Our living room has gone through a few phases (proof: 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016). It's still very much the hub of our home – maybe even more so now that Miles is mobile!
Around the same time I went back to work in February, we updated what we could to bring the living room with us back into the real world. After two months of hibernative maternity leave, function had definitely taken precedent over form. I wanted to wait until we'd taken the air conditioner out to show you, but this is what our living room now looks like in real life. It's not styled in these pictures, but it is clean (ready for a visit from Kristie's sister Raven!).
The first thing Kristie and I did was get rid of the coffee table. Its absence created a beautifully open space to play and rough-house. Instead, she picked out an ottoman and I crafted a footstool, which are used as intended and as an exciting obstacle for a one-year-old who's trying to learn how to climb.
We also finally (!) agreed on a new rug! Durable, but still comfy enough to learn to crawl on. I'll link to everything at the bottom of the post if you're curious.
We bought two nightstands that Kristie painted and I added new hardware to to serve as end tables. This is the one on "my" side of the couch – inside that child safety-locked drawer are my current cross stitch and knitting projects.
We rotate out the books that are on the shelf, swapping them with what's in his room or in storage. Now that Miles is pulling himself up with ease, all those books are happily fair game. (The pile on top is all library books. I'm too afraid keeping them elsewhere will irrevocably integrate them into our collection, and the baby will grow up with late fees hanging over his head.)
Underneath the couch are two plastic baskets full of toys, as well as a few sets of blocks. It's easy for Miles to pull the baskets out and choose a toy, and easy for me to toss everything into the baskets and nudge them back under the couch after bedtime.
The credenza has transitioned well to being an ad hoc changing table. The bins underneath hold, from left to right: toys, day diapers, night diapers. The record player will, someday, come out again.
We used to have two yellow chairs flanking the credenza, but one was relocated to Miles's room to make room for first our Christmas tree, and then for a bassinet when he was napping downstairs. Now that corner is one of two dog beds we have downstairs for Samson (you can see the other peeking out from the kitchen). It was important to Kristie and me that the dog feel he have a "safe" space, no matter what room the family was in. Miles is not allowed on the dog bed – don't let him tell you otherwise.
I love this activity center. I had my heart set on it, but the brand-new price was a little too expensive. I set a notification on Facebook to be alerted when someone listed it for sale in the Marketplace, and cajoled my dad into picking it up for us once one was listed near my hometown in Connecticut. It has served us very well, and I'm happy it's a transitional item that can grow with a baby (it's set up now in stage 2).
I cried when my sister gave me this canvas print from our pregnancy announcement photo shoot. How could it be that the little outline in that ultrasound is now such a lovely, funny, opinionated, beloved kiddo??
While Miles doesn't favor stuffed animals, Samson does, so Foxy and Blue Dolly (who was my sister's when she was little!) live on the bookshelf. The rest occupy a fabric basket in the nursery.
One thing I also felt very passionately about was switching the knobs on the built-in cabinets. I think it made a big impact.
We have these swing gates up on both entrances to the kitchen (on either side of the built-in) and at the bottom of the stairs. They are 1,000x better than any baby gate I've ever experienced.
SOURCES
Couch: Urban Outfitters via Craigslist (sold out)
Rug: Target (on sale)
Baby gates: Amazon [affiliate link]
Credenza: Vintage
Black and white footstool: DIY
Round ottoman: Wayfair
Cord covers: Amazon [affiliate link]
Child safety locks: Amazon [affiliate link]
Yellow chair: IKEA (similar)
Activity center: Skip Hop [affiliate link]
Letter board: Oh Happy Day
Fox: Hazel Village
Clock: IKEA
Yellow and gray pillows: IKEA
Black and white pillow: Target (old)
Cedar chest: Craigslist
Plastic storage bins: Target
Changing table basket: Target
Changing pad: Amazon [affiliate link]
Changing pad cover: Burt's Bees [affiliate link]
End tables: IKEA
End table knobs: Home Depot
House tissue box cover: Amazon [affiliate link]
Curtains: IKEA
Curtain rods: IKEA
Floor lamp: IKEA
Picasso dog print: Amazon [affiliate link]