It's the perfect place for a play area. You'll need it in a few months.

The idea of shelving is great. You could place built-in shelving on both sides of the TV. If you do it high enough, you want have to worry about your toddler reaching up and grabbing things.

Another option is getting a matching chair to the one on the other side of the TV. Put one on either side of the TV stand and have them face the sofa. Tilt angle them just a little so you have a conversational area as well. You may also want to move the sofa a bit closer to the TV if you do that. Since there's no picture of the other side of the room, it's hard to say.

What about a nice big palm plant? Our kids always left the plants alone, so hopefully that would happen in your home, too.

I love the idea of built ins and that is definitely on the list for the future. If I were to put another piece of furniture in that spot, should it be taller or shorter than the tv console?

HI -- Try to have the chair close to the size of the chair you have if you want but it doesn't really matter .