Help me Ikea shop

[BrittaPerry]

I need Ikea guidance!

Limited budget, but hoping to add to anything I buy as and when we can afford/need/move, so needs to be one of the modular systems (expedit?)

We need to organise the fairly small playroom. It also needs clothes storage for two little girls (currently 5 and 2). Main toys are a fairly extensive fancy dress collection, wooden train set, toy farm, toy musical instruments, books (picture and chapter), art materials, soft toys and the usual general clutter. They also have a tool bench, easel and kitchen that need somewhere to live (yes, I spend too much time in charity shops and not enough tidying up)

I'm thinking of aiming for a wall of expedit, with a gap and wardrobe rail (curtain in front?) and some drawers and boxes in the expedit unit for clothes and toys. We rent, so it needs to work if we have to move, but fairly relaxed landlords so we can fix things to the wall.

Small room (maybe 2.5 by 5 metres) currently covered in clutter. They do tend to take toys around the house, but I try to keep things like the farm and trains in the play room.

First budget is £100, but then I will have about the same every month.

After I've done the playroom, next job is the library, but I'm trying to not even think about that yet...

There is the possibility that we will move to a smaller house where toys and clothes will be in the kids bedroom or toys in the living room (or at least, the house is the same size, but there are less but bigger rooms) so it at least needs to have the potential of looking good.

Hmm, it is a lot to ask...

Trofast are also good value and do lots of variations

The problem with Expedit is that each cube area is limited eg nowhere to put long games boxes, and smaller books that are only half height still take up a full cube.

I would also look at their Besta range: you can get drawers/ doors and adjustable shelves. If budget is tight, start with just the shelf system and add doors and drawers later when you have worked out what you need. Also the narrow depth shelves are perfect for paper backs / DVDs etc.

The glass front doors/drawers you can put whatever paper you want between the glass - we have various maps, but in a playroom you could maybe evn make one a 'whiteboard'? Or put a different colour paper behind each one. Can always change as children get older.

The toys will change - currently large baskets to shove stuff in are fine, but you will get more small pieces that need to be organised / kept separately as they get older so just large baskets won't be enough.

Google 'Ikea hackers'. It's a site where people upload all their good ideas for alternative uses for ikea furniture. There's a childrens section (bedrooms/ playrooms etc) and you may get some ideas suited to the type of things you'd like.

Don't have a rail for fancy dress clothes. They won't be able to hang them up and you will end up doing it. A box or basket it can all be dumped in is much better