More times than I can count, I've met a client desperately searching for the perfect accessory to no avail, and I come in and find it right under their nose. While helping with a bath renovation and other projects in this home, the client asked if I could help track down an ottoman for her "colorful" family room (bright furniture, high gloss light blue walls, orange and red accents...in person, it looks amazing, on paper sounds like a nutball designed it). As we walked around her home, I asked what pieces she liked and what she might want that perfect ottoman to look like. We landed on a coffee table plopped in-between her sofas and she said, "actually, I'd love for it to look just like that!" So, I threw out a wackado idea...a red leather top to put on the bottom of her table! Yup, we literally flipped the coffee table over (the bottom was wider than the top making it more accommodating for multiple feet), placed a piece of plywood with small cushioning and wrapped the leather around it. Next time you're turning things upside down in your house searching for the perfect thing, try turning IT upside down!
**while my client chose leather for this top (we actually had to buy an entire cowhide to cover a 4' diameter table) costing slightly over $800 (still a bargain when many ottomans of this size and weight cost well over $1,000), I had also shown her options of pleather fabrics for far less money (probably in the neighborhood of $100). While hard pressed to tell the difference, she opted for real leather. As a note, durability of pleather today is far better than the past and is actually stronger in applications like this!
