Now that Ethan is mobile and getting into everything, we've realized there are two major issues in our living room from a child proofing perspective. Let me explain...
Exhibit A: The Coffee Table
Poor Ethan has already bumped his head on this thing and I can only envision more bumps and bruises down the road.
Solution?
The West Elm Essex Ottoman. Soft and plush...it will be a great solution, don't you think? And I'm pretty sure that this color will work best with our color scheme:
I've ordered some fabric swatches to make sure that the color works.
Exhibit B: The TV Stand
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Not only is it super ugly...
But it's super dangerous! Ethan thinks it's his own personal playground.
Solution?
Well, I would love to have big built ins around the fireplace, but knowing that this is not our forever home, I don't think it's practical.
So the next solution, is to wall mount the TV and find a pretty, but functional {and safe!} media cabinet.
Something like this...maybe not glass though.
Have you scoped out any great media cabinets lately...I'd love to hear!
Of course, baby gates need to happen as well...
I love this option...it's sophisticated and smart looking, but also functional.
So those are my ideas...and let's be honest...a new ottoman and media cabinet have been on my list for a while now. It's just convenient important that we make sure that our living room is safe for baby.
Have you had to make any major decor changes since welcoming baby?
xo natasha
PS...don't forget the enter this $50 giveaway!
for a media center, do you have a homegoods near you? We found one that was really cool there, and we just drilled a hole for cords in the back of it. It was perfect for us and we didn't see it everywhere. :-)
ReplyDeleteYeah we got rid of our coffee table and just use our ottoman too. We haven't come up with a solution for our media cabinet yet. Thankfully we don't have any stairs or a fireplace to baby proof. Just need to remember to close the doors to the bathrooms! We also need the hooks to keep the kitchen cabinets closed!
ReplyDeleteA new media center is on our list, too...and, we found one at Home Goods like Tiffany! We've always had an upholstered ottoman, which is nice now that Cam is mobile, but we've had to get rid of the tray we used on it to keep drinks, remotes, etc...I love those baby gates!!! We got a cheap, plastic one that needs to be replaced ASAP!! Oh, babyproofing...another good reason to go shopping. ;)
ReplyDeleteWe have a shelf that is going to be a problem too.
ReplyDeleteWe've been making big changes in our house too! Our baby gate should arrive next week....yikes!
ReplyDeleteYou've always wanted to get rid of the "man" entertainment center. Now is your chance!! Go girl go! Ballard has lots of cute stuff right now.
ReplyDeleteWhen Mila started becoming mobile I was all of a sudden aware of every outlet and cabinet on her level. Haha. As it turned out she is probably the most cautious child in the world, so we didn't actually do too much child-proofing. But I also have another one soon...so who knows??!
ReplyDeleteEthan is so cute and look how big he's getting! That baby gate is so fancy! Love the look of it. I'm going to keep that in mind for when we have a baby one day. We'll definitely need that for our stairs.
ReplyDeleteJust got our baby gate last week - if you want to see what we did, I wrote a blog post today about it! We used rubber grip ties to mount it to 2 sets of banisters rather than drilling into the wall or banister. Fortunately we don't have a coffee table - just an ottoman in the living room. But we do have a grand piano, which my son just likes playing - no major head bumps yet! Of course, I do have to watch that he doesn't go near it with toys as he loves banging on everything else!
ReplyDeleteWe just switched out our coffee table for a leather ottoman that opens and holds things like toys, pillows blankets ...etc. It is still a great place for us adults to put our feet up, and to have the tv tray that holds magazines and the remotes, but it is not nearly as dangerous with the sharp corners for Noah to bump his head on, which is a big plus for mommy. :)
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to start baby proofing in the next year or so since we just brought home our little girl 2 weeks ago!! I love your blog!! We used to have an ugly media cabinet under our tv too, then a couple of years ago I finally fixed it!! I did a DIY from a dresser I found at Goodwill, you can read about it here: http://atparsons.blogspot.com/2011/06/long-weekend-project.html
ReplyDeletehope that gives you some inspiration!!
♥ Ashley
atparsons.blogspot.com
Love the idea of the ottoman instead of the coffee table! I've thought about the same for our living room, but we use the heck out of our coffee table with drinks and all kinds of junk so I don't know how practical a soft ottoman would actually be for us. Also, love the painted cabinet for T.V. storage. Have you thought about a tall armoire as an additional option for your T.V. and everything to go into?
ReplyDeleteThe ottoman is really pretty! It is the perfect solution! You could still put a tray on it to use for setting drinks down / corralling remotes etc. We have a super ghetto way of "baby proofing" our entertainment center, but it works! I'll have to write about it and share a picture!
ReplyDeletewe almost got an ottoman for our dining room table...shoulda woulda coulda. sounds like a smart choice to me!
ReplyDeleteWe are slooooooowly babyproofing as needed. The first major change was just clearing every surface. I used to have lots of cute trays and candles around the house, but not anymore! Everything is hidden. Just last week Everett discovered how to open cabinets and drawers and oh my gosh it is SO ANNOYING. Now we have to buy those stupid locks for everything. Also: to second what Ashley said up there....we use a vintage dresser to hold our TV and I love the way it looks. I bought it at Goodwill for $60 as is and it's one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the house because it stores so much stuff! The drawers are full of DVDs, photo albums, and toys. You can see a pic in this post: http://wheremyheartresides.com/2013/03/13/an-unofficial-home-tour-part-two/
ReplyDeleteGood luck! ;)
Gosh I am dreading the day we have to baby proof! We do have a fabric ottoman that is amazing. We recovered an old one in fun fabric.
ReplyDeletehttp://loveliveandbehappy.blogspot.com/
Great ottoman choice girl. You know World Market has some cute reclaimed looking pieces and cabinets. . .might want to check. We had to ditch our coffee table and have not gone back. Love having a soft ottoman.
ReplyDelete