Stylish toy storage units
I remember going to view a house before we had children and being slightly taken aback at the toys that were overflowing from….pretty much everywhere. The estate agent said ‘yeah they’ve outgrown this house!’ Ummm….that kind of made me question whether it would last us as a family home. People often say how much storage children’s stuff needs and before you know it you’ll be overflowing with coloured plastic etc etc. But actually, I don’t think they need as much as our consumerist society would often have us believe. This post isn’t about living minimally with children – but I do want to explore this topic a little before moving on to my suggestions for beautiful and alternative toy units. I know people who just simply buy more and more shelving units with which to fill with toys and that makes me feel slightly….uneasy. Firstly we don’t have a separate playroom so the living room has to accommodate all four of us and our differing needs – filling it with more and more toy storage isn’t the answer for us! Secondly, it seems children may actually be happier with less – they play more creatively, thrive with not having sensory overload and an overwhelming number of toys to choose from. More than likely they end up playing with the same handful of toys anyway…. So don’t ever feel bad because your children don’t have cupboards overflowing with toys – in the book Simplicity Parenting, Kim John Payne talks about what the ideal number of toys might look like – whilst there is no magic number as each child is different – it can be as little as 10 (all with different purposes). Whilst this may feel crazy, it at least emphasises that our children likely need fewer toys than we think they do.
Anyway, with the Christmas countdown on (yay!), you might be thinking about how to store the toys you do have in your house. Here are some rather lovely, alternative toy storage units which you might like….
This is out of stock at the moment but they do restock frequently so I’d suggest signing up for their alerts if you like it. We have 2 of these side by side in our sitting room and stack toys inside in different sized IKEA storage boxes. The shelves have varying heights and they work really well for us!
This one is also really lovely – love the arched detailing on the doors…..
We actually have this as a cabinet in a corner of our dining room for glassware but it could absolutely be used for toy storage!
This is such a cute little cabinet. Perfect for small spaces, the drawer is handy for arts and crafts materials. Available in some lovely colours and a choice of handles!
And of course there’s vintage – which I LOVE! For character, for history and also for sustainability. We have an old cupboard in our living space which we’ve recently painted in Benjamin Moore’s Dark Olive and it has totally transformed it – it was once a wardrobe but now just has shelving and is perfect for all sorts of storage. Vinterior is one of my favourite places to browse but of course local antiques markets are just fab for this sort of thing….or even Facebook Marketplace and the like.
Look how lovely these three are! Some may well be sold (they are all one-offs) but it gives you an idea of what might work – search for larder cupboard or linen press if you like this sort of thing!
One more point to add on managing toy storage – a dear friend of mine places a basket next to the Christmas tree each year for her son to put a few toys in to which he no longer plays with – with the emphasis being to allow another child to enjoy them instead and make way for some new ones that Father Christmas is hopefully going to bring his way! I thought this was brilliant and wanted to pass it on, it might help inspire a little festive decluttering?!
I’d love to hear what works for you for toy storage?