coffee table ottomans

I am making a confession...our living room does not have a coffee table and its been that way for over a year now.

So when guests come over, we serve our drinks on the dining table. Our remote control sits on the side table, or on the arm of the sofa. So do my books and magazines.

I've never really considered the coffee table as a necessity, and never really thought it was practical for bigger families for these three reasons:
1. they take up floor space which is a problem if you don't have a huge living room
2. our toddler likes an open space to toddle on the carpet as we watch TV
3. it's not really kid-friendly as kids may bump and hurt themselves on them.

So I have long been considering using ottomans as an alternative to the traditional coffee table. They are more friendly to children, can double up as extra seating and look great too.

Here are some of my favourites.

Image from here

This ottoman is more of an upholstered bench. I love the colour and the shape. It's a good size too to fit in your serving tray and some knick knacks.

Image from here

In this image, this ottoman could be the focal point of the room!

You can also have 2 smaller ottomans so that they can be easily moved to the side when you need extra seating and space:

Image taken from here

Or you could even have it both ways - an ottoman AND a coffee table layered on top! How pretty is that? It reminds me of those breakfast in bed trays:

Image source

The next time you scout for a coffee table, do consider ottomans for their multi-functionality!