I’m pretty sure the moment my son was born a Babies R Us simultaneously exploded in my house. We don’t buy him many toys, because whenever I get him something new he’s intrigued by it for about thirty seconds before it is discarded and he returns to searching for power tools. Somehow, though, there are toys everywhere, so I’m always looking for ways to cram more storage into our house.
Buying a new piece of furniture isn’t something I take lightly. I usually search every store, Craigslist, and DIY site I can find for months, so it took me a year and a half to find a coffee table. A coffee table I ended up hating. In theory, my Crate and Barrel trunk/coffee table is a great idea:
We bought it when Grant was six months old to keep his toys easily accessible while out of sight. Unfortunately, the side cabinets are a struggle for me to open, so there’s no way a toddler can do it, and when he can’t open his toy cabinet he makes a bee-line for the tool chest. Once he became more mobile we also realized we preferred having empty floor space to play, over the convenience of a coffee table.
This is where it went in the new house. It was a little awkward. So, we decided to move it up to the bedroom and get a real storage piece for the living room. (we’re still in the process of installing hardwood floors upstairs, so excuse the mess)
The last time I was at the Pottery Barn Outlet they had a pretty nice selection of media cabinets and sideboards. It’s a four hour round trip drive, so I went with the intent to buy something. Anything. Unfortunately, the selection was pretty picked through. I was about to give up when I saw that outdoor furniture was an extra 40% off, and came across a patio buffet table. It was $720 before the discount and ended up being $430. My budget was $400, so I jumped on it.
The storage is much easier for Grant to access than our coffee table. Pottery Barn furniture is much more traditional than our tastes, so we’ve never bought any of their furniture before. The outdoor piece is more modern looking, though, and actually kind of works in our house.
Initially I wanted something wider, but this was the best thing I could find in my price range. It’s much more functional than our previous set-up. Grant is having a blast digging his toys out, too. Hopefully Jason will get going on the floors tomorrow, before I kill him. Sorry for the lack of posts this week, I was away on vacation and then got a little lazy. I’m back now!
Tags : Pottery Barn Outlet
