Whether you’ve got an old set of tires laying around, or you’re due for a new set any day now, don’t let your rubber go to waste. Tires are the perfect base for many DIY projects that you can use around your home.
Add a little pizazz to your living room by transforming an old tire into a stunning DIY ottoman. Its unique rope base and colorful top allow you to customize it to your liking. Plus, it has a hidden storage compartment so you can tidy up and hide things right inside your own creation!
Supplies You’ll Need:
- Used tire (We chose a Bridgestone DriveGuard tire due to its incredible durability)
- Cleaning wipes
- Burlap sack or cloth
- Plywood
- Jigsaw or router with circle cutter attachment
- Foam padding (we used 1-inch thick)
- Rope
- Industrial hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
- Staple gun
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Compass
- Scissors
- OPTIONAL: Batting (if using 2-inch or greater foam)
Steps for Crafting the Ottoman:
Step 1: Clean your tire off to rid it of any leftover dirt or gunk from the road. We used disinfectant wipes.
Step 2: After preheating your hot glue gun, glue the rope to the lip of the tire. This helps prop the tire up a bit more.
Step 3: Continue wrapping and hot gluing the rope around the tire, making sure the rope is close together, not leaving gaps of black tire between each layer. Once you reach the halfway point on the tire, cut your rope.
Step 4: To make the top cover of the ottoman, use a tape measure to find the diameter of the hole on the top of the tire, with the rope-covered side on the ground. Measure slightly more than the width of the hole. To do this, place your tape measure into the lip of the tire, about .25 inches or more, and measure across to the lip of the opposite side.
Step 5: Using a pencil, make a dot at the center of your plywood board. Use your compass to draw a circle with the same diameter you measured. Then, use your jigsaw to cut the circle out. To see detailed steps of how to do this, check out our DIY cornhole post.
Step 6: Trace the plywood circle onto foam. We used 1-inch foam without batting. However, if you choose to use 2-inch foam, it will need batting. Batting holds the foam and board in place, so the burlap sack isn’t doing the heavy lifting. When your foam is thick, batting helps prevent the burlap from fraying and tearing by removing the burden of holding everything together.
Step 7: Using scissors, cut your traced circle out of the foam.
Step 8: Layer your burlap sack on the bottom, followed by the foam circle, with the plywood on top. If using batting, layer the batting on the bottom, followed by the foam and plywood. Complete the next step of securing everything together before wrapping your burlap sack around the cushion.
Step 9: Using a staple gun, secure the burlap sack to the plywood. Get as close to edge as possible, and make sure to keep the burlap sack is taught throughout. Rather than stapling in a circle, start by stapling opposite ends. Remember, if using batting, do this step with the batting first, before securing the burlap sack around, to increase the durability and evenness of the finished surface.
Step 10: Trim the excess burlap, but leave about two inches past the staple to prevent the burlap from fraying and coming undone.
Step 11: Place your padded top on top of the tire and you’ve got a gorgeous ottoman with a hidden storage compartment. If you’d rather skip the storage, and have a more secure ottoman, you can choose to glue down the padded top on top of the tire.
There you have it! A showstopping ottoman that you can make at home. Not only is this project fun, but it’s also sustainable for the environment.
If you’re in need of new tires head to your nearest Firestone Complete Auto Care location. Or check out our latest tire and auto service coupons.
