NEW OTTOMAN FABRIC AND GOLD LEAF TRAY

I did it again. I decided it was time for a change in our living room. After searching once again for the prefect fabric, I finally recovered our ottoman for the second time. I’m about to start decorating for Christmas this coming weekend, for all of my blog hops and tours that are coming up in the next month, and I’ve talked before about changing it up in here for something more neutral. This season, I wanted a different look for Christmas than last year, where I kept the blues as a dominant color – you can see last year’s tour here.

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The blue ottoman that you’ve all grown so used to seeing, needed to go. At least for now… So let’s talk about the new ottoman fabric and gold leaf tray you see sitting on top. I’m sharing a DIY tutorial and sources at the bottom of this post, so if you’re feeling adventurous and want to add a little glam, it’s perfect for you!

My biggest challenge for this new upholstery was the cost. I knew I wanted something neutral, so it would take a backseat to the rest of the decor I’ll be bringing in. Neutral fabric is not hard to come by, however the perfect pattern was simply not something I was able to find without spending more than I wanted. I wanted to pay the absolute minimum to get this done, since I know I’ll change it up again.I still love the blue batik print motif (shown below) and I wanted to use something that I could easily remove in the Spring or Summer, hence the reason I wanted to keep the cost down. This shot is from my Fall home tour, which you can see more of here. I played off the blues for Fall and wanted pops of rich, saturated color around our home.

I still have my blue accents right now, and I’m contemplating how I’ll be using them for the holidays. I LOVE my blue and white collection as most of you know, so I don’t want to remove it completely. However, I am most definitely feeling it’s time for some changes and I’d like to downplay them a little bit.Speaking of changes, do you notice something different in the background? Look closely and you’ll see that my beloved ikat drapes are no longer hanging in the dining room. That’s right, changes are happening in there as well!  I’ve shared the evolution of our dining room throughout many posts. These white drapes are the ones I had originally used in the space when we first moved in six years ago. That room has seen many changes since then – I’ve gone from simple and clean to an eclectic mix of pattern on pattern on pattern. With the changes I’m making, I’ve decided to pare it back somewhat, so make sure you keep your eyes open for some updates coming very soon!

Getting back to the ottoman, if I had found the perfect fabric that I wanted to invest in, I could have sewn a cover and used velcro to secure it underneath. Instead, I opted to use a tablecloth, which is what I did the first time I recovered it (see more of that here), and I was fortunate to find the perfect color and pattern.I used a staple gun to fasten it underneath, and carefully folded the corners to get a nice tight fit. It’s not perfect, and still needs a few nips and tucks here and there. I made sure to secure the staples about an inch away from the existing staples holding the blue fabric, to ensure easy removal later.

I’ve had every intention of painting the feet a high gloss black for a sophisticated edge (which were also changed from the original ones), and I still plan to eventually get around to it! Maybe after the holidays…I have a lot to do in the coming weeks!
I definitely feel I made the right decision with this neutral fabric and the more I look at it, I wonder if it will stay around longer than I’d anticipated. I’ll have to see what I want to do after the holidays. The fun part about it is that I spent very little to create this look and I won’t feel bad about removing it or changing it up again.
Tell me what you think! Do you like the new ottoman or the old one? I love to hear your thoughts.

Keep scrolling further for my gold leaf tray makeover…

GET THE LOOK OF OUR LIVING ROOM :

HERE’S A QUICK AND EASY HOW-TO :

My first experience with gold leaf was more or less a successful one. I can tell you it was tricky to keep the gold leaf paper from tearing or wrinkling during the process. If you’re sure to handle it very carefully, you will be fine. Using the wax paper is key, as the gold leaf will stick to your fingers. Some papers come with wax paper already included with the sheets. This one did not, I used my own wax paper here, and I simply cut it to the appropriate size. I then placed it on the leaf paper to pick it up – it sticks directly to it and makes it easy to handle. Sometimes it was not sticking, so it got a little difficult, but I managed.
I decided to use the paint to touch it up between all the sheets that I’d stuck down, as well as around the edges of the tray, on both sides. The booklet I purchased had 25 sheets, and I would have needed two to complete the job. I opted for the paint to finish it off instead. You can see the leaf texture on the tray between the books. 

I tried to create a textured look with the paint as well, for a consistent finish all around.A few touch ups are still needed on some of the edges.Over all, I’m very happy with how this project turned out. I purchased my tray on liquidation a few years ago for about $25. I spent another $40 on materials. For $65 I now have a very chic addition to our living room, which I love.

I love to use design books and objects on this tray. In fact, I use trays all over the house for various displays. They are such a fabulous accessory to have, you can read more about how I like to use them in different ways here. Trust me when I tell you, once you start using them, you will keep wanting more! Everything looks much more elegant and purposeful on a tray. Tell me what you think and if you’ve ever tried to leaf something. I want to know how it went!

SHOP TRAYS HERE :

SHOP GOLD LEAF SUPPLIES HERE :

SHOP THE LOOK OF OUR TRAY HERE :