Doing up a kids room, especially one that is small can feel like a bit of a challenge. Kids have a lot of things – toys, books, games, dress-up gear – the list goes on and on! Trying to find space for all this stuff plus all the necessary furniture can be tricky in small spaces. So today I wanted to share some great space saving tips and ideas for small kids bedrooms. Having a small bedroom doesn’t have to mean untidiness or compromise. Instead there are lots of fun and stylish ways to maximise the space even in the smallest of rooms. Here are 6 clever and creative ideas for small kids bedrooms:
My friend and fellow blogger Cristina from across the pond shared a very clever clothes storage idea. I thought the idea was so great that I had to share it here. It’s such a simple idea but then simple ideas are always the best! The idea – store your clothes horizontally instead of stacking them vertically (on top of each other).
Just the other week I did this with Anya’s sweaters and it’s not only helped us find things quicker but there is no after-mess to tidy up. When her sweaters were vertically stacked on top of each other I had to get the whole pile out and by the time I pulled out the one I wanted, the whole pile collapsed – you know how it is. And when Anya tried to get one out, well that meant chaos! Now that I’ve rolled them all up and lined them up – I pull out the one I want and the rest stay undisturbed. It’s also so much easier to see what you want. And the best part is that even when Anya pulls them out herself, there is no mess. With the lighter clothes like t-shirts, I don’t roll but fold and do the same – again so easy to see what’s what and pull out what you need.
Next, I’m going to be re-organising my wardrobe this way. What do you think of this clever clothes storage idea? Great, right? Got any other great tips to be more organised with your or your kids wardrobes?
Shelves are such a practical way of storing stuff and you can’t ever have enough of them. You really don’t need to spend a packet on them either – there are plenty of very cheap and basic shelves out there. But just because they’re basic doesn’t mean they have to be boring. With a little imagination even the most basic of shelves can become features in any room but I especially love getting creative with shelves in a kids room. So here are five cool shelf ideas for a kids room that you can re-create using shelves bought from ikea. Each of these shelf spaces is unique and can be customised to your needs and tastes:
This is such a cool shelf space for a kids room. It makes a simple but striking feature wall while still providing good storage. You can create similar using the ikea forhoja kitchen storage units. All you need is a few of these storage boxes and a large piece of ply. I like the natural wood look but you could also customise as much as you want using paint, wall stickers or wallpaper.
Backless shelves on a wallpapered wall look so stylish. You can easily get this look with ikea’s ever popular billy bookcase by simply leaving out the back – I did this in my last home and it worked really well. Add some colourful toys and artwork around the shelves and you’ve got a completely unique looking bookcase or shelf.
In this shared boys room, those box shelves in various sizes and shades of green look great on the wall. Instead of being boring boxes, they’ve been turned in to a feature because of the unusual layout, the colours and also using a mix of open and closed shelves. You can get the same look using ikea’s valje wall cabinets. Paint them in any colour, combine a mix of square and rectangular and a mix of open and closed. They’ll end up looking custom made.
How pretty are these shelves? I love the touch of pastel blue that has really made them look special. Using ikea’s bekvan spice rack, you can create a similar look. You don’t have to stick to the idea above, you could paint the whole shelf or you could go for two colours – whatever works for your kids room. And for more storage, create a floor to ceiling wall of these gorgeous shelves.
All shelves don’t have to be made of straight lines like this picture above shows us. What a creative way of storing soft toys. It adds so much charm to the room. You can do similar with these ikea sinnerlig baskets. I’ve got one of these baskets which I love so I’m planning to get more and do this in Anya’s new room. It’s a great way of making a feature of her soft toys while having a place to store them too. And of course it saves floor space too especially useful in a small room.
These have got to be the cutest toy storage sacks ever! Even though they’re made of paper they’re durable and the little faces and hearts are all hand painted on. We are hoping to move house soon and if all goes to plan, I’m definitely getting a couple of these for Anya’s room and maybe even a black heart one as a laundry bag for me. Such a simple and sweet idea… too cute!
My daughters birthday is in December, just a couple of short weeks before Christmas. That means come December we have an overload of new toys, games, books, clothes… the works! For the first time this past December we had a proper birthday party for her which meant even more stuff. Come the new year I seriously feel like her things have increased 10-fold. While the big things always find a home, it’s the little bits and pieces that cause the problems and the mess. Apart from giving a load of stuff to charity, I’m always on the look out for new storage solutions and when I last went looking, I found these super stylish storage sacks by Varpunen. They come in 3 different sizes which are perfect for storing small and medium sized toys and besides they look great. I love their geometric patterns; some subtle some bold but all cool and classy. I’m loving the idea of having 3 or 4 of these lined up holding a range of different toys. Of course these Varpunen storage sacks aren’t just for kids, they’d be equally at home in an adult space keeping your things tidy.
Are you a Halloween lover or hater? I used to love it as a kid and now I love it because of my kid, who this year is old enough to get it, and is so, so excited about buying a pumpkin. I’m not crazy about the whole spooky and creepy crawly side of it but that doesn’t really matter as there are so many creative ways to celebrate Halloween without a bat in sight! This year I wanted to do something a little special to celebrate Halloween with you and I found the perfect opportunity with Room Cph who have kindly agreed to give away these Lego Halloween storage heads. You’ll find all the details of how to enter at the end of this post.
Room Cph are a Danish design house who work with cool brands like Lego and Pantone Universe by taking their existing products and putting a new, highly creative spin on them. It was Room Cph that designed the Lego storage and lunch boxes (in close collaboration with Lego) that have become quite the Lego design icon. Now they’ve introduced their latest creations which are these two Halloween themed Lego storage heads – a pumpkin head and a skeleton head that I’m giving away. They also sent my daughter one of the brick storage boxes in fuchsia and she’s already filled it to the brim with all her little treasures (read junk). But I’d much rather it in the box than strewn all over the house getting under my feet!
Lego is one of those brands that I think everybody has a soft spot for. It was around long before I was born and I know it will be around when I have grand kids. That’s some going! So if you fancy a bit of Halloween Lego for your kids room, enter my giveaway and you could be the lucky winner. Happy Halloween!
GIVEAWAY ENTRY DETAILS:
One lucky reader picked at random will win both the Lego skeleton storage head and the pumpkin storage head.
For your chance to win these storage heads, just leave a comment below… easy! Say hi or whatever you like but keep it nice! One comment per person. Entry is open to UK residents only for this giveaway. The competition closes at 8am (UK time) on Halloween day (Wednesday 31st October 2012). Any entries after this time will not be counted. The winner will be announced on Friday November 2nd on our facebook page and on this post. Good luck!
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I am loving these knitted cabinets… how cool are they?! And they not only look amazing but they’re portable too. They can work in any kiddy or adult space but I’m especially loving it for a baby and toddler room. The cabinet can be placed on the legs or on the floor so making it accessible for small hands too. You can store all manner of things from toys to books to clothes for the bambino. I’m picturing a rustic, bohemian chic nursery with lots of vintage touches and one of these cabinets to finish off the look.
These knitted cabinets are designed by Beril Cicek, a young Turkish designer. She focuses on hand made products using natural materials especially wood. To find out more about these gorgeous cabinets visit Beril’s site.
Since I started writing this blog, I’ve come across so many beautiful nurseries and kids rooms. Each one is unique, individual and has been designed by the mama (or papa) in question with bags of creativity and love. So I thought I would start sharing some of my lovely finds. Today I’ve picked 3 simple nursery storage ideas that I love. These 3 ideas are for small storage and show how, with a little imagination, you can make a real feature of stuff that you would probably otherwise have to find a storage space for:
1. Inexpensive wire planters hung on a wall to store and display soft toys. It looks amazing, the toys can be seen and it adds real style to the room. This is the creation of a Texan mama called James (yes, a mama – see her blog for an explanation) who blogs at Blue Bird Vintage.
2. Vintage suitcases look super cool, you can often pick them up for pennies at a flea market and they make very useful storage boxes. I love how they’ve been used to keep the babies books tidy and besides looking chic, the books are easy to reach for little kids. This is part of a delightful room created by an Aussie mama who blogs at One Claire Day.*
3. Instead of a chunky wardrobe this is a wonderful and stylish way to store clothes. They look stunning hung on this rustic, minimal, eco-friendly hanger. Perfect for when space is tight but I would choose this even otherwise as it’s such a great feature for a room. I found this at a blog called French by Design.
P.S. If you’ve still got all your Christmas shopping to do (like me!) have a look at our Christmas gift guide… it might just help! x
The colours, the prints, the designs of the Orient have always inspired me for their richness and their almost magical qualities. If you’re a regular here, you’ll know how much I also love the style of the Frenchies. So when I discovered Zolima I was more than a bit excited. Zolima combines the beauty of French style with the magic of the Orient to create sumptuous goodies for kids but ones that will so appeal to mama’s too. They make storage cases, suitcases, little bags and purses as well as clothes, mostly for the girlies but there are some for the boys too.
I like all of Zolima’s goodies but it’s the bright coloured suitcases that I’m seriously lusting after. They are so pretty, so girly. They come in different sizes and can be used for travel. But when you’re back home, you’re not going to want to hide these beauties away. Use them as creative storage for dolls, toys, books or anything else. Check out Pivoine et Tapioca who have the whole range.
Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
Doing up a kids room, especially one that is small can feel like a bit of a challenge. Kids have a lot of things – toys, books, games, dress-up gear – the list goes on and on! Trying to find space for all this stuff plus all the necessary furniture can be tricky in small spaces. So today I wanted to share some great space saving tips and ideas for small kids bedrooms. Having a small bedroom doesn’t have to mean untidiness or compromise. Instead there are lots of fun and stylish ways to maximise the space even in the smallest of rooms. Here are 6 clever and creative ideas for small kids bedrooms:
