Ottoman as coffee table?

[flashy09]

As a paranoid first time mom, I have moved my coffee table out of the living room. My baby is not big on crawling, but loves to pull up. This table is so hard to baby proof because each corner has 2 sharp edges and she also likes to pull up by her teeth! She grabs hold with both hands and then leans in and bites the table -which is travertine - and often she ends up crying and I think she has banged her gums. So off went the table to the garage.

I have seen some pictures of living rooms with an ottoman as the coffee table with a tray for drinks placed on top when needed. Seems so nice for a baby or toddler to have a soft table in the middle of the room rather than something dangerous, but is this very "uncool?"

[hillview]

we have one

[edurnemk]

That's our family room setup, I love it. I don't think it's uncool at all, it's actually very fashionable. The work for putting a tray, putting your feet up, extra seating when we have guests, etc.

I got rid of our coffee table when DS started to crawl to give him more space and avoid bumps, and realized we really didn't need a true coffee table in there. A friend of mine did the same.

Now we have a larger place with a family room and a formal living room. But even if we had just a living room I'd forego the wooden coffee table.

[weech]

We just replaced our coffee table with two square ottomans. They have tops that are plush/microfiber on one side and trays on the other side. They're really convenient, look nicer than our table (especially after DS banged it up!) and are really functional. Personally, though, I wouldn't have gotten an ottoman with a removable tray on top simply because the tray would become a toy!

[flashy09]

So happy to hear! Where did you get yours? I am definitely going to do it now.

[Twoboos]

It better not be uncool, we just got new fam room furniture and this is our ottoman, I LOVE it!!! So much more comfortable for putting your feet up and casually sitting on. Found a tray at Target that is working for the moment.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/tara-upholstered-rectangular-ottoman-dexter-stripe/?pkey=e%7Ctara%2Bottoman%2B-%2Bdexter%2Bstripe%7C1%7Cbest%7C0%7Cviewall%7C24%7 C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

I have seen lots of nice ones but I was looking for something to bring some color/texture to the room. I say go for it!

ETA: Here are the other threads I started on this very topic :) :

Trays
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=440690&highlight=ottoman

Ottoman as coffee table
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=439102&highlight=ottoman

[infomama]

We have one similar (may be the same one) as this. Love it.
www.costco.com/Denmark-Bonded-Leather-Ottoman.product.11756400.html

[jerigirl]

http://www.worldmarket.com/product/brown-owen-bi-cast-leather-ottoman.do?&from=fn
This one looks neat.

[edurnemk]

I almost got these: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/stow-chocolate-17.5-leather-storage-ottoman/s653538 because they have an integrated tray (flip the top and there it is) and storage space. They come in many colors.

[Twoboos]

Overstock has a lot of options.
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Ottomans/2738/subcat.html?keywords=ottoman&searchtype=Header

I really like these.
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Mansfield-Bonded-Leather-Espresso-Tray-Top-Storage-Ottoman/5137162/product.html

(I think my brother has this one.)
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Alfred-Brown-Bonded-Leather-Storage-Ottoman/5036138/product.html

[KDsMommy]

When DS was a baby we had 2 square hinge-top ottomans from Target that we used in place of a coffee table. It's definitely not unfashionable!

[flashy09]

It better not be uncool, we just got new fam room furniture and this is our ottoman, I LOVE it!!! So much more comfortable for putting your feet up and casually sitting on. Found a tray at Target that is working for the moment.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/tara-upholstered-rectangular-ottoman-dexter-stripe/?pkey=e%7Ctara%2Bottoman%2B-%2Bdexter%2Bstripe%7C1%7Cbest%7C0%7Cviewall%7C24%7 C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

I have seen lots of nice ones but I was looking for something to bring some color/texture to the room. I say go for it!

ETA: Here are the other threads I started on this very topic :) :

Trays
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=440690&highlight=ottoman

Ottoman as coffee table
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=439102&highlight=ottoman

The Pottery Barn ottoman is exactly the one I saw that started me thinking about replacing my stone one! Did you buy the matching pillow cases? Do you think a dark brown with reddish hues leather Chesterfield couch would go ok with it? I have a feeling I am supposed to get a leather ottoman as well, but I really like this ottoman and it goes very well with my chairs and rug (hopefully, buying online is a little scary!)

[flashy09]

For those with ottomans, do you store coffee table books and magazines under the table? Or do you have another arrangement? Or will the baby tear them apart when she starts crawling and I should just put them away!?

[edurnemk]

For those with ottomans, do you store coffee table books and magazines under the table? Or do you have another arrangement? Or will the baby tear them apart when she starts crawling and I should just put them away!?

Put them away. My DS did tear a lot of magazines.

[Twoboos]

The Pottery Barn ottoman is exactly the one I saw that started me thinking about replacing my stone one! Did you buy the matching pillow cases? Do you think a dark brown with reddish hues leather Chesterfield couch would go ok with it? I have a feeling I am supposed to get a leather ottoman as well, but I really like this ottoman and it goes very well with my chairs and rug (hopefully, buying online is a little scary!)

I was able to look at it in person at a PB nearby (well, 40min away). Plus they could order it and ship it to the store, which saved $110 in shipping/oversize fee! If you have a PB nearby you could call and see if they have it on display and bring in a couch cushion/pic of the rug. I did this with the throw pillows, plus I bought the small one and checked w/our rug, etc.

I got one pillow, as I had two other throw pillows I wanted to use. (Those are draped over the couch, I have since gotten inserts for them.)

Here's a pic of how it looks w/our new couch. It's dark gray and looks great IMO!

[pinay]

We have used a rectangular ottoman as our coffee table for years. We got ours from Costco and it has storage space on the inside that we've used to store DD1's dress up stuff. It's worked perfectly for us and I think our living room looks cozy, if not quite fashionable :)

This is the one we have:
http://www.costco.com/Hartford-Bonded-Leather-Storage-Bench.product.11118503.html

[kaitlyns.mom]

Here's a pic of how it looks w/our new couch. It's dark gray and looks great IMO!

Love this setup! It looks great together.

[flashy09]

Do you think the Pottery Barn ottoman would have a chance of going well with my couch (picture included)?