As I all shared with you a few weeks ago, my sister was going to be getting an apartment. This past weekend I went to visit her and we went shopping for furniture and moved in some of her belongings! Super exciting! I love furniture shopping but I also love finding good pieces for a decent price. Her apartment is super cute and I’ll share some of our finds once she is officially settled.

In the meantime I’m going to give you a tutorial for a DIY tire ottoman I made for her living room. This is a fairly simple DIY requiring little materials or skill.

Materials Needed:

1 used tire, cleaned

Sisal Rope – 250 ft of 3/8″

MDF board – 2×4 ft

jigsaw

Glue gun

gluesticks

8 small screws

Table legs, optional

Disclaimer: I am no expert when it comes to building or using power tools. I simply take standard safety precautions when using them. You should too, always. If you ever become uncomfortable with any steps while building or thing that something might be above your skill level, seek professional help and guidance. Please read the disclosures for more information.

Step 1: Pull out your tire and create your template for your MDF board. The MDF board should cover the entire top and bottom of the tire. I did this by screwing a hole in the middle of the board, then measuring from the hole outward and marking my cut lines.

Step 2: Cut out both the top and bottom pieces using a jigsaw.

Step 3: Secure the MDF board to the thick part of the tire with small screws. I used 4 for the top and 4 for the bottom.

Step 4: Start gluing rope in a circular pattern starting from the center of the board. Continue on until you reach the bottom MDF board.

Step 5: Attach legs if you choose to. If you decide to put legs on your ottoman, then you don’t need to cover the bottom MDF board with rope. If you choose to set the ottoman directly on the ground, you should cover the tire for a seamless look.

Tips:

1. If you choose to attach legs to the bottom, plywood would be a better option instead of MDF as the legs tend to move and the MDF board splinters.
2. Make sure your MDF or plywood top and bottom line up with the whole width of the tire to create a seamless transition with the rope.
3. I do not recommend leaving this outside due to water damage and the potential to accumulate water.
4. The larger diameter the rope, the better. The smaller the rope, the more you will need and the more expensive the project will be. I was a little naive regarding how expensive silas rope is. This isn’t exactly a cheap project unless you have many of the materials already.
5. There will be rope fragments that will stick out from your ottoman. I suggest using a sealant if the rough edges will bother you.