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Ottomans

By At Home Alterations on Oct 05, 2011

Now that we sold the organ we have lots of room in the living room.  The organ took up a ton of space so we didn't have room for a coffee table.  But now that it's gone, the possibilities are endless!

Well, not completely endless.  I had some criteria for new furniture in the living room.  First of all, I didn't want to spend over $150 for something, and I really wanted to spend less than 100.  I also wanted something kid friendly since we want our own children some day and we have kid company often enough to think of them.  I knew ottomans were a good option for extra seating, storage and had a soft enough facade to be fall friendly. So I was pretty excited when I saw two ottomans at Homegoods for $69 a piece.

Actually, I didn't find ottomanS (plural) I found one... and had to drive across the city to get it's matching partner.  The ottomans are upholstered, kind of tuffed and have storage space with a smaller ottoman inside!

I thought we could put blankets in one, toys in another (again, lots of friends with kids!) and then use the smaller ottomans in another room or as extra seating/leg rests.

We were a little on the fence about these though.

Pros:

• We like that they're versatile
• Have extra storage
• Match the lines in our other furniture
• Are soft so kids won't hurt themselves on the corners

Cons:

• They're a little too small for the room
• It might be too much gray (I can't believe I said that!)
• We're worried about keeping them clean.  Seriously, we ate dinner on them one night and it was treacherous.
• They're a little expensive ($70 each and not on sale, we can do better)

In the end, we returned them.  If you want them they're at Home Goods in Eden Prairie!

I've got a whole pinterest board full of inspiration but nothing concrete yet!  I also have a free ottoman in the garage waiting to be recovered, but I didn't find the perfect fabric when JoAnne's was having a 70% off sale and I think it's too small for both the couch and loveseat, so that project may have to be finished for the basement room instead!  Do you have a suggestion for a coffee table, ottoman, or something else decorative yet functional?

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