Playroom Storage Ideas – Decorating Built-ins

PLAYROOM STORAGE IDEAS – DECORATING BUILT-INS

Welcome to Kid Central, a.k.a. the Wilson Playroom! This upstairs front room over the garage (or the F.R O.G. as we Realtors call it here in the south) is one of my favorite rooms in our house. The sunshine pours in through the arched windows and the sounds of hide & seek giggles, rambunctious laughter, Nerf gun battles and video games fill the room with family fun!

I had a vision for this playroom when we bought the house in foreclosure 5-6 years ago, and this fall my hunky-hottie-Hubs helped bring my vision to life! Move over Chris Hemsworth… Mr. Hubs is in- da-house! 😉

(Yes, I’ll call him my “hunky- hottie” when he willfully helps with DIY projects!).

We completed DIY Built-in Bookshelves with a Window Seat and posted the full, step-by-step tutorial with plans, so check it out! I wish I had built these years ago! It was easier than we expected.

In the meantime, the toys were dumped across the room, books piled up, video games, and legos… oh lawd… the legos… were everywhere! We needed to get organized ASAP!  I’m going to share my Playroom Storage Ideas for these built-in bookshelves with you today!

TA-DAAAAA! I am in organized-7th-heaven now!

(PS: see that ginormous blue velvet bean bag on the left? Bean bags are HOT< HOT< HOT! Well guess what? I grew up with this bean bag back in the early 1970’s…. our family calls it THE POOF PILLOW.  After 40 years it has traveled from California to Michigan, to Oklahoma, to North Carolina, and finally has found its resting place in Virginia. ) 

GET ORGANIZED: Let’s look at how you can organize your toys and decorate the bookshelves.

We are a family of 6 and my kids range from age 8-18 (2 boys & 2 girls). So needless to say we have a TON of toys which have been accumulated over the years.

PURGE: The first step is to PURGE!

Purging is a very cleansing and necessary process for any playroom organization. We bagged up several bags of toddler toys and books and donated them to a local children’s charity and to Operation Christmas Child. I think we probably cut our toy amount down by at least half. Having your children participate in this process is very important. They need to understand the wealth they are blessed with and learn to let go and share what they have with others less fortunate. It also teaches them organization, compartmentalization, and prioritization skills.

CREATIVE CONTAINERS: Think out of the box… or jar… or basket… or…

When you start to organize and decorate your playroom bookshelves, try to look for containers that vary in size, matter, and texture, like glass, wicker, and metal containers. I love using large glass kitchen jars, normally used for storing pantry items, to contain precious collections like these pretty starfish …..

or storing fun Jenga wood game pieces. I love playing Jenga, my daddy was a Jenga master… oh how I miss that man terribly.

BASKETS & BUCKETS ARE YOUR FRIEND: 

Where would we be without wicker baskets?  Separate your toys into categories (for example) like Animals, Action Figures, Cars, Lincoln Logs, Nerf guns, etc. Place (and try to limit) one specified category into one basket. This basket organizing method really helps the kids to stay organized, especially during clean-up time.

Use large galvanized pails to store large items like game controllers, train sets, large toy cars, or costumes accessories. The silver sheen adds just the right amount of sparkle to the room with out being overtly glitzy. Your local big box hardware stores are great places to find affordable galvanized metal containers.

GET CRAFTY & CREATIVE:

Gather coloring books, drawing paper and art supplies like crayons, markers, and colored pencils and place them in easy to transport galvanized pails. Show off their mini-masterpieces on the shelf wall behind!

 RACK EM’ & STACK ‘EM! 

Book collections can easily get out of control. Purge and donate books yearly. Group your favorite children’s books vertically and also horizontally. Place a fun toy on top of a book stack for a whimsical touch.

DECORATE: Yes this is a playroom, but every room deserves to be BEAUTIFUL!

My kids certainly don’t need to be told to PLAY at all, but these white wood letters are a fun affirmation that this is the room where playtime takes place! A blue sea fan and glass floats give the room the coastal nod that we love.

MAKE IT COZY!

Add colorful pillows and a window bench if possible. Create a comfy and cozy reading nook. I’ll be posting about how to make that window cushion and pillow covers soon.

I couldn’t be happier with how all these playroom storage ideas worked out for our home and I hope you like them too! Pin your favorite pic and let me know what organizational tips have worked for you in your playroom! I’d love to hear from you!

KIM