Our apartment is finally coming together! When we were in the one bedroom, we needed every inch of usable space. Our bookshelf was full of the kids’ books, all of our drawers and closets were full, and the kitchen counters had appliances on them. Sometimes it felt like we were living like hoarders, but we just didn’t have enough space to store things out of sight.
Sometimes it felt like we were living like hoarders
Now that we’ve moved into the 2 bedroom and have more space, everything has a place. With things put away and hidden from view, our apartment looks much neater and more grown-up. The kids’ toys and books are now in their bedroom and for the first time, we found ourselves with empty surface spaces. We actually got to go shopping for knick knacks! I have never been so excited to walk into Marshall’s a look at globes and picture frames!
We actually got to go shopping for knick knacks!
Throughout our decorating, we decided a new tv stand would really tie the room together. I was gifted a piece of furniture from Ameriwood in exchange for my honest review, and this Barrow Creek Electric Fireplace TV Stand is what I chose.
I grew up in Michigan and we always had fires roaring in the winter.
The first thing I wanted in a TV stand was a fireplace. I grew up in Michigan and we always had fires roaring in the winter. After this freezing cold SoCal winter (well, freezing to us!), a fireplace seemed like the perfect addition. I love the ambiance of a fireplace and it’s a great spot to cozy up as a family. And of course, I love the heat!
I love the ambiance of a fireplace and it’s a great spot to cozy up as a family.
I’d be lying if I said that Jason wasn’t skeptical about the “fake” fireplace feature. He had seen ones in the past that he thought looked silly, but he was pleasantly surprised with the aesthetic of this one. It’s electric so the actual “fire” isn’t real, but it looks really charming. You can tell it isn’t a real fire, but the “logs” and “flames” are the best I’ve seen in an electric fireplace. It almost reminds me of the 
crackling fire videos on Netflix that we put on for background ambiance during the holidays. The look is a little digital, and not the paper “flames” blowing around like some of the other electric fireplaces I’ve seen.
It provides enough heat that I can turn off our actual heat for the rest of the day.
The amount of heat the fireplace kicks out was a pleasant surprise also! We turn it on for an hour in the morning while we’re getting ready and it provides enough heat that I can turn off our actual heat for the rest of the day. I also like that the glass in front doesn’t get hot, so I don’t have to worry about the kids or the cats getting burned on it.
How grown up are we with matching furniture?!
The second thing I wanted in a TV stand was storage. While I do like the look of glass cupboard doors, we see enough brightly colored kids toys lying around the house and would rather not see more stuff in cupboards, so I opted for the Barrow Creek TV Stand with wooden doors. (Barrow Creek has an option with glass doors as well.) We use the cupboards for DVDs, gaming controllers, and other tv-related items. The shelves inside the cupboards can be placed at different heights so if you wanted to store something taller than DVDs, you could adjust the shelves accordingly.
The price of this Fireplace TV Stand is much more affordable than similar ones I’ve seen.
Ameriwood Home bookshelf Wildwood Wood Veneer in Espresso
This TV stand is sturdy and it looks really elegant. We got the color Espresso to match our Ameriwood bookshelf (How grown up are we with matching furniture?!) Even though it was gifted to us, the price to purchase it is much more affordable than similar fireplace TV stands I’ve seen.
Ordering online and having this delivered made things really easy for us with the kids.
The fact that you can order Ameriwood furniture online and have it delivered made things really easy for us with the kids. Going to a furniture store and looking around with a 2 and 4 year old is kind of a nightmare, and then paying for delivery or renting a truck to get an already-assembled piece of furniture to our apartment is another hassle. The obvious downside of the mail order is that you have to assemble the furniture yourself, but the instructions were very easy to follow. Jason, my dad, and I each grabbed a beer and had the TV stand together in about an hour and a half!
No Comments