I mentioned the new ottomans we bought for the den when I showed you the new color last week, but now I’m back to dedicate an entire to post to them + the search for storage solutions for the den in general.

When we bought the Karlstad sectional, we had to assemble it in a slightly unorthodox way in order to make it fit in our space. The end result is that the area in the center, where one might expect a coffee table, is sort of narrow and….not very conducive to coffee table placement. Aside from that, I liked the idea of keeping lots of floor space free for the kids to play and spread out. Abe likes to spread out train tracks here, and when the older kids have friends over, they usually all congregate in here.

So we decided to look for a couple of ottomans with storage inside that could easily be moved out of the way as a coffee table alternative. I expected said ottomans to be a darker blue (I admit I was hoping for blue velvet, in fact), but all my searches for something affordable were coming up empty.

But then I came across these on Target’s website. They had a few different colors, but the light blue was on clearance for half off, which I believe made them $45 each. I would love to link to them for you, but they appear to be out of stock. I was nervous about the light blue because I was (and still am) afraid they’ll look dirty soon or get stained, but I liked the idea of some lighter colors in here, and the price was too good to pass up.

One of them tends to hang out in front of the sofa, where you see it up there, and the other one is usually right at the end, next to the arm.

I’m impressed with the quality and with how much they hold. This one has all of Abe’s train tracks and trains, plus those boxes you can see on top:

But there are still MORE toys that won’t fit in the ottomans!

So. We don’t have a dedicated playroom in this house. And I don’t really want one, because 5/6 of us aren’t little kids anymore, and because we had one in our old house, and I never felt like it was used enough to justify taking up a whole room. Historically, Abe’s main first floor toy storage has been in the sunroom, but it’s shifting into the den these days. So far that means these ottomans, plus a basket of trucks, and his little table and chairs.

But eventually I’d like to see if I can find a place to tuck a little play kitchen in here somewhere, and I want a lot of shelving that can hold baskets of little toys (and bigger toys not in baskets. And, hey, probably actual books, too). To this end, Dave is planning to build a shelf for the corner on the other side of the fireplace from the TV. Like maybe a modified version of this one. I’m also toying with the idea of a set of glass doored Billy Shelves (like we have in our library) for the wall behind the sofa. It’s a tricky area, because it’s basically just a pass through from the doorway to the end of the couch, but it seems like a waste of space to have nothing on that wall. Right now I have the little, perpetually homeless campaign chest, but I think it sticks out too far. I thought I had a picture to show you, but I don’t.

And we actually have another thing ALL DONE in the den right this second…but I haven’t taken pictures of it yet. Next week!