Toy storage which is not a cube shelf
September 6, 2021 8:01 PM Subscribe
Do you have toy storage you love which is not a cube shelf? We have invested heavily in the cube shelf system and organizers for it, but it’s not going to fit in my child’s new room. What’s my next step after the cube shelf stage?
My kid is turning five, and we are about to move. The cube shelf has been very effective, but it is a monolith which dominates his room, and I would like to have some thing a little bit more space-efficient in the new place. We have tried the IKEA trofast system, and use them elsewhere in the house for other things, but he can’t get them back on the little sliders independently. I’m not sure if I should just be getting a nice bookcase at this point, and then finding bins which fit them better than the numerous trofast tubs we have already?
I don’t know. I feel like we have spent a lot of money on bins and shelf dividers and things like that already, and I’m a bit reluctant to give all of that up. But his room is just not as big and I would rather he have the floor space to play right now, and then some flexibility for a desk later. I don’t want to fill entire wall with these little cubes. I have tried to go down the Pinterest rabbit hole, and it seems like all of the kids room makeovers stop at the ‘we just got a toddler bed’ stage. I’m just not picturing how cute room for a slightly bigger kid would look.
My kid is turning five, and we are about to move. The cube shelf has been very effective, but it is a monolith which dominates his room, and I would like to have some thing a little bit more space-efficient in the new place. We have tried the IKEA trofast system, and use them elsewhere in the house for other things, but he can’t get them back on the little sliders independently. I’m not sure if I should just be getting a nice bookcase at this point, and then finding bins which fit them better than the numerous trofast tubs we have already?
I don’t know. I feel like we have spent a lot of money on bins and shelf dividers and things like that already, and I’m a bit reluctant to give all of that up. But his room is just not as big and I would rather he have the floor space to play right now, and then some flexibility for a desk later. I don’t want to fill entire wall with these little cubes. I have tried to go down the Pinterest rabbit hole, and it seems like all of the kids room makeovers stop at the ‘we just got a toddler bed’ stage. I’m just not picturing how cute room for a slightly bigger kid would look.
A trunk that can store stuff but also serve as a low table for games, lego, art, etc. when he’s sitting on the floor. It’ll be useful for years.
posted by carmicha at 8:20 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 8:20 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
How about getting a twin-sized storage bed? (not that exact one, it's just an example). Using the under-bed space for drawers maximizes the use of the "footprint" of the bed. You'll need to make sure it clears any area rug in the room or the rug will constantly be wrinkled up from the drawer/drawers opening and closing.
posted by TimHare at 8:34 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
posted by TimHare at 8:34 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
We just got one of these tower style vertical bookshelves to store board games, puzzles, and anything else we've kept the boxes for. It's awesome to be able to see everything we have all at once, and it's a super efficient use of space.
posted by nadise at 10:00 PM on September 6
posted by nadise at 10:00 PM on September 6
Sorry if this is too obvious but - just in case you didn't already - did you check if there's a smaller version of the cube organizer that will work with your existing bins? I'm thinking of like the Ikea ones that come in 5x5 but also 4x2 and other arrangements.
posted by Lady Li at 11:33 PM on September 6 [2 favorites]
posted by Lady Li at 11:33 PM on September 6 [2 favorites]
The Ikea thing Lady Li is talking about is the KALLAX system. I know you said that you aren't a fan of The Cubes, but the Kallaxes can be pretty flexible in terms of configuration and storage; there isn't any track to try to wriggle a bin back onto, you can get them in a vertical configuration so they look like a tall bookcase or a short one to make a long table. There are even Ikea hackers who've used Kallaxes as the base for a platform bed. You also don't have to use the Ikea branded bins for storage - they make a crapton of different style bins at Target that can fit in them just fine, and I'm actually using plain old bankers' boxes covered in pretty paper as the storage bins for mine.
And depending on the size/shape/configuration of Kallax you get, you can turn that INTO a desk down the road.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:09 AM on September 7 [2 favorites]
And depending on the size/shape/configuration of Kallax you get, you can turn that INTO a desk down the road.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:09 AM on September 7 [2 favorites]
If I'm reading it right you do already have cube bins and want to be able to use them, but the big cube unit is too huge - I would do one that is one square by 4 squares (there's a Kallax one on the site) and you can either stand it like a bookshelf and use the bottom couple for toy storage, or lay it on its side and it can be a kid bench/table if they're kneeling next to it.
posted by brilliantine at 7:40 AM on September 7
posted by brilliantine at 7:40 AM on September 7
We went with a toy box for the family room which doubles as basically their play room, and another bigger one for my son's bedroom. I expect we'll have one for my daughter eventually too. I dislike the cube storage, not enough storage, takes up too much room and you have to make sure it's anchored to the wall.
posted by PetiePal at 12:27 PM on September 7
posted by PetiePal at 12:27 PM on September 7
Whatever you go with, I'd just make sure you can make it visually disappear. The odds of having lots of things in the same category the same size seem low, which means keeping all the books, stuffed animals, plastic gizmos and such organized may kind of work, but not totally work. So don't go crazy with it, just get under bed storage on rollers, so you can slide it out of sight; a big trunk with a top that will come down; a cabinet with a door. Anything you get with shelves should also ideally have pegboards on either side so you can raise/lower shelves as need be.
posted by Violet Blue at 12:39 PM on September 7
posted by Violet Blue at 12:39 PM on September 7
Not sure of the dimensions involved (storage cubes, organizer height, new bedroom), but since you mention scarce floor space: is it possible to use the existing unit behind the bed? Like an oversized 'headboard wall' of storage slots, with the bed floating in front of it to break up the visual a bit. Using unoccupied cubes right beside the bed for clip-on lamps and nightstand surfaces also frees up floor space. The less-accessible area behind the head of the bed would be for longer-term storage, and you could vary bin colors in columns/square grids/on the diagonal for a strong graphic effect.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:30 PM on September 7
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:30 PM on September 7
Not sure of the dimensions involved (storage cubes, organizer height, new bedroom), but since you mention scarce floor space: is it possible to use the existing unit behind the bed? Like an oversized 'headboard wall' of storage slots, with the bed floating in front of it to break up the visual a bit.
Ooh, this is a great idea! Even if you don't use the existing unit, something similar would not only save space but look kinda cool. I use a similar idea for my own room (I had to downsize to a smaller apartment with a much smaller bedroom under duress) and went with a sort of bookcase bed bridge approach, where I have two tall bookcases on either side of my bed and I'll be hanging a shelf between them; it gave me a surprising amount of storage space even just like that and I left the just-over-the-bed space open for a poster. But filling that with more shelves for books or toys would be pretty cool.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:17 AM on September 8
Ooh, this is a great idea! Even if you don't use the existing unit, something similar would not only save space but look kinda cool. I use a similar idea for my own room (I had to downsize to a smaller apartment with a much smaller bedroom under duress) and went with a sort of bookcase bed bridge approach, where I have two tall bookcases on either side of my bed and I'll be hanging a shelf between them; it gave me a surprising amount of storage space even just like that and I left the just-over-the-bed space open for a poster. But filling that with more shelves for books or toys would be pretty cool.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:17 AM on September 8
We use a regular bookshelf, nothing special. This requires, of course, that you pare the toys down to a more reasonable number. Which it sounds like you might want to do, since you describe your storage as something that "dominates" your space. I recommend the advice in Kim John Payne's Simplicity Parenting for getting the toys under control. Maybe the problem isn't your storage..
posted by epanalepsis at 3:11 PM on September 8
posted by epanalepsis at 3:11 PM on September 8
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posted by assenav at 8:17 PM on September 6