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Before & After: The Hardest-Button-to-Tuft Chest Makeover

Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara BellucciNews and Culture Director
Tara is Apartment Therapy's News & Culture Director. When not scrolling through Instagram double-tapping pet pics and astrology memes, you'll find her thrift shopping around Boston, kayaking on the Charles, and trying not to buy more plants.
updated May 4, 2019
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Wooden storage chest with brass handles and locks on wheels, labeled "Before," on a carpeted floor.
(Image credit: Sarah)

Sarah wanted this cedar-lined chest to serve as extra seating in her music room. Instead of simply upholstering the top, though, she was inspired by a White Stripes song to try something a little more advanced.

(Image credit: Sarah)

From Sarah:

During my recent music room makeover, I found myself looking for ways to incorporate some extra seating. My sights settled on an old cedar-lined storage chest, which was the right height for seating but didn’t present the most inviting surface. I considered simply upholstering it, but one day while listening to The White Stripes’ song “The Hardest Button to Button,” I thought, why just wrap the lid in fabric when I could do something WAY more complicated? Wouldn’t that be FUN??

And so, the plan for the diamond-tufted storage ottoman was born.

I’ve never button-tufted anything before, and I took a couple of shortcuts along the way (like using screws to pull the fabric down, then gluing the buttons in). But despite a bit of trial-and-error, the whole project only took 2 days to complete. And the end result is hard to argue with — I got my much-needed seating solution for about $30 worth of materials and 2 days of effort.

For the full tutorial, check out Sarah’s Big Idea.

Thank you Sarah!