No matter what I do to organize my house, the sad reality is that this is what my living room couch looks like at the moment. Creating this little piece of installation art was quite an labor of love for my 2-year-old and though thankfully he's pretty good at putting things away, there just aren't enough places to put it all.
To avoid ugly plastic toy bins throughout the house, I'm on the hunt for furniture that will hide the chaos, doesn't need to be relegated to the nursery, and will be something I want to keep well into the teenage years.
Storage Ottomans: The one pictured above from Urban Outfitters is really nice at $240, but we picked up a similar one at Homegoods last weekend for a mere $100 that we figure we can easily reupholster if it starts to get grungy.
Credenzas: There are tons of options out there from Mid-Century craiglist finds to Ikea, but we're really liking the look of this metal one from CB2 that seems sturdy enough to endure even the toughest tricycle assault.
Lockers: Yes, they do bring elementary school to mind, but we're seriously digging vintage lockers right now and they'd definitely fit in a grown-up space. We googled “used lockers” in our area and found this one priced nicely at $18 per door. Also see: Top 10: Metal Locker Sources.
Storage Coffee Tables: For living room storage in a pinch this coffee table from West Elm is pretty classy looking and the sliding top is a great idea for accessing stored stuff without danger of everything on the table being dumped to the floor.
What furniture helps you keep toddler clutter in check?
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Comments (8)
I second the storage ottoman idea. We used 2 from target ($50 or so, brown, faux leather) as a coffee table for a while and recently pushed them against the wall under 2 windows. They're great for storing toddler mess and are extra seating in a pinch.
We bought three Malm dressers from Ikea, ran them all together as if one piece. That's eighteen drawers to hide all the fire trucks, potato head pieces, plastic letters and numbers, books, jungle animals, musical instruments and hot wheels. Oh, and we keep the Wii balance board and remotes in here, too. And we still have empty drawers, but probably not for long. Best thing is at the end of the day everything is put out of sight and we have visual peace for a few hours until The Boy gets up in the morning and it all gets hauled out again.
I've struggled for years trying to find a way to corral all of our daughter's toys. Some of her fisher-price playsets and such are too bulky to store behind cabinet doors or in baskets. However, now that she is 4 years old and in preK all day long, I realize our den won't look like this forever. I'll miss this chaos someday. I simply exhale and count my blessings.
My daughter, age 3, has the 'ugly plastic toy bins' in her bedroom, but I don't mind them being in there so much because #1 It's in her room so I don't have to look at it and #2 Because I've labeled each box with a picture of her toys, it makes it much easier for her to find what she's looking for and clean up all by herself. My son, who is 18 months old, has his toys in our living room in pretty, woven storage baskets under the coffee table. He's limited to three baskets at any one time-- one for wooden toys, one for books and soft toys, and one for *sigh* plastic toys... In spite of how organized this may sound, my living room is this sofa times 10 on any given day and while I love AT, I just wanted to thank you for posting what a REAL ROOM occupied by children looks like!
I recently bought a storage ottoman for my 1 year olds toys and I couldn't be happier with it. It was a steal at JCPenny and looks almost identical to the Urban Outfitters one pictures but it's microfiber and significantly less expensive.
Sarah in Nola -- Yes, I love the storage ottoman I got from Target too. I have yet to procreate - lol - but the it's good for storing all the controls for video games and remotes that the fiance adds up.
I've a few 'hidden' Trones thru the apartment. (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30110832) They hold sandals and house shoes at the entrance, videogame controllers and wires behind the couch, and magazines/books/catalogs and hair clippers over the toilet. (by the way, the width of the top is perfect as a shelf for up to 4 toilet paper rolls) [grins] What I love about them the most is their relatively thin profile, which makes them perfect for small spaces. They can be painted to 'disappear' on your walls, and in large groups they look quite good. The price is a little high for plastic, but it's MORE than well worth it.
I don't mind the plastic bins. It's easier for him to find, easier for him to put away his own toys, and it's not forever. He's 5, in two years they'll be gone. Besides, where else do you put legos?
As for the lockers- 18 dollars per door is crazy. I could get that entire thing for 5 bucks here- maybe free. I have 3 runs of lockers- I think that's 15 lockers- and I paid 5 bucks for all of them. The free ones I even got delivered for free. I have locker baskets I paid one dollar each- they are out there for much cheaper...