Ask Apartment Apothecary – storage for children’s rooms

Today’s AAA is for Jess, who emailed me to ask for ideas for practical storage for her 10 month old baby’s room, that will be appealing as he grows into a toddler, yet still stylish. These are a few of the ideas that I have found…

1. Chalk board crates on castors

It just so happens that I am in the middle of the DIY project for wellie boot storage for my hallway (lots of muddy dog walks begin again with the coming of Autumn) that will double perfectly for appealing, stylish storage for children’s rooms and will look something like these crates on castors.ย By painting the crates with chalkboard paint (see a tutorial I did for that here) they are appealing to children as they can scribble all over them, instead of your walls. They are also easy for toddlers to manoeuvre because of the castors and can be stored under a bed or under tables, like in this room. Watch out for the tutorial next week…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: Flickr

2. Bookcase seat

I’ve always loved this idea of placing a bookshelf on it’s side to make a storage seat. These bookcases are from Ikea and I had them in my classroom when I was a teacher, but never got round to making the seat. However, you could just use a bunch of cushions, if you can’t make the seat yourself. It is just the right height for little bottoms and you can store all sorts in the baskets. Paint it with Annie Sloan chalk paint to make it colourful and appealing, or you could choose beautiful fabric for the cushion and make it really stylish…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: I Heart Organizing

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: I Heart Organising

3. Toddler friendly book shelves

The Ikea picture ledges that I featured on the blog this week are perfect for storing children’s books as they can easily take them on and off the shelf without pulling a whole shelf of books from a bookcase. Hang them at toddler height so they can be in control. I like this little reading corner…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: Pinterest

4. Animal hooks

If you are a regular reader, you will know that I love a hook or two (I talk about them a bit too much, I think, and they seem to be my solution to everything!). Well, they are perfect for children’s rooms to keep clothes, costumes, even storage baskets off the floor. To make them appealing to children, so that they want to use them, I love this idea by Liz, over at Say Yes blog. Pop over for ย the DIY tutorial…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: Say Yes

5. DIY toy box

Another way to use a crate is to add a padded seat. These are really easy to make (a good bit of staple gun action) and I think they look great. Surely a child would like to ride around on one of these too? There’s a great tutorial over on This Little Street blog…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: This Little Street

6 Letter press drawers

To store smaller toys, I love this use of antique letter press drawers. You can buy these really cheaply, I have one that I got for ยฃ4 – search for letterpress drawer on eBay. You can either paint it or cover with wrapping paper to make it exciting for children to use…

Ask Apartment Apothecary - storage for children's rooms

Image from: Retro Villa

I really hope you and your baby like some of these ideas, Jess! Thank you for asking ๐Ÿ™‚

Katy x

 

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12 Comments

  1. Marta
    9th October 2014 / 6:36 pm

    The last idea is great. I’m going to try that with wrapping paper.

    • katy
      10th October 2014 / 9:01 am

      Great, Marta! I would love to see a pic of it once it’s done! x

  2. Farah
    9th October 2014 / 7:28 pm

    Brilliant- so useful.

    • katy
      10th October 2014 / 9:09 am

      Thanks, Farah x

  3. Cathy
    10th October 2014 / 8:35 am

    These are such great ideas and relatively cheap too – children’s furniture can cost a fortune. I’ll be looking out for your DIY post for the first idea ๐Ÿ˜‰

    • katy
      10th October 2014 / 9:08 am

      The cheaper the better in my book, Cathy! I hope you find the DIY tutorial helpful x

  4. Jess
    13th October 2014 / 9:18 am

    Thank you so much Katy! I love these ideas, and especially that they aren’t expensive. I think you’ve also solved another problem I had – a painted create on casters will make a tasteful toy box for my living room.
    Thanks again
    Jess x

    • katy
      13th October 2014 / 10:20 am

      I’m so glad it’s useful, Jess! If you pop into any wine shop they will give you wine crates for free and they are a good shape and size for toys x

      • Jess
        13th October 2014 / 6:40 pm

        Ha! I was looking at them on ebay for ยฃ10 each! Thanks (once again ).

  5. 13th October 2014 / 9:45 pm

    Hi Katy,
    I love these ideas ๐Ÿ™‚ I have an AAA question – I’m looking for attractive ways to display and Fran Instagram photos. I’m not really keen on the pegging the up displays that I’ve seen in lots of places but would prefer some smarter ideas if you’ve come across any ๐Ÿ™‚

    Lorna x

    • katy
      14th October 2014 / 2:30 pm

      That is a tricky one, Lorna! I’m doing CD and DVD storage this week so could tackle yours next week x

  6. 13th October 2014 / 9:46 pm

    Oops that should say frame not Fran (I don’t know who she is) sorry ๐Ÿ™‚

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