the ottoman empress

Moving into the cabin, I spent a lot of time searching and planning our furniture. We had a small space and a large family. A twelve month timeline, four active homeschooled kiddos, and the conviction that every dollar spent on furniture for our temporary living arrangement would come out of the budget for furniture for the future house.

Enter – the $19 ottoman from fantastic furniture. Two of. Possibly the best bang for buck in the cabin era, along with our Ikea gateleg table.

Of the two we bought, one survived the four year long “twelve month” stint in the cabin. The other imploded quite spectacularly after a teen-sized child sat on, knowing full well the top was collapsing and it was not long for this world. The one that made it to the house? Well. Lets just say, it’s seen some things.

The top was peeling. The foam was disintegrating. It was only in the most passing of acquaintance with the notion of “worth moving across the paddock”. But underneath the ugliness, I knew it was still structurally sound – or sound enough for me to consider it worth saving. It felt wasteful to throw out. Mr Barefoot, he who has sagely nodded along to many a crazy plan (including “hey lets live in a tiny house with four kids during a pandemic”), looked at me like I was insane and told me to take it to the dump and buy a new one. I am nothing if not an obliging wife, and so I jumped on the Fantastic Furniture website.

Thirty. Nine. Dollars.

$39! For what I paid $19, only 3.75 years previously. Not a chance. So like the fiscally responsible person I am, I got busy and ordered fabric. Three of, because I couldn’t decide on which I liked best. All on-trend designers, of course. (I think I would have covered the increase in price with just the shipping alone).

And then it sat on my to-do list. From October 2023, to when I cut the fabric in November 2024, to finally, in the lead up to April 2025, as I scrambled for VEDA content to film and upload to YouTube, I got it done.

Only took me an hour, after all that.

And look how pretty she is! I used a beautiful Ruby Star fabric from the Koi Pond collection. It’s only quilting weight, so I’m not expecting it to be super heavy duty, but also? It’s my crafting ottoman. When I can keep the cat off it. It doesn’t need to last forever, it just needs to work for now. And for now? I love it. The corners are a wee bit loose, but I was worried about making it too tight. Next time I recover it, I will bring those in closer. That’s a problem for down the road though. As it is, it’s functional and pretty, and I’m no longer making sure I shove the manky, busted ottoman out of the photo before I snap a pic for my stories. As it is, it brings me joy, and that’s what matters most.