Before I was even pregnant with Hector, I was a veritable wicker basket addict. Where some women have a penchant for shoes or make-up, I was a complete sucker for a handsome bit of storage. I’m sorry to say that not much has changed although I feel that I am somewhat justified in this state of affairs now I have a baby boy.
The need for storage has increased threefold with Hector’s arrival. Miniature tubs for nappies and wipes, medium sized baskets for teddies and books and super-sized storage for activity tables, jigsaws and train sets. I am, you’ve probably guessed by now, one for a bit of order and organisation…well as much as you can be when you have a one year old in tow.
Luckily, my mother informs me, things have changed somewhat since we were small children and now there’s a whole host of beautiful storage options for us mamas so we can hide all kinds of plastic monstrosities (what is it with kids and brightly coloured plastic?!) at the end of the day when the kids have gone to bed.
Here is my round-up of the top twelve small to medium size storage solutions available to purchase right now. Which one will be your favourite…?
Sheep Bookcase: Rowen & Wren £92
This exquisite wooden sheep bookcase from Rowen and Wren is (and has been for a while now) on my wishlist for Hector’s room. Whilst the design is obviously geared towards kids’ tastes and desires, it’s sweet enough for adults without being overly twee. Granted its price point means that this is an investment piece but as with all Rowen & Wren products you can guarantee that is has been beautifully made and thus worth every penny.
Perfect for little hands, the divides on this bookcase have been made wide enough to not only tidy away books but to also hold toys and general bits and pieces too. Plus all corners have been perfectly rounded off to mitigate any potential human and sheep collisions. I’ve got my eye on the plain wood version but it does come in black too. Definitely one for the Christmas list I think…
Large Lego Storage Box: This Modern Life £30
Lottie tells me that this supersized Lego storage box, which she is the proud owner of, is crazy good!
Designed to stack, just like the original LEGO bricks, they can be used to play and build with or to simply keep toys neatly packed away using them as storage boxes. The bricks come in a range of colours, including black, red, blue, grey, white, aqua, lemon yellow and pink so there is a brick for pretty much every colour scheme going. Measuring 50cm long and 25cm wide for the large version and half that length for the smaller version they’re a decent size whilst looking great too!
Available from This Modern Life but also on sale at John Lewis too (in case you collect points like me!)
Picture Ledge: Ikea From £4.50
Stop Press! Now I might be completely barking up the wrong tree here but it appears that the much loved Ikea Ribba Picture Ledge might be discontinued! Oh my giddy aunt. However all is not lost; in its stead it appears that two brand new picture shelves have arisen from the ashes and are on sale right now.
Meet Mosslanda and Knoppang. Both ledges are almost the same but taller, deeper, and with a an added notch out of the base to secure pictures more safely than its predecessor in the middle of the ledge. Pop over to the website to take a look at them in more detail.
I think it’s safe to say that every single member of the Rock My Family team has a Ribba shelf or two in their home. Perfect for stacking books, showcasing prints and keeping prized trinkets out of little ones’ reach as demonstrated in the image from Hector’s nursery, you can’t really go wrong with a picture ledge shelf. Plus starting from a bargainous £4.50 it doesn’t matter if you need to replace them in a few years time.
Drawstring Sack: Play & Go at Molly-Meg From £27.50
If you’ve ever seen the meme ‘there are three levels of pain; pain, excruciating pain and stepping on a lego’ and understood instantly what it refers to then this drawstring sack is for you. Whilst Hector isn’t interested in Lego yet I’ve got my eye on this drawstring number from Molly-Meg for when he comes of age.
You see it’s a bit clever this sack; not only does it function as a handy storage bag but the design doubles up as a play mat when laid out flat. When it’s no longer in use, simply clear it away in one swing without the need to pick up hundreds of thousands of pieces of little tiny bits of plastic hell.
Portable and hard wearing – you can also take it with you to trips to the park or beach. Bingo!
Half Moon Fabric Basket: Ferm Living at This Modern Life £59
Granted this half moon print fabric storage by Ferm Living isn’t cheap at £59. But…I do really like it so I couldn’t not include it.
Made from organic cotton and kitted out with brown leather handles, its large size means that it can be used in any number of ways. Use it for storing clothes or toys, towels or laundry and you’ll find that it performs all jobs admirably. Plus its fabric composition means that it folds neatly, so takes up very little space if you need to stash it away.
Rattan Basket: H&M Home £14.99
Whilst this would look just at home in a stylish living room, I liked the idea of the handles and thus the portability of this Jute storage container (anything to make life easier for us mamas).
Perfect for monochrome nurseries or actually any kids interior this basket is the perfect size for medium sized toys and even to store little shoes next to the front door for example. At £14.99, it’s cheap enough to purchase two or three and stack them up next to each other which would look pretty snazzy too.
Paper ‘Clothes/ Toys’ Sack: Molly-Meg £7.00
These super-sized paper sacks are having a bit of moment right now and I can completely see why. We have a couple of the blighters, although from a different make, in situ in Hector’s room and they’re so useful (and cheap too!). Perfect for chucking in larger toys at the end of a busy day when all you can be bothered to do is to do one huge sweep of the hand and scoop everything in.
I also love the fact that these sacks are labelled up with different categories for when they’re a bit older too – love a bit of an educational tool me.
Blue Knitted Basket: John Lewis £22
Granted this blue knitted bit of storage doesn’t technically appear in the baby/kids section of the John Lewis website but I don’t see why we should feel restricted to these parts of the store when kitting out their rooms.
Available to buy in either this blue/grey or in white cable knit, I love the fact that the basket is sturdy but soft enough for little fingers; plus it looks sophisticated yet cosy too.
Bunny Felt Basket: H&M Home £7.99
We purchased the bat version of this felt basket last year which they seem to have replaced with a cute bunny instead. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a cat or dog next year as I know Hector would love this. The basket isn’t as large as some of the other options shared above but it is handy for keeping smaller babies entertained.
We used to fill the bat with all kinds of smaller toys when Hector was younger and take it with us on car journeys and on our family holiday to Bedruthan which you can read about here. Many a happy hour has been spent taking things out and putting toys back in the basket with glee. Definitely one to recommend!
Bear Print Sack: Buddy & Bear £10
Another day, another cutesy sack…this time from Buddy & Bear at This Modern Life. We love the simple print of the bear in a crown which would complement pretty much any nursery scheme.
Like the Ferm Living half moon bag, this sack is also ideal for storing toys, bedding, clothes or laundry. The sack has a drawstring at the top as well as a sturdy hanging loop to string it up at the end of a day.
Felt Storage Basket: H&M Home £9.99
We actually have this felt storage basket in charcoal grey and I can’t rave about it enough. It’s a bit like Mary Poppin’s bag in that you can fit tonnes inside it despite not looking all that big on the outside. Costing less than a tenner, you can even chuck the basket in the wash too when it’s looking a bit on the grubby side. I’m tempted to get another one in black…
Round Alibaba Basket: The White Company £45
Another storage solution in residence in Hector’s nursery which you can see more of here, and one which I heartily recommend.
Whilst it wasn’t originally intended to be a part of his room, I’m actually really glad that this huge basket has found its way here. You probably wouldn’t guess that it houses a huge collection of wooden train tracks from Brio with room to spare. It’s at the pricier end of the spectrum but you can pretty much always find a 15% or even 20% off voucher by googling for a promotional voucher for the store which brings the price point down a little bit. There’s also a laundry basket available too if you wanted more than one basket to match.
So there you have it, my top twelve favourite storage solutions for nurseries and kids rooms. In the main most of the pieces above will grow with your little ones; perhaps they’ll even get passed on to your grandchildren as well.
I’d love to hear all about your top tips for storage too; are there any brands or stores you think we should know about or perhaps you might share your favourite pieces with us…Let us know in the comments box below.
Drawstring sack in the basket it is then. I need a few of those even for my stuff never mind toys. Just imagine how much quicker tidying is going to get.
Honestly Kat I’m definitely going to invest in some once Hector gets a tad older. If only we could scoop the kids up in the same way!
Great article lolly. I love all of them but currently looking at minene baskets too from John Lewis, really soft and nice colours £26
Xxx
We actually have one of those Rebecca! I use it to store extra packs of nappies and wipes – you know for when you need back ups of back ups! I found Hector inside it the other day cackling to himself with glee!
A friend was asking for suggestions about stylish toy storage last week as she found boxes so not fit into nooks very easily. I will point her in this direction – but did suggest looking at laundry bags/baskets as alternative as they would do the job and can be quite sylish
Happy to help out Claire – and yes laundry bags are always a versatile and handy option!
Whilst the paper bags look great, I’m not convinced they would withstand my 2 year old desperate to get her toys out! Do they not end up ripped and all dog eared?
Not so far Sara – they’re quite tough and actually the more crinkled they get the better they look. Hector is quite enamoured with his and spends hours putting things in and taking things out and so far they’re withstanding his attentions. One thing I do is to turn the top of the bags over so it’s thicker at the top which means it’s harder to rip/tear…
I just bought the belly baskets recently from ollie ella – they are gorgeous. They are fab for toddler toys. We were keeping everything in big wooden apple crates but everything was spilling out and they’re a bit bulky to move around. These are great as she can drag them by the handle or I can pop one in a different room easily. We have 6 of the lego storage blocks for the older 2 and they’ve been fab. They made brilliant props at the boys lego party and although they are completely full of lego they are far nicer to look at than most plastic storage options! I’m happy to have them downstairs in holidays and they look great in their bedrooms the rest of the time. I love the way you can arrange how they stack – and even make them into a motorbike apparently to brum around the house on?!
I’ve heard lots about these belly baskets Amanda and all good things too. Perhaps I should invest in them – are these the ones where some have pom poms sewn onto them?? I’ve definitely got my eye on the lego storage blocks for when Hector is older – and we need to hear lots more about this lego party! And the motorbike thing?? Don’t tell my husband – he’s a motocrosser!
The belly baskets are so lovely – and the newest thing in my house – so novelty-tastic at the moment. They’ve been a game changer for the under-the stairs dump of toys. There are ones with pom poms but I decided they would get pulled at too much and I loved the dipped painted ones so got the large one in white and the small one in mint. They fit far more in than I expected – I just thew a hen party and think I got away with looking slightly like we had a grown up tidy house.
So glad I saw this and you mentioned the shelves, just got round to ordering some ribba shelves last week and was distraught to not find them…! Thank you for flagging up and describing their equivalents. IKEA can be a bit of an ocean when you dont have the original to compare like for like! ?
Ahhhhh Sophie I totally feel your pain. When I was pulling this post together I almost had a heart attack when I discovered that they no longer existed! I actually have four in their wrapping due to go up in the new house but am considering selling them now as they won’t match the other ninety nine Ikea shelves I’ll invariably end up ordering!
Love this post! I’m all for organised toys and, like you, have a penchant for storage baskets (sadly I had this issue even before the babies came along). Now I have two kids the number of toys is OUT OF CONTROL. So we’ve bought a kallax unit from IKEA, which if we are being honest, isn’t my first choice of living room furniture. We got the gloss one in an attempt to make ourselves feel better about the purchase! We also have other baskets and bags dotted about. I’m excited that my shop is going to stock the dipped belly baskets and the fab paper bags as I think they just look so lovely. However, does anyone have any tips on how to store the big toys – the walkers, wooden scooters and ride-on fire engines of the world?! It drives me crazy and they end up under the dining table of an evening and I sit on the sofa getting annoyed at their presence! Maybe I should just put them in my office every night and bring them out again in the morning!
I would love to know how to store the big toys too Joanna – Currently I have to stack them up every evening in the corner of the room and it’s doing my head in! I’m definitely having a window seat made complete with large lid so I can shove most of the toys in there once Hector’s gone to bed once the house refurb is complete!
Hi, may I introduce you to Ginger & May? We stock the Minene baskets and they receive fabulous reviews – loads around our house too, for everything from toys to the ironing pile. Olli Ella’s pom pom baskets and some of their other basket designs are also available, as well as some gorgeous drawstring backpacks from Mimi ‘Lou which are perfect for small toys like cars or things like socks and tights. We hang them at child-height from a hook-board on the wall and also on the back of the bedroom door handle – look great!