Coffee Table Thoughts

A little over a month ago, I ordered a coffee table from Amazon. Aaron & I were specifically looking for something with storage options, so we knew we wanted a table with a lower shelf on it rather than a parsons style table or a decorative topped table with no storage underneath. 

We chose a wooden table that included two straw baskets that we can remove if we want to, and the table still looks nice with or without the baskets in place. This piece came in lots of color choices, but I decided on the gray tone (officially called "driftwood") to offset some of the darker wood pieces in our living room & to complement the white & gray rug that we have anchoring the space between our couches. 

It was a super quick assembly. I probably spent 30 minutes putting it together. It fits our space perfectly and I'm really happy with it!  We have played family games on it and it's really nice to have a space to play games where the kids can easily reach pieces rather than reach across the entire dining table. Aaron & I play cards on it some evenings after the kids go to bed. Of course during the day, it usually is a toy & cup display shelf but I tidy it up every evening so I can have a clean space to look at when I relax. Looking past a whole bunch of random toys in order to watch a TV show or movie isn't peaceful, so I make piles of which toys & cups belong to each kid and they put their things away before brushing their teeth. One day, I'll invest in a tray to stash remotes & maybe a candle, but that's not practical at this stage of motherhood that I'm in, so I'm content not to have it "decorated" at the moment. 

When looking at tables online, I really liked the ones that had some type of structure on the side. The three-slats of this table stood out to me. 

Online, it appears that the baskets have handles accessible from both sides of the coffee table, but that's not the case. The basket handles are only on one side, so we have that part of the baskets facing the couch.

This is the view from the couch. 

In the basket on the right, I store Avery's diapers & wipes. The baskets happen to be the perfect size for the Costco sleeve of diapers. It's nice to have her items close by without us having to see them out in the open. 

In the basket on the left, I have a few magazine favorites and some puzzles & Avery's current favorite game. She asks to play "hippo game" quite a bit and I had been trekking down the hallway to the boys' closet (where the kid games are stored) several times a day. It occurred to me one day to just store it in the basket here while she's so fixated on this game. As a bonus, it covers up the puzzles so she can't get them out without me knowing. Prior to moving the "hippo game" into the basket, she'd pull out every puzzle and dump all the pieces on the floor together. Let me tell you how not fun it is to decipher oddly shaped wooden puzzle pieces from one another! This solution of storing the game here has worked out well!

How about you? What storage solutions have you added in to your living room decor? 

Until Next Time, 

Much Love, Reba