By Monica Ewing, Sunset senior designer

Lately, I’ve been coveting a coffee-table ottoman. You know: the kind of oversized ottoman that you can kick your feet on from nearly any seat in the room and use as a coffee table. I especially love Pottery Barn’s Alexandria Ottoman, but $700 is a bit out of my price range.

Then I found this ottoman on Craigslist, and bought it for $60. The only thing it has going for it is its size, so I’m giving it a makeover.

Step 1: Remove the casters
Because the ottoman is too low to the ground, the first thing I did was remove the casters. I wedged a screwdriver under each wheel and hammered the handle end until the wheel popped out.

Step 2: Find new feet
The casters are two inches tall, and I figured the ottoman needed to be about three inches taller, so I hunted for five-inch-tall wooden feet. I finally found the perfect feet at Bing’s. They sell stained bun feet with the hanger bolts already attached, which makes the job so much easier. I ordered four mahogany-stained feet for $7.53 each. The company says it takes 14 working days for them to be delivered—ugh.

Next week: Attaching the feet.