A seat..... and storage

One of the items on my Wish List this year was a storage bench or ottoman for the front hallway. In the last 2 places we've lived, the stairs opened into the entry way, which meant there was always a place to perch when putting on one's shoes, or tossing a purse, etc.

In this house, the entry is it's own little area, separate from the rest of the house, which I really liked. What I didn't like, was trying to pull on boots while either sitting on the floor, or balancing on one foot, trying not to leave hand prints on the wall or knocking pictures off said walls as I came crashing to the floor.

Better yet, I sometimes sat on the stairs to put my shoes on, and then walked from the middle of the house to the door..... then cursed and dusty footprints later!

We definitely needed something. I started re-upholstering an ottoman last year, but when we moved, some of the materials got buried in the garage. I'm gonna wait for warmer weather before I try and track them down this spring!

Thankfully, my mom was so kind as to grant my wish and got us a cute little chocolate brown leather cube ottoman.

This little guy sure likes it. We were initially worried that it would the new place for him to stretch and scratch his claws... but it's now where he likes to sit (especially when mom is taking pictures of his new perch!).

I'm worried it might actually be a bit too small for the space, but at least I know that if down the road, the blue one gets finished and works better here, this new one will have no problems finding a new use! But this shows it, in scale to the actual wall and area it's in.... I can't really go much bigger.

I'd love to be able to put something under this mirror, but then walking space would be nil!

In the meantime, it's the perfect solution. It's small, unobtrucive, comfortable. Plus, it's small enough for us to bring it in if we need extra seating, or even a little sidetable, when I we are laying on the couch and are too lazy to lean over to the coffee table!