Well, after less than two months, and just one bloody head injury too many, the new coffee table has been banished to the basement, and replaced with a piece donated by my sister and her spousal euphemism. The new table was an extra tall coffee table, with storage compartments inside it, and very sharp corners. This morning’s direct intersection between toddler forehead and sharp corner was the last of maybe a couple of dozen.
I KNOW my in laws mean well, but I really DO wish they wouldn’t make decisions like replacing my living room furniture without discussing it with us first. It would be lovely if just once in a while they would credit us with possibly having REASONS for leaving things the way they are. Like the area rug they tried to buy for the playroom LAST year. Nothing says “drop a yogourt here” like a nice thick pile area rug in the middle of the toddler’s play area.
Now I have three mismatched tables, considerably less table space, and a living room that looks even junkier than before, even though each individual piece is quite nice.
The new table will gather dust in the basement until Owen is old enough not to need a table he can colour at, eat at, stand on, use for doing play-doh and for head injuries to no longer be an issue.
Sigh.
Nation of Three 
Jenn, would you like your old tables back? I know you love them and we can just go back to our original plan to switch the metal coffee table with the IKEA one in the basement, since that won’t be Peter’s playroom for quite a long time.
No, we already have a replacement, but thank you. Owen is past the MOST dangerous stage for corners, and Peter is just entering it.
Besides, the three mismatched tables will help me make a POINT when my in laws come for Owen’s birthday on the 25th.
;P
The new table will gather dust in the basement until Owen is old enough not to need a table he can colour at, eat at, stand on, use for doing play-doh and for head injuries to no longer be an issue.
So what you’re saying is that it’s staying down there until he’s eighteen and moves out?
😉
Pretty much.
That coffee table…
… was < sniff> my first. Be gentle with it. 😉
I know it doesn’t fit anyone’s decor, including the one I had at the time, but I did really like the colour. Of course, nothing really went with the teddybear wallpaper of my office (or “nursery” for the previous owner) but I was not interested in redecorating a place that was (from the get-go) just a filler between “having my own place” and “owning my own place.”
Anyway, it’s solid oak and has held many a take-out dinner. It never once took a chomp at my shins (wish I could say that for my bed frame) and will hopefully support many a kid-standing-where-they-shouldn’t.
Use in good health,
Adam
aka. Mr Euphemism
Re: That coffee table…
No complaints. The corners on the new one were like a magnet for a toddler forehead. Now I just wish I had stuff to match. It’s solid, and will hold up to the abuse really well. And, as it happened, was a much needed solution to a bloody problem.
Thank you.
Re: That coffee table…
If you know anyone who would like the glass-topped metal frame one that WE keep barking shins into… let me know.
It looks great (except the frame is skewing a bit now)but isn’t the most practical thing in a space where you can’t give it a WIDE berth. More than one visiting kid has already had a run-in with it.
Sissy