Name: JM
Child's Name and Age: Charlotte, 10 months (and the room is frequently shared on holidays and summers with cousin Kirsten, 6 years)
Location: Brookline, Massachusetts
Category: TOYS
Items used for the project and favorite part of the storage solution:
Four inexpensive and unfinished pine book shelves were purchased at a local hardware store that also sells cheap college furniture. Each book shelf had 3, 12"x12" cubes. Two shelves were placed on their side and connected one on top of the other with wood glue (and a few small nails to hold in place until the glue dries). This was repeated to form the two side cubicle units. These side units were placed on either side of the steam radiator, which needed to be covered up. The two units were connected with a piece of plywood drilled with a regular pattern of 1" holes to allow good air circulation but small enough to prevent children from sticking their hands on the radiator. Each hole was well sanded since plywood tends to splinter easily. The top between the two shelving units was connected by an open slat structure formed with several lengths of pine. The whole project was primed and painted to match the trim in the room to give a built-in look. This DIY project only took a few days and roughly 200 dollars..
The toy baskets are Tub Trug plastic feed buckets purchased online, orange ones are now available at the Apartment Therapy online store. Our favorite part of the solution is threefold. First, the space is accessible. Everything is within kid reach for easy play and cleanup. Even now the baby "gets" the idea of dumping a toy back in a bucket. Second, it's easily adaptable to the current interest. It's books and toys today, art work and craft stations tomorrow. We definitely plan to paint in a doll's "penthouse" one day. Third, it's easily shareable - separate cubbies and buckets for visiting cousins or future siblings.
Storage tip for families with children:
Everyday play storage should be simple and accessible. If the kids love it and use it, keep it in reach. Anything else, put it away for the proper occasion or better yet, donate it to someone who will love it and use it everyday.
Thanks for entering, JM!
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Very sleek, I also love the radiator cover and the floor mats....I wondered how you liked those- we were going to buy them but they had poor reviews on Amazon.
I have a love hate relationship with the skip hop floor mats. We actually bought two sets to get the colours.
They were great floor mats when the baby was immobile, then she started active play and realised they were one big puzzle. She liked "wearing" the square part of the mats with the holes as a skirt. She's moved onto other things, but she still takes them apart -also starting to like putting them back together. I also started hiding different patterns of scrap book paper or her flat mirror under random circles for her to find. Its a real treasure hunt.
So we like them but I wouldn't recommend them for people who like to keep everything "just so" all the time. The other downsides are:
1. they're pretty delicate, they show teeth marks - and yeah she'll chew on the little pieces that hold them together. I definitely don't think it would be suitable for people who have clawing pets.
2. for some silly reason, they're not really reversible, ie the finishes are *slightly* different from one each side. I'm sure most people -not on AT- wouldn't notice but I certainly do and it bugs me.
jm
I really love your custom radiator cover! It's such a great idea to integrate it with storage. I'll be filing that idea away for later. Our radiators all seem to be in the most inconvenient places. Did you just use regular plywood for it?
Thanks! Yes, regular plywood works fine but you have to be sure to sand it really well to guard against splinters. You can probably use particle board or MDF as well.
If you don't have the time or inclination to DIY, you can also try raw furniture stores. I understand some of them have or can special order storage/radiator combos.
"Baby's in black, and I'm feeling blue...."
But the room (and the kid) are very cute!
So cute! What size are your tub trugs: Gallon size, diameter, height and where might I find them. I am looking to fit them in a similar size storage cube that you have. And, many websites don't have the dimensions.
Liebekim, these look like the 8 gallon "medium" sized tub trugs. You can find 5/$50 on ebay in this size, but you'll have to order all in the same color and of course deal with shipping.
The cheapest I've found them elsewhere is around $16 each.