Hello AT,
We are trying to make our one-bedroom apartment more toddler-friendly by getting rid of the oversized furniture, reducing clutter and creating more play spaces for our two-year old.
We love to entertain despite our tiny abode, but want our living room to work for both sophisticated, adult-only gatherings and kids' playdates. Therein lies the challenge...
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We are in the same boat - solution, a soft ottoman, simple in design with a tray on top when needed to entertain, and removed when little kids come to play (it's a great height for them to learn on, put toys on or rest their sippy cups.
If it's easy to clean, not easy to ding up, is sturdy, and has minimal sharp edges, anything goes. When my son was born I kept the coffee table I'd refinished years before (it was a junkyard find). The wood was already stressed, and the messes my son made didn't do any harm.
Just make sure you choose something you like. The toddler years go quickly, so it makes sense to invest in something that will please you even after your child is older.
If you get something with corners, you can cap them during the baby's most vulnerable/tumbling years, but that inspires a new question -- where to find child-friendly corner- and sharp-edges padding that doesn't look like you've put crash helmets on your furniture?
I have a table similar to the Eboniste in my living room. I had it built with softer rounded edges and a softer cream color. I love it!
Maxwell, great suggestions!
When our kid first became mobile, I had a dream about her standing on the glass of my beloved Noguchi coffee table. We replaced it with a soft storage ottoman that's easy to push up against the fireplace to make room for playing. I keep a picture of the Noguchi in the ottoman.
Good Luck!
Tanya is right, I think. I was watching a "while you were out" and the homeowner wanted a coffee table/ottoman but had lots of small nieces/nephews running about. They took a regular end table, put wood over the open spaces btwn the legs, added a thin layer of foam/batting (so it's cushy but not too cushy you couldn't rest a wine glass or snack tray there). Then the whole thing was covered with vinyl or leather. It was cheapo and looked pretty good. Finding a ready made one with a storage lid would be a bonus!
I like Tanya's suggestion. I personally vote against anything with sharp pointy edges -- I still have a scar from a mishap at 3 years old! (Happened at a friend's house -- my mom had lots of rounded corners on her ameoba shaped tables!)
WE've had a soft ottoman so far. I agree that they are perfect for babies and toddlers learning to walk.
But now she needs a hard surface to color on, sit down for a snack with friends, work on puzzles, etc.
So the ottoman is on its way out ;-)
I have an orange Jacqui tea table (the side-table version in the eboniste.com link) from a floor sample sale. Visiting kids love it (as do I) when I set out crayons, paper, etc. on it. That's a thought - maybe get two you can combine to form a coffee table when it's time for grown-ups and set them apart with kiddie chairs or cushions otherwise.
We have the Saarinen round coffee table in white.
It has been a perfect table throughout our sons childhood...it was just high enough to fit his little kid chair under for a snack when he was a toddler and now that hes a bigger kid there is plenty of room to spread out drawings, lego masterpieces, games and even (gasp!)homework.
It has had all sorts of near misses with stains (a black sharpie incident comes to mind) but always cleans up and seems pretty near indestructible.
We bought the Scando table from Modernseed and it rules- stylish, practical and big enough to set up a small trainset on.
http://www.modernseed.com/scfata.html
Oooh... claire beat me to it. I was just going to go find that link for you. I love the looks of this table.
If we were to consider the Scando (or any of the other tables mentioned), what color or finish might work with a very dark brown sofa and the following FLOR tiles
http://www.florcatalog.com/service/flor/shop_detail.html?mv_arg=1371202500%2d6949_02
Also: The Scando seems *very* low.. Would it work with the Room and Board Eugene sofa despite the height?
Finally: Has anyone seen the Saarinen oval shaped coffee table in person? I'm drawn to the shape as it will take up less room than the round, but I wonder about its stability....
this eq3 storage ottoman with tray looks good (not in this colour, tho!)
www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/30001-94.html
Love, LOVE, the Saarinen table and the eq3 suggestion!
The ones that came to my mind were the ducduc playtable
http://www.ducducnyc.com/productdetail.php?productid=10&categoryid=11&navid=1&ducid=5343691d62f883006c28114db40ea36e
and Eames tables, like the surfboard
http://www.highbrowfurniture.com/tables/products/ETRT/
to be complemented by these
http://www.architonic.com/1023963
and with respect to baby-proofing, I have found this place to be good:
http://www.babyproofingplus.com/cat10_1.htm (check out the transparent edge cushion near the bottom of the page).
...having checked out your sofa (and comments since I started writing my post), I think you have a good point about needing a higher table, and so the Saarinen is probably a better choice than my beloved Eames tables (are furniture is much lower). Your sofa and the Saarinen will look great together!
are = our
We have the Ikea Leksvik, which isn't super attractive, but isn't ugly, either. At $99, we figured our kids could bang on it and we wouldn't have to worry, but it would still look like adult furniture. The shelves underneath make great storage for living room toys.
I'm the mother of a very energetic one year old, and we have the Noguchi glass table in our living room. We have covered the entire edge of it with some soft table edge guard which doesn't look attractive but who are we trying to kid, we have a kid and everyone knows it. We also happen to have the Eboniste jacqui tea side table in white (which I won in a sweepstakes) which we really like. I'd say any sharp edged table will need some sort of temporary protection while the kid is in the learning to walk phase. I wouldn't go too kiddy in choosing the table. Go with something you'll enjoy for years to come.
This one may be too big, but the look is pretty cool:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1950s-Danish-Modern-Coffee-table-Eames-Era_W0QQitemZ250038642355QQihZ015QQcategoryZ63588QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
IMO the Scando and Saarinen are way too low to be a good work surface for kids. Especially because kids often like to work standing up. I am actually considering cutting down a taller table to get something a bit taller than standard coffee table height. We are currently using a trunk as a coffee table - great for resting feet, jumping, and no corners, but not a great work surface.
This coffee table looks really cool in person. I was thinking of either buying it, or having one made with game boards painted or screenprinted on one side. It's showcased on the Chicago Apartment Therapy site:
http://chicago.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/tables-dining-occasional/remix-table-by-umbra-008593
The sharp corner problem lasts longer than just when a child learns to walkolder kids will be running fast, jumping, rolling, everythingget something oval and you cut the crying incidents in half!
Our solution was an oval table, a little on the high side, open underneath, that 2 small upholstered storage cubes can fit under. The cubes hold a bunch of kidstuff, the kids or us can clean up quickly, and the cubes double as seating for children at the coffee table. Choose one without a pedestal baseit WILL be tipped over and over and over.
In our playroom in front of a loveseat, we use a large upholstered bench, thickly padded and once the kids need more table space, it will return to the foot of my bed. So think of pieces that can be moved to other rooms, for other uses, and you can get just about anything you love.
One good thing to remember, if you've not already decided, is : no square corners. My daughter has a permanent dimple from childhood games & and a table with square corners.
I don't know if this fits your taste, but we just picked up this table from World Market- yes, it's "mainstream" but actually pretty well made & solid wood on top, metal legs & bottom shelf. Simple enough to fit into many styles:
http://s7ondemand1.scene7.com/is/image/CPWM/378161_zen_coffee_table_v1?$278x278_Detail_Image$
It's in the Zen collection and was only $188 on sale from $269.00.
I saw a table at someone's house that was a coffee table that their kids used and it had casters with locks on it. I thought that was a useful feature. Anyone know of such a table?
I have a 9 month old who is just starting to walk. I have been looking all over for a cushioned storage ottoman, but have been unable to find one that is the right size. I would definitely consider this...
www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/30001-94.html
Unfortuantely, there is no showroom nearby. Does anyone have any ideas? I need something that is shorter that the standard 40-45" in length (perhaps the size of a chair ottoman).