what else is great about the ottoman, it’s that it’s upholstered with my old jeans and I have stenciled the family name to the great to give it the personal touch.
If you follow Pillar Box Blue, you will know I have a thing about denim, maps, and Ikea hacks. Well, this DIY ottoman project covers two of those bases; the upcycled denim and Ikea hack. I suppose if I used it to store my maps then it would cover all three.
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What you need to make an upcycled DIY ottoman crate
- 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 lid..
- Old pair of Jeans
- Scrap fabric same size as the the lid
- 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
How to make a denim DIY Ottoman crate
- First, assemble your Ikea crate according to the instructions
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- Screw the casters to the base of the ottoman, you will need very short wood screws for this.
- To transform your lovely stenciled crate on wheels into a useful ottoman you will need to add a lid. Firstly cut a piece of plywood to the size of the top of your crate. At the same time saw 2 batons of wood about 1″ shorter than the width of your lid.
- Using the plywood lid as a guide, cut a piece of foam the same size and stick it to the lid using a spray adhesive.
- Cut the batting/wadding so that it is large enough to wrap around the foam and staple it to the underside of the lid using a staple gun.
- Cut the waistband off the jeans and cut off one leg. If you split the leg open down the seam, there should be enough denim to cover the ottoman lid, if not then cut open the other leg and sew them together.
- Wrap the large piece of denim around the batting and staple gun to the underside of the plywood. The waistband of the jeans was glued to outside edge of the ottoman lid (pin whilst the glue dries to help it stick). This little touch to me adds more interest and character to the ottoman.
Depending on the size of your jeans you may need 2 jeans waistbands to go around the ottoman.
- I used a scrap piece of fabric to tidy up the underside of the DIY ottoman lid. To ensure good adhesion, the fabric was pinned to the lid whilst the glue was drying.
- Finally to ensure that your lid doesn’t slide around, screw in 2 or 3 batons to the underside.
The upholstered lid..
The finished DIY Ottoman..
The denim and the stenciling give the 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.
If you want to see more crate ideas you should check out my DIY nightstand from a wine box.. If you like the denim then might should see my most popular post, which is my great denim pocket organiser.
For more home diy ideas don’t forget to check out the diyideacenter.
[…] Sometimes my husband comes inside after working on a project and he has either stained or put a hole in his jeans. Of course, he could use them as his old jeans, but sometimes when the number of old jeans just piling up, well, we can either become a hoarder of them or keep one or two pair and create awesome DIY projects. DIY was on the mind of Claire who is over at Pillar Box Blue. She has created one of the coolest DIY projects I have seen in a long time! A Nifty Denim DIY Ottoman! […]
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!
Thank you, Brenda. It’s also handy for magazine storage.
[…] Denim DIY Ottoman – Pillarboxblue This is actually an Ikea hack. It is such a handy piece of furniture, extra seating and storage in […]
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
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!
[…] image via Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] Tutorial: denim ottoman […]
[…] image via Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] could use an actual recycled crate if you are lucky enough to have some on hand. You can grab the full … Read […]
[…] This ottoman crate is created using recycled jeans and an IKEA KNAGGLIG box and IKEA Rill Caster wheels. You could use an actual recycled crate if you are lucky enough to have some on hand. You can grab the full tutorial here. […]
[…] pillarboxblue […]
[…] Fuente: pillarboxblue […]
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. 🙂
Thank you so much and thanks for visiting. I enjoyed seeing your chair project it was very impressive.
[…] Blue Dresser – Bless’er House A Bigger Table Top – Stacy Risenmay DIY Wood Crate Ottoman – Pillar Box Blue Flip it over Necklace Holder – Petticoat Junktion Each […]
[…] Nifty Denim Ottoman Ikea Hack from Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] See more of the denim ottoman. […]
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[…] House A Bigger Table Top from Stacy Risenmay DIY Wood Crate Ottoman – Pillar Box Blue Flip it over Necklace Holder – Petticoat Junktion Each week we feature a […]
LOVE this idea! I am all about upcycling, and this looks like a fun, simple and very useful project. Pinning. Visiting from the Inspiration Monday party with Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom, and new fan of yours 🙂
Thank you very much, glad you came over for a visit.
This is absolutely precious!
Thank you, Wendy! It’s kind of fun to whizz around on too!
Claire, that is super cute! Caught your well-deserved feature over at Chloe’s blog tonight.
Thank you and thanks for popping over!
[…] storage ottoman is so incredibly clever, isn’t it? Claire from Pillar Box Blue used this Ikea crate to create this unique personalized […]
[…] Claire from Pillar Box Blue will have you re-thinking your decision to toss out your old jeans. Check out her Denim DIY Ottomon. […]
I love that you turned a crate into an ottoman! What a clever idea. And the denim top just adds to the charm. Thanks for sharing on the #WasteLessWednesday Blog Hop!
Thank you Katy, I thought the denim would compliment the wood.
[…] Personalized DIY Ottoman Using Jeans and a Wooden Crate | Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] Nifty Denim DIY Ottoman Crate @Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] Denim DIY Ottoman from Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] Denim DIY Ottoman from Pillar Box Blue […]
Claire, you do so many amazing things with denim! Do you know that my pin of your denim wall organizer is my most pinned pin? It has thousands of shares!
Thank you, Siena. I love working with denim and that is one of my most popular posts. I still hangs in my sons room, he loves it.
[…] Stamped crate denim ottoman, by Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] Personalized Ottoman Using Jeans and A Wooden Crate from Pillar Box Blue […]
I do believe that you are the Queen of Denim Crafts and I could see my adult kids scooting all over the house on this. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend.
Thank you, my teenage children love to go for a spin on it.
Love everything about it especially the denim cover! #merrymonday
Thank you so much for saying so!
This post will be Featured at the next Merry Monday party~!
Thank you I look forward to seeing it!
[…] DIY Denim Ottoman from Pillar Box Blue […]
[…] IKEA hack from Claire at Pillar Box Blue ticks off all the boxes for industrial design! Her industrial storage ottoman has me longing for a trip to IKEA to make it myself….I know my hubby has an old pair of […]
[…] DIY Denim Ottoman from Pillar Box Blue […]
What a fun idea to do with denim and an ottoman.
Thanks and the storage is handy too!
That’s a fab idea and looks comfy as well! Very tempting though with castors on, to go wheelie round the house!
Thanks it is a good ride too!
[…] DIY Denim Ottoman from Pillar Box Blue […]
This is so awesome! I love that you used the waist band around the edges. And dark wax on the crate was a great idea over the mess of staining it. Great job!
Thanks Toni, I love to use the more interesting bits of old jeans were ever possible.
That’s brilliant, I love the personalisation and the waistband trim looks great.
Thanks Julie, I love to use the waistband of jeans in my denim projects whenever I can.
What a fun ottoman, Claire! Thanks for sharing @Vintage Charm!
Thank you and thanks for hosting.
Claire I love this project! That denim top makes it perfect!! Thank you for sharing at TaDa Thursday 🙂
Thanks Susanne, I can’t resist a bit of denim.
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.
Thank you so much Mary!
I have a feeling my boys would love taking this for a spin down the hall!
Probably it is very nippy on our wooden floors.
I love this!! I have an idea of where to put it too! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW’s DIY Party!
Thank you!
[…] on over to pillarboxblue for […]
A brilliant idea and on castors too
Thanks the casters make it nifty!
[…] Personalized DIY Ottoman Using Jeans and a Wooden Crate, by Pillar Box Blue […]
It’s wonderful! I’ve got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later today that features your tutorial:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/?p=91570
–Anne
Thanks look forward to seeing it!
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!
Thank you very much Brenda. I love to use worn denim in my projects wherever possible.
Love this idea! Those casters really make it amazing. Thanks for sharing this at the Home Matters Party!
Thank you! The kids like to ride it with the casters.
Neat idea. Unique enough to be a converstion piece.
Thank you for saying so!
This is way too cool and oh so creative! I love it. The crate and the denim are perfect together! Nice job.
Thank you so much! I do love the rustic combination of wood and denim.
Check you out claire, you’re becoming quite the IKEA HACKER! hehe! I love this project 🙂
Thanks Medina, it may be an Ikea Hack but I still managed to get a bit of denim into it too!
Really innovative! Love how you put the band of the jeans on the edge, genius. I could see this used in lots of spaces especially a playroom for kids.
Thank you and yes the kids love to play on it too!
Super cute!! Love the casters on the bottom- 🙂
Thank you, the casters are really handy for moving it around.
That is adorable!! What a great way to reuse items. Definitely pinning to try, and I’ll be out looking for the crate soon! 🙂
Thank you and good luck with it.
Another great denim project! Love the storage idea. Visiting from Creative Exchange party.
Thank you Victoria!
Thank you, Victoria.