Curves Invade the World of Modern Decor

Recently, my husband and I have been having the wouldn't-it-be-nice-to-move-to-a-larger-house conversation again.  Every time we get on this topic, I always start to think about how I would decorate our home if we could start over from scratch.  Although I do not dislike the mission style furniture we currently own, I would love to revisit the idea of modern decor.

Modern furniture and wall art is not what it use to be, which was lots of straight lines and right angles.  Today's designers have shown us that furniture can be rounded and still look sleek.  Some modern chairs, such as this Ball Chair, look sleek, but more importantly, they look comfortable and kid-friendly.  Even though our twins will be 5 years old soon, we still do our best to stay away from furniture with sharp corners. When I was browsing online, this Ball Chair was the one that our 7 year old son seemed to like the most, probably because it looks fun and inviting, rather than lacking in warmth, like some modern furniture.  What would be more kid-friendly than a pair of these Ball Chairs sitting by a large plush shag rug?

Storage Ottoman for Storing Lego Duplo Blocks

It has been a long time since we have considered using coffee tables in our living room. Aside from the issue of limited space, we always worried about the children having accidents, falling down, and bumping their heads when they were younger. Now that our children are preschool age and up, I think it is time to revisit the idea.

What got me on this train of thought is trying to solve the problem of storing our Lego blocks. When our oldest was in preschool, he loved to play with his Duplo blocks, but the twins hardly ever play with them. So my husband and I started to wonder if they were too difficult to access. Currently, they are in a two drawer plastic storage unit in the corner of the living room. So I started looking at what my options were for a coffee table with storage.

Well, instead of a table, I ended up deciding upon a rectangular storage ottoman. The one shown below is just under 3 feet long, so it should hold all our building blocks. The top also lifts off and can be flipped over to reveal a tray. So, in addition to providing storage, this ottoman will provide a flat surface on which our children can build with their Legos or to put snack or drink upon. It also provides additional seating. Our oldest will be able to sit on this ottoman to play his Wii games instead of on the sofa, allowing other members of the household to pass by behind him rather than in front of him. I just love furniture with multiple functions!

Look for my review of this storage ottoman next month when I will let you know how my idea worked out.

Thank you to CSN Stores for providing a gift certificate for me to shop as a thank you for participating in this campaign.

Review: Vernaccia Leather Ottoman

As previously mentioned in another article, we had been struggling with how uncomfortable our old sofa has become. What started out as an L-shaped sectional with a built-in chaise, has not dwindled down to two armless sofas pushed together. It is just too shallow and the only person who is comfortable is the one who is laying down.

Purchasing a new sofa set was just not an option for us, so I thought maybe an ottoman would help remedy the situation. CSN Stores, a Massachusetts-based online home furnishings retailer, was nice enough to send us this Wholesale Interiors Vernaccia Leather Ottoman.

This ottoman is 14" high and is the perfect height for our sofa. It has been in our home for about one month and has held up surprisingly well against three young children and four cats. It has been banged and bumped by toys and still looks good as new. I am extremely happy with the durability of the polished leather.

The round plastic feet makes this lightweight ottoman easy to move, even for children. This feature also protects your hardwood floors.

For the price of only $52.50 with free shipping in the U.S., I think this ottoman is a great value. The only drawback is that it only comes in dark brown, which luckily worked with the earth tones in our living room.

You can find this ottoman at the following CSN Stores:

LivingRoomsDirect.com

CSNLeather.com

CSNSofas.com

Upholstery.com

Thank you to CSN Stores for sending us a sample ottoman free of charge to base this review upon.