As an interior designer, I work on all sorts of rooms and houses. However, I particularly love designing children’s bedrooms and playrooms. You can really let your imagination run wild, putting together a colourful and creative space that matches both the ambience of the home, and the personality of the child.
Including enough storage space is an important aspect of any interior design project, but it’s absolutely essential in children’s bedrooms. There are always heaps of toys and books to tidy away, and that’s not to mention the mountains of cuddly toys!
Here are some of my favourite practical – and stylish – ways to create storage in children’s bedrooms.
Conceal with a Curtain
Normally, clear plastic boxes send a shiver up my spine – you can still see the jumble of items inside, which in my opinion gives rooms a cluttered feel. However, you have to be practical when children are involved. A row of patterned storage boxes might look beautiful and stylish, but their contents will end up tipped all over the floor in the hunt for a favourite toy.
If you do use clear plastic boxes to store toys, they don’t necessarily need to be out in the open. Try stacking them in an alcove, and then concealing them behind a low-hanging curtain. This is a great idea for little hands, as they don’t need to navigate wardrobe doors or heavy lids. They can then see what’s inside each box, and will only need to empty out one at a time to get to their toys.
Window Seats
If there’s a budding bookworm in the family, I try to incorporate a cosy reading nook somewhere in the room – usually by creating a window seat. This gives plenty of natural light to read by, and can also double up as useful storage space.
In some properties, the windows are already set into nooks in the wall, making creating a window seat far easier. However, you can still incorporate one into your room design, even if your windows are on flat walls. One of the easiest ways to do this is to place a line of storage cubes in front of the window, and cover them with seat cushions. If you’re going to do this, it’s a good idea to connect the cubes together so they don’t move around with use. You will also need to make sure they can safely support the weight of your child!
Library-Style Storage
For young children, reading without the help of an adult is difficult at the best of times. Trying to read the spines of books – especially when they’re stacked sideways on a bookcase or a shelf – is even more of a challenge. Libraries often present their children’s books cover-first in racks for exactly this reason. It makes it much easier to see which book is which, and also helps little fingers to pull out the right title without causing an avalanche!
I like displaying books like this in children’s bedrooms – it encourages them to read more often, and the bright covers add a colourful touch to the room. To make forward-facing shelves, I often mount baskets or wooden planters along the walls. However, if you’re a dab hand with DIY, you can get creative with coving – like this fantastic library wall:
Stuffed Toy Zoo
Toy stuffed animals are cute – my own favourite childhood bear still sits on my dresser. However, children seem to accumulate teddies and soft toys at a rate of knots, and they have an uncanny knack for spreading around the house (Build-a-Bear has a lot to answer for if you ask me!)
Keeping them in check can be a real challenge. I absolutely love these cute and whimsical storage ‘zoos’. They’re a great way to feed the imagination, and with the right finish, the wooden varieties can be really stylish. If you’re creating your own, leave the top open – it makes it much easier to tidy them away at the end of the day.
Finally, if you looking for The best way to store Lego then consider buying a lego bag.
This post was written by Anne Haimes of AH Interiors. Anne is a passionate interior designer with over 20 years’ experience, based in Henley-on-Thames, England.
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6 Responses
I love these ideas, especially the book display so much better than a book case
I need to get a bit more creative with my storage, these are great ideas. Mich x
I want the Zoo!! Do you know where it’s from?
My boys definitely could do with some ideas from this post in their room. I love the window box seat idea may have to do that one.
Good post.
Good ideas and guidelines. When it comes to kids room, it is vital to keep it more functional, clean and organized. Storage ideas can be applied to make kids room more organized and functional by storing their stuffs like toys, books etc.