Playroom Makeover Part I (DIY Storage Cubes)

A Place for Everything, and Everything in it's Place!

The 1st stages of "clutter central's" transformation…

It's pretty sad when you blog about home design and own a small business that focuses on helping people live in prettier spaces, yet your own home is lacking in these same areas. Truth be told, this is the reality of my life. There are only so many hours in a day and so many dollars in the bank account, and unfortunately this play room area of our house had taken a back-seat since we moved in.

When we built our home in 2013 we made sure to include space in the blue prints for a play area. A space where we had a place for everything, and everything in it's place. However, in moving into the home and for the months to follow, the highly-coveted play area simply became a dumping ground. There was no designated space for toys, books, crayons or anything else. Half the time my kids couldn't find the things they wanted and would become frustrated and not even go upstairs to play. 

Have a look for yourself --- here is how the play area was looking about a week ago...

Sometimes in life I need a spark to ignite my creativity, and the spark for me to get my butt in gear and transform this play room was the amount of "stuff" my children acquired over the holiday season. O-M-G…when I literally had no where to put anything I knew that we needed to get rid of toys and have a great purge (as my husband likes to call it). However, like many families this time of year, I had literally just blown the bank on Christmas and only had a couple hundred bucks to put toward this project. I knew I was going to have to do this in a couple of phases and phase one had to be storage space.

So - for $140 I was able to purchase the following on my shopping list: 

(1) Two 6-cube storage organizers by Closet Maid from Lowe's - $39 each; 

(2) Six Gray storage cubes from Lowe's - $6/each; 

(3) Two black/white chevron storage totes - $12 each

At home I already owned a white storage bench from Ikea (that is about two years old), and I had some decorative crate paper for arts and crafts. The newly purchased items listed above, along with these existing pieces at home (and a little accessorizing from Target) created the first phase of the toy room transformation. 

Here's what it looks like now, only $140-ish' after...

As for the storage, I started out with this standard cube organizer (pictured below) and jazzed it up by taping decorative crate paper (you could choose any colors or patterns that you prefer) to the backing of three of the six cubes. I then stapled the backing to the cubes in a pattern. It just adds a little touch of customization and it's fun for the kiddos.

For storage, I chose gray baskets. I feel like there will be enough color from the toys, etc. - so it was important to me to keep some of the tones muted and also select colors that I felt could transition well as the children get older.

The next phase of this project will include my own DIY Bench Cushion. It's super easy to create and really cheap! You won't feel bad if the kids ruin it --- trust me! In the meantime, my daughter Evey certainly doesn't seem to notice the bench without a cushion and loves the new reading space…

Don't you just love these storage cubes with that crate paper backing? It makes such a big difference right? Talk about cheap and easy!!!

Over the years, Santa's elves have made my children some beautiful hand-made wooden toys, and I've always wanted to display them rather than throw them in a bin somewhere. I finally got my opportunity! Have a look...

An existing wall decal tree from Target along with some super cute owls from Pier One and Target get their spot on the toy bench. I think they like it (don't you think they look happy?)

Here are some more detail photos/close-ups for you...

OK - and I have to tell you - for $12 each at Walmart, these chevron storage bins are AWESOME! They hide tons of clutter and make a fun statement in the room.

So, that's it so far! Stay tuned for phase two of this project as the hubby and I tackle a DIY floating desk and shelves on the opposite side of the room. (Wish us luck!!!)    xoxo ~ Laura