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Play room storage - can’t decide

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

Hi,

first of all apologies for the photo which is a bomb site but I am hoping you guys can see past it. (We are living in a building site at the moment).

I am looking to renovate the play room. i will Be having wooden floor for the floor but now I need to focus on layout and my husband and I can’t seem to agree. The playroom is quiet narrow of 2m.

My husband wants to put a nine cube storage on the right hand side of the wall in the middle (where the pink toys boxes already are) for toy storage. I disagree I think it will odd in the room.

I would like a two six storage either side and a bench in the middle but my husband does not agree. Can anyone sway me or have any other ideas ?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thank you

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Comments (5)

emgoodfellow
6 years ago
Excuse my post Christmas bomb site, but I would say go with as much storage as the room can take if its sole purpose is play room, that way the children have as much floor space as possible. This is my kids playroom, 4 metres of the cubed storage you're looking at, there's often overspill and we regularly get rid of stuff!
tamp75
6 years ago
The bench looks lovely but will they actually use it? I think a desk / table surface in between two sets of storage might be good for craft / drawing, etc. I’d agree with previous poster & always go with as much storage as possible although I’d avoid going too high as you’d want to encourage them to tidy away themselves & they won’t be able to access anything too high.
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Jonathan
6 years ago
I think it depends on what else needs to go in the room and if the room needs to double as an extra lounge and how old the kids are because when they are young they want to play where you are.
To future proof it I would have a wall mounted TV and as much storage as you can (even if it is currently too tall for the kids to use all of it). I would have tub chairs for you, an inexpensive rug that can be replaced regularly if you can’t get it clean. I think it needs a table for crafts, a dressing up box and lots of stuff that is the right colours to make the kids feel like it is their room.
fullrenov thanked Jonathan
kl55hp
6 years ago
I wouldn't bother with a bench - not very comfortable.

I agree with others - get as much storage as possible, leaving enough room for a play area on the floor, at least one comfy chair for supervising adult, and a child sized table.

To make a loooong storage unit attractive, I found the stepped Trofast system good (from Ikea).

When you put two units together it creates an interesting 'top-line' where you can store and display toys and teddies that don't lend themselves to being kept in boxes. Also a good surface for a CD/music player and lamp. Since you have a long wall, you might like to put a standard unit in between the stepped units, or to increase the storage volume you could put units beneath the stepped units (increasing the overall furniture height). There are also wall units in the Trofast range. These are shallower, but accept the same drawers, just in a different orientation.

Are you familiar with the Trofast system? you can get Trofast drawers and bins/boxes of varying sizes. The extra deep bins (see white bins in last photo) are great for costumes, balls of various shapes and a big wooden train collection. Medium drawers (see pink bins in first photo) are great for all sorts. Ordinary drawers (see white drawers in lower photo) are great for paper, face paints, crafting bits, sorting lego, miscellaneous small things that kids always seem to accumulate (whistles, bubble mixture, plastic dinosaurs). The bins/drawers are cheap so can be changed arranged as needs change. Various colours avail; and the pine wood option can be easily painted. Although it's not as attractive as some systems, e.g. the bookcases in your photo, it is much more practical having drawers of varying sizes. You can improve the look by adding wall art decal / stickers / transfers.

Trofast is also very sturdy system. Ours has lasted years and is still going strong. We even used it for makeshift kitchen storage for 6 + months when renovating our backroom. It stored all sorts of plates, cutlery, bowls, glasses, dry goods, and we could pile the top-line with microwave, cereal packets etc. It has now returned to the playroom. i.e. very versatile for family life.

The above photo shows a unit that could go between the stepped unit. A bit like your bench idea.

You could add a suitable facing piece, and you can also create 'changing station' for any little ones.

The last photo shows a unit that could go under the stepped units (also three columns wide), provided you secure them safely together. Also available in white.

If you google "Trofast Ikea hacks", you'll get loads of ideas. Including ways to include a child's desk in the long run. e.g.
LTS
6 years ago
In our playroom we have a 4x4 Ikea expedit unit with a 4x2 expedit unit on top...the higher boxes are great to store things we don’t want our kids to get their grubby mitts on easily ;) Definitely the more storage the better!

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