Yesterday I started on another project for that room and finished it the same afternoon. A storage ottoman. Built the underlying frame which I'm going to have professionally upholstered to compliment my sectional. I've also luckily found suitable gas springs to hold up the heavy top, so it should all go together well. It's going to cost as much as a high quality store-bought ottoman, but I was never able to find anything with the specs I wanted on the market.

The parts of the ottoman that sill take screws (for the hinges) are built up with solid oak so as to firmly hold the screw. There's going to be a lot of torque on the hinges with the heavy top and relatively stiff gas springs. The feet are solid beech which I actually still have to buy (mail-order turns out to be the easiest/cheapest option).

Getting there...