Not Just for Feet: Alternative Uses for Ottomans

The ottoman has become an extremely popular piece of furniture to include in many living rooms, family rooms, game rooms and dens. Many ottomans are purchased to match a specific chair or couch that is part of your room’s other furnishings. Ottomans can make spending time with your feet up much more enjoyable, but ottomans are not just for feet! Learn about the different ways you can use ottomans in the living areas of your house as a fun and functional piece of furniture.

First, remember that ottoman usage should not be restricted to just one particular area of your home. If you have seating areas in your master bedroom or in guest rooms, these can also be the perfect place to include an ottoman. Similarly, one good turn deserves another: you can certainly include more than one ottoman in a living area, or include ottomans in multiple living areas within your home. Ottomans add to your overall décor not just in how many are used and coordinated with your other furniture but how your room designs allow for their use and display.

Next, stop thinking of an ottoman as simply a box with a piece of cushioning on top where you can rest your feet. The base of the ottoman can be used for storage. Many furniture companies have begun producing ottomans that double as living area storage spaces. Think about how many different items you might want to store or hide away in your living room. Books, CD’s, movies and games need a place to be stored when they are not being used. Instead of relegating these items to a closet or attic, or in a pile because you have no other options, consider using a storage ottoman to store them away neatly and tidily and with no fuss. You can find storage ottomans in a variety of sizes and designs to make them perfect for all of your storage needs. In addition, some storage ottomans have built-in organization centers inside, so that you can easily line up everything that will be stored, instead of creating just a random pile of stuff.

Also, consider the design of an ottoman. It is a box with a piece of cushioning on top. Okay – what other piece of furniture does that sound like? A chair! Do you need extra seating areas in your living room? An ottoman can double as a chair in many situations. If it is comfortable enough to rest your feet on, it is surely comfortable enough to sit on. In fact, some new and innovative designs for living areas include modular furniture that are simply various ottomans arranged for seating spaces. In other words, you can abandon your typical family room furniture and simply use a variety of ottomans to create a cozy, warm and inviting space in which to spend time with your family and friends.

The living room is used for many other activities besides watching TV. Many times, the people in your household settle in a living room to eat, do homework or work on a laptop. All of these activities could use your ottoman to become that much easier to undertake. For instance, an ottoman can double as a portable table to balance your plates on as you eat dinner. You may even be able to find a special hard-topped cover to go over your ottoman so that you can safely balance plates without the risking of spillage (some ottomans come with reversible lids, where one side is padded and the other is a solid tray to use as a table). For laptops and homework, you can use ottomans in a similar fashion. Whether you are sitting on your couch or on the floor, you can use your ottoman to prop up your work. Although some people prefer to complete each of these activities in other rooms, working and eating in your living area can give you and your family an added opportunity to spend time together while accomplishing other activities.

The ottoman is truly a multifunctional piece of furniture. By remembering that it is not simply a cushioned box where you can rest your feet, you can best take advantage of its convenience and use it to make a variety of common activities that much easier to accomplish. From game table to party central, ottomans add both storage and seating space as well as the perfect place to lounge around in comfort. And they can be an inexpensive way to add a touch of color to the room or complete your décor in a particular style. Any shape, size or color you can imagine, you can find an ottoman to match.

Sandy Darson is a freelance writer who writes about home decorating and space saving ideas.Ms.Darson also writes about specific pieces of furniture such as ottomans

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Previously, I referred to the horrific genocidal experiences that amputated Armenians from Ottoman Turkish society during WWI and cost the lives of scores of men, women and children - including members of my own family.
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