No- cost room makeover!

So our living room is an odd space, and I haven't been happy with the set up for awhile. Especially after Santi came and his gear arrived with him. We have a window that the couch was in front of for awhile, but Santi is always itching to look out of it. So I decided to see if I could move the couches around and make it accessible to him, as well as not take up too much of the space, and create a designated play space for him.


For reference, this is what our living room looked like before:

I started by moving everything out of the existing space where the television was going to go. In the process I discovered a little issue and a new friend:

 (If you can't see in the above photo, there's a lovely little spider waiting to say "hi" on the baseboard.) And the basket was covered in green, dusty mold. I tried to clean it off, but I think we might just be tossing the basket - mold is something I don't mess around with!

After cleaning everything off, and putting some Super Sliders under the feet of the television table (otherwise there's no way I could move it with the, what must be, 600lb television on top of it!) I started moving everything.

We had to be careful because we have to "folding" shelves (purchased a few years ago at Target on super clearance - I got them both for $5 each!) that Santi isn't allowed to be near since they aren't anchored to the wall. In the old furniture arrangement, we solved the issue by putting them behind the couches where he couldn't reach. But that wasn't an option with the new arrangement.

It took me about an hour or so to move everything and get it all back into place (I did this during Santi's nap time) and once I did - voila!

This is right as you enter the room

 View from our dining area

I was able to keep one shelf our of Santi's grasp behind the couch. You can still see the things on it but it's mostly storage for some knick knacks (all from Peru) on the top and the bottom shelf holds our games.

This is the best space I think. I've since added another row of the letters where Santi can play with his pull and go cars. I wish I had taken a video because after his nap, I put him down and he walked behind me into the living room and the first thing he said was "Oh!" when he saw the changes. It was too cute!

This is the best part - Santi can now see out the window, watch the people who walk by in the complex (there's a playground right out the window so he can see the big kids play, or look at the "wow wows" (which is his word for dog) or the cars just beyond. He's so happy he can see out now without having us hold him up on the couch.

So there you have it - my room "makeover" for no cost!