Do you need an ottoman for the hallway or corridor, kitchen or bedroom? Then this article is for you. She not only talks about the types, properties and sizes of ottomans, but also, perhaps, will give impetus to the flight of your imagination and encourage you to independently create an ottoman with your own hands from scrap materials. After all, no designer will create a product that reflects not only the style of the room, but also your taste, imagination and skills.
What is an ottoman and why is it needed?
The appearance, name, size of the ottoman and style of execution take us to the era of oriental luxury, when the long toes of shoes were curved upward, and fluffy carpets were spread everywhere. Bliss, wealth, an abundance of all kinds of blessings and bliss. This is how the pouf was originally intended to be part of the bedroom. The poufs then had large sizes, for example, half a bed (and not a single bed, of course). It was soft, like a pillow, as it was stuffed with down, and had no back. And the ottoman, the dimensions of which were relatively small, was used as a footrest when an important person was sitting on an armchair, throne, or had not yet had time to get out of bed.
Subsequently, softness and lightness, low height and the absence of traumatic corners allowed the ottomans to migrate to the children's room and firmly establish themselves there. And with the use of synthetic materials, they conquered living rooms and large kitchens, and even appeared in corridors and hallways.
What can I say! If there is any furniture now that everyone likes, it is ottomans!
Why are ottomans so popular?
The main reason is that the legs and tailbone (the second - mainly in people with sedentary work) get tired during the day, and they don’t get much rest in transport from work to home. When you arrive home, you want to immediately change your clothes, change your shoes and relax, sitting on a soft ottoman, made to individual sizes. After a party with friends, it is also very desirable to have a soft chair in the hallway, which will allow you to carefully put on and lace up each shoe.
This is the reason why many of us prefer soft chairs, sofas and ottomans rather than Soviet-era chairs. We have become soft, we have spoiled ourselves to the extreme, we don’t want to sit on hard things.
Ottomans are also the lightest, and therefore most mobile, of the entire huge family of upholstered furniture.
Master class on carriage screed step by step
When making a pouf from leather, it is recommended to use the carriage tie technique:
First, the ornament is selected.- Next, a sketch is drawn up with a diagram of the location of the buttons.
- After making the base of the pouf, foam rubber is glued to the plywood using glue.
- The carriage screed is marked on the foam rubber. The holes according to the markings are made with a drill .
- After the preparatory process, the padding polyester is stretched over the foam rubber and holes are made again.
- The entire structure is covered with upholstery material and fixed on the reverse side with a stapler.
- The material should be pulled neatly and evenly . There should be no folds or irregularities on it.
- In the places where the buttons are attached to the fabric, neat holes are made using a drill with a thin drill bit.
- Now we move on to the stage of sewing on the buttons. A thin wire is attached to them, which is pulled out from the reverse side and fixed with a stapler.
Important: if you are performing the carriage screed technique for the first time, it is recommended to practice a little on a rough version.
Tip : also try making a wardrobe or wardrobe. And next to the ottoman a small coffee table will look great.
What dimensions can it have, what is it connected with?
The size of the ottoman depends on many reasons. But the first one, of course, is convenience. High ottomans, up to 45 cm from the floor, are convenient because they are easy to get up from after taking off and putting on shoes. This is very important for those who have joint pain. If there are a lot of people like you among your friends, then you won’t find a better high ottoman for the hallway. Also think about whether among your family members and those who will come to you and take off their shoes there are people with long legs, for whom a low pouf will be simply torture.
Children, on the contrary, need lower ottomans. If possible, it is better to have two (or three) ottomans of different heights in the hallway than one long one, especially if there are children and sick people in the house. And they won't necessarily be square. No, ottomans, of course, can be round, oval, or even triangular. A triangular ottoman, for example, will easily fit into the corner of the room.
Various shapes
The shape of the ottomans is determined by the size of the room and its style. So, a product in a small kitchen is simply inappropriate: it will only get in the way, often getting dirty and overturning (all light ottomans have this “Cheburashka” quality), in this case it is better to give preference to multifunctional and reliable stools.
Since all types of stylistic solutions for a room can be divided into three large groups, each of them has its own shape of ottomans:
- Classic and minimalism. The shapes used here are cylinder, cube, prism (triangular seat), sphere and oblate sphere.
- Ethnic and boho styles. And here, cylinders, ovals, flattened pumpkin-like tori, frameless ottomans or, conversely, hard ones (inconvenient, but very stylish rattan products, for example), are preferred, i.e. anything that will add a lot of circles, curves and broken lines to the room .
- High-tech and loft. Using all the latest advances in materials (both in upholstery and frame), you can completely customize the shape, size and color of the poufs to suit your interior, giving it uniqueness and modernity. This is not only elegant - geometric shapes upholstered in leatherette, shape-changing frameless, inflatable and liquid products in bright colors, transparent, iridescent or simply conceptual black - but also helps to achieve an unusual effect beyond the original interpretation of interior design, similar to the interiors of the future from movies (or caves).
Unusual poufs
Fans of non-trivial interior solutions can opt for poufs of unusual shapes, created from unusual materials.
Among this category of furniture, the most popular are knitted models made in the spirit of handmade, wicker structures, plastic products, tree stumps, huge pompoms, as well as types reminiscent of traditional crafts.
It is important to remember that in the pursuit of individuality and original design, one should not forget about the functionality of poufs and their practical significance.
What materials are used
As the sizes, shapes, and materials for covering ottomans vary, a variety of materials are used: natural leather of various animals and reptiles, leather substitutes, fabrics of different textures, ropes laid in a row, twines, rattan branches, etc.
Anything can also be used for the frame: from empty plastic bottles and wooden parts to metal and plastic.
When choosing upholstered furniture, you always need to think not only about the design, but also about how to clean, wash or wash this furniture.
Large interior pillow
It's nice when colorful and bright room decoration can also be useful. For example, a soft ottoman made of multi-colored scraps of fabric, made in the shape of a huge elastic pillow. It is especially convenient that such an interior renovation will help you usefully get rid of unnecessary things cluttering your closet. So, first of all, let’s prepare everything you need:
Soft ottoman made of multi-colored scraps of fabric
Various fabric scraps that will match in color and texture. A cozy, soft pillow can be made from knitwear from old sweaters, pullovers and blouses. A denim style pillow made from pieces of denim with “leather” inserts will look fashionable. It will not be difficult for craftsmen-knitters to make an original cover with large, voluminous knitting
But when choosing a material, it is important to remember that for a product made of elastic knitwear, you will definitely need an additional inner cover made of durable fabric, which will retain the shape of the pouf-pillow. Scissors. Filler, which is perfect for scraps of foam rubber, padding polyester, as well as pieces and remnants of the same old things. Sewing machine, needle, thread. Large decorative buttons.
Any tailoring begins with a pattern. For a round pillow, you will need two circles, each of which will be divided into 9-12 petals. If desired, you can make the ottoman higher by adding a side part between the two circles. Having cut out the parts on the fabric, you can begin to sew them together, starting with connecting the petals. When sewing the resulting upper and lower circles, do not forget to leave room for filling the pillow.
Place the filler as tightly as possible, distributing it throughout the entire volume. If you have a filling made from scraps of fabric of different sizes and different textures, then first cut them into equal pieces and mix. This way, during use, the filler will not clump inside the pillow.
Having filled the inner bag tightly, sew it up and put the outer decorative cover on the pillow. We sew down the remaining open seam by hand and mask it with buttons.
To prevent ottomans from getting dirty
The size of the ottoman in the hallway is not as important as its covering. After all, it will often get dirty from outerwear, purchases brought and placed on it, etc. So everything white and fluffy for the hallway is completely impractical.
Like all upholstered furniture, such products can be covered with covers, but in most cases it does not look so great, so when buying ottomans for the hallway or children's room, the issue of cleaning and laundering their surfaces will be of paramount importance. Frameless products have covers that can be removed and washed, but they are not suitable for the hallway, because they take up a lot of space and are inconvenient when putting on or taking off shoes.
Peculiarities
A pouf is a type of upholstered furniture. Designed for sitting and has a small height - 40 or 45 cm. The width and depth of the model is selected depending on the circumstances: from small 30-40 cm to quite comfortable 50-60 cm. The design is extremely simple, and if desired, you can make such a piece of furniture your own hands.
Thanks to the variety of shapes and upholstery, you can choose the right pouf model for any hallway
Despite its apparent simplicity, the pouf is a multifunctional element. You can sit on it to make it comfortable to put on or take off your shoes. If there is storage space inside it, then it can be used both as a shoe rack and as a cabinet for other necessary things. Finally, it is convenient to put a hat or bag on it while getting ready.
A pouf can either elegantly complement the overall design concept, or become a spectacular accent that turns an ordinary design into a unique one.
Most designers have still not come to a common opinion on the question of what is the main function of a pouf: to make the room comfortable or stylish? He seems to skillfully combine both components.
