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Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)

21 replies

BlueSpool · 28/01/2023 20:04

Our playroom is looking a bit disheveled and dull and I'd love to organise it a bit better and brighten it up. We have 4 DCs aged 9 down to 2, so there is a vast array of toys of different sizes and types.

We made the mistake originally of giving each DC their own doored cube, but this has kind of backfired on us as these are now stuffed to the brim with tat that never gets used because as soon as you open the door, an avalanche falls out 🙈

I have the boxes filled by type, eg cars, figures, Duplo etc, but despite everyone knowing what goes where, the boxes get mixed and things get lost/buried.

I know that obviously there will be toys on display as it is a playroom, but I would love it to look a bit neater, be more organised and most of all, be brighter and more child friendly. Would love any ideas 😁

Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)
Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)
Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)
OP posts:
BlueSpool · 28/01/2023 20:05

Pmsl at Mr Bean's face, he's not impressed with the room either 😂

OP posts:
BlueSpool · 29/01/2023 09:11

Anyone? 🙂

OP posts:
TeenDivided · 29/01/2023 09:15

I honestly don't know what your problem is. For a playroom that is incredibly tidy.
You could buy different coloured boxes (or whatever they are called) to go in the cubes, that would brighten it up a bit.

(I expect the rest of your house is like a show house!)

SlinkySienna · 29/01/2023 09:17

If it were me I'd get rid of the TV (unless you don't have one anywhere else?) and sofa, put the kallax units against the walls, put a big rug down with some beanbags or get a smaller sofa, pics and shelves on the walls etc

TeenDivided · 29/01/2023 09:21

SlinkySienna · 29/01/2023 09:17

If it were me I'd get rid of the TV (unless you don't have one anywhere else?) and sofa, put the kallax units against the walls, put a big rug down with some beanbags or get a smaller sofa, pics and shelves on the walls etc

A board with their artwork would be nice.
I don't like grey much....

hopeishere · 29/01/2023 09:25

Do an absolutely massive clear out. Be ruthless. Don't buy any more toys for a while.

Get rid of the blind and get some lamps.

Big bright rug.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 29/01/2023 09:27

I'd turn the taller kallaxes on their sides and run them the length under the tv. Gives a playing surface for sets of toys (eg a sylvanian family house, tea set etc).

MrsMikeDrop · 29/01/2023 09:28

Where's the colour? I'd put some posters or pictures on the wall. I would never think this was a place for children to play. I agree with PP, get rid of the couch and get some bean bags and/or a nice colourful rug. Maybe google or pintrest playrooms for some inspiration?

FusionChefGeoff · 29/01/2023 09:31

hopeishere · 29/01/2023 09:25

Do an absolutely massive clear out. Be ruthless. Don't buy any more toys for a while.

Get rid of the blind and get some lamps.

Big bright rug.

There's nothing in there!! You should see our playroom - washing line / string across the walls with pegs full of pictures, dressing up rail, bookshelf full of board games, air hockey table, Lego tub, rug, dolls stuff, bean bags.

The sofa is huge and no rug would put me off from playing on the floor.

Definitely get some pictures up on the walls and maybe put laminated pictures on each box / drawer / cupboard of what should be in there?

Rather than each kid having a cupboard, give them a basket with a lid that's easier to rummage in without the avalanche. Keep cupboards for boxed games etc

KItBattingGlove · 29/01/2023 09:33

I will tell you what we did, we started with Trofast and then banked one entire wall in Ikea Pax. My double wardrobe holds a 32" Tv. You can still use the Kallax tubs inside the wardrobe but it gives you far more options to house stuff and hide stuff. It goes without saying that you attach the Pax to the wall securely. We have double wardrobes and singles. We decorated the doors with the children's artwork. It meant everything could be tided away, floor hoovered and mopped.

Trofast/Kallax is great but limits you by the cube size. We have had the Pax wardrobes in this house for over a decade. They are sturdy and easy to change the interior when needed as needs change.

Add colour, paint the walls something far more interesting, do a mural, add massive stickers, this is their playroom, make it fun.

SlinkySienna · 29/01/2023 09:36

This kind of thing is lovely. It's from Pinterest so obviously is a lot fancier than most people would have but this is the kind of layout I'd have. Toys along the walls, play area in the middle. I think tv is unnecessary in a playroom as it discourages actual play. I'm boring though and don't have a TV in my house!

Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)
buckeejit · 29/01/2023 09:38

That's so tidy. I'd go for more kallax like pp

BlueSpool · 29/01/2023 09:54

Yes, we definitely need more colour and kids artwork, I have bought a load of posters on amazon but haven't hung them yet. I have a huge wall of kids artwork in the living room that I need to migrate to the playroom.

I'd be reluctant to get rid of the tv as it's the only one we have downstairs. I do love the idea of kids baskets instead of cupboards.

I really like the pic that slinky shared, and I think that having the clear plastic boxes with everything visible could work really well.

OP posts:
KItBattingGlove · 29/01/2023 09:58

The Kallax cubes, Dronas are 33w x 38d x 33h whereas a double wardrobe internal space is 96 ish cm wide, 58cm deep and however tall you want as you determine the shelf height. You could even have the Kallax with the Pax either side. You don't need to put doors on them, you can have them open and use clear Samla boxes from Ikea.

My children have had their playroom since they were 6 and 3, they are now 19 and 16. The Pax grows with them and doesn't limit space to a cube. You can rotate toys using the higher shelves or even on top. They have Kallax in their bedrooms.

As you have an age gap between oldest and youngest you could have a wardrobe each almost. I have a 4m run of them in my DC's room.

BlueSpool · 29/01/2023 10:19

Yes, we have wall-length pax upstairs in 2 rooms but I'd be a bit reluctant to have them in the playroom as I think the top shelves would be unreachable and so would be redundant in a way.

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 29/01/2023 10:29

We have loads of Kallax! I have 2 boys aged 1 and 4 - you might need to adapt advice for age/interests.

One day, the kids dumped out every single box on the floor, I took it as an opportunity to sort everything into piles/categories.

That meant I could chuck out any broken or worn out stuff.
Sneak out anything outgrown/no longer wanted and put into a donate box.
Locate parts that always migrate away from the toy they need to be used with (put these aside, including the main part)
Any duplicates that weren't useful (e.g. two toy horses = fine, but two incompatible marble runs = frustrating) I got rid of the worst one.
Any categories that were insanely exploding (for us, it's toy cars) I weeded out some, although not many if they could reasonably all be used in a game. I went through all the craft/art stuff and got rid of anything dried up or used up.

Then this is what I'd do.

Large toys (e.g. for us, these are mostly large sized vehicles) go in an empty square of their own, low down and easy to access/put away.

Bord books in low open squares. Easy to get out and put away. Delicate books on higher squares (or in a separate bookcase)

Toys which have specific parts which go with them and are useless without (e.g. shape sorter) or board games and puzzles go into an empty square, but slightly higher than the kids can reach themselves, meaning you only take them down when they ask for help. If they are older, then you could make a rule: These toys need to be put away again when finished with. However, keeping them visible helps because when tidying up, rather than just sling the shapes from the shape sorter into a generic toy box, you see the shape sorter and can put them easily in. Designate a box/open square near the top as a "lost pieces box" so if you find board game or puzzle pieces but can't immediately and easily access the correct box, they go into this box instead. That means they don't immediately go missing again. On discovering a puzzle/game/toy with missing part, check this box first.

Toys which need more supervision (e.g. playdough, crafts, kits) go right at the top perferably inside a cupboard so that they can't immediately be seen. Or if you have stuff to store in there that's off season (outdoor toys) or isn't really a toy (chargers, anything that's not a toy)

For the rest, colourful pull-out drawers with labels stuck on the front with tape saying what should go in them. For us we have:

Food / shopping
Role play / dolls
Cars / trains / vehicles
Farm animals
Musical / noisy
Baby toys (but this is soon to be retired)
Chunky vehicles / Playmobil 123
Construction / blocks / tools
Roads / signs / props

I don't have rules as such about how many drawers can come out at once, but it makes it easier to clean up when everything has a set place, even if it's sometimes ambiguous (is this vehicle chunky or not, does the plastic tree go with animals or road props) - it just helps. And I find they tend to take 1-2 out at a time and then they have a little self-contained module of relevant toys that they can use all together in a game, rather than having a box which has three saucepans, four cows, two dinosaurs, three non-matching pieces of road or fence, some lost pieces from a puzzle, a screwdriver that they both fight over etc - that means they have to get every box out to look for more tools or cooking stuff and it makes a huge mess.

You do have to go through periodically and remove stuff from boxes that isn't meant to be there and return it to the one it's supposed to be, and with the youngest being so little I am fairly often (6 monthly or so) shuffling what is in each box as the older ones become less relevant. But in general, it works and is helpful.

A colourful rug, or a rug with play value e.g. different coloured patches (can be used for all kinds of pretend rooms or zones), hopscotch design, printed road layout etc would also brighten up the room and be soft to sit on.

BertieBotts · 29/01/2023 10:43

Looking at your photos again, I think I'd stack board games and puzzles and kits on top of the shelving.

Use the cupboards under the TV for game console type accessories, cables, DVDs if you have them, etc. The drawers in the centre could hold basic art supplies if your kids are old enough not to get them out by themselves and make a mess (or even if they are too young - drawer locks like for a kitchen?)

Large ish toys can go on that shelf under the TV. The top cupboards for things that need more supervision - playdough, paints, glue/glitter, hama beads, marble run, maybe electronics.

The rest of the cubes, or at least the ones on the bottom two rows, fill with brightly coloured boxes. Ikea seem to have a green stripy one and a red one with flowers and a see through one with cats. A shame as they always used to do plain bright colours - maybe they will again in future, you could always use the black ones you have for now and change them at a later date.

UnattendedPotato · 29/01/2023 11:18

A rug, an easel to the right of the TV, move the storage further to the left. Pp said a playing surface under TV with kallax on its side, more dvala boxes in colour.

Need playroom/kallax organisation inspiration (pics included)
UnattendedPotato · 29/01/2023 11:20

I've you've money to burn you should have a left handed sectional not a right as you're blocking the flow to the light source. Sofa in other direction would hold with playroom containment.

itsgettingweird · 29/01/2023 11:34

Get rid of the sofa. Get bean bags etc.

It takes up so much space they could play in.

4x4 kallax along walls with clear boxes and also brightly coloured material inserts.

Big items will fit on top and you can have a 2x4 on its side under the tv.

I'm laughing at the poster who suggested a huge cull. You hardly have anything for a playroom!

BlueSpool · 29/01/2023 18:55

I know it looks like I hardly have anything, but I actually do, it's just bunged in boxes and cupboards in the kallax! 🙈 We don't have much free standing stuff I guess.

I'm reluctant to get rid of the sofa because it's the only place downstairs that we can all sit and watch a movie 🤔

I'd love to rearrange the units that we have, but the end of the room near the window is a weird non-uniform shape so we can't shift the whole kallax unit down there. I know the piano and shape/bulk of the sofa doesn't help though cos they can't really be moved or rearranged.

It's such a huge pity that Ikea don't sell the colourful boxes anymore!

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