If you've ever been around young children, you know how important the storage solutions are for their rooms! We're not talking just storage for toys, but all their belongings including clothes and books. For such little people, they do know how to create clutter so the need for efficient organisation and plenty of smart storage solutions is essential.

Kids' rooms do tend to be much smaller than other rooms in a home, which can sometimes make organizing and storage more difficult. On occasion, there are often no wardrobes in the rooms either but there are so many clever and effective storage solutions to assist any room type (and child), all achieved with a little bit of planning!

Basic Considerations
For the storage to be useful and effective – and USED by your child, they need to be able to use it with ease.

• One of the most important things to consider is being accessible – this means located at a reasonable height where your child can access it easily. They should be able to pack away their things after playing or doing homework etc. If you make this too hard, you may find that it just won't get done unless you do it. When trying to make the most of wall space, however, explore unique accessible options that kids will find 'fun' such as roller ladders that will give them access to higher shelves.
• Safety features are important in all children's furniture. Make sure the storage solutions you purchase have safety features that make them safe to operate and use.
• Sometimes your child may inherit chests, drawers or other furniture as hand me downs. Or you may find some great deals at a garage sale or flea market. Always inspect them for safety and check to see that they function correctly.

Bed Storage Solutions
The space under the bed provides ample storage and there are many solutions to suit to ensure it is kept tidy.
There are a range of kids' beds that come with under the bed storage options. Often these are built in or you can opt to add them. Alternatively, there are under-the-bed drawers that you can get, which are usually on casters, making it easy to pull them out.

The other option, which would be an affordable way to create under the bed storage, is to store bins, boxes or baskets under the bed that can be pulled out and pushed back as needed. There are plenty of choices in all price ranges, and you can coordinate style and colour so that the room looks put together. As it is an affordable option, it also gives you flexibility to change the look/colour etc without breaking the budget as your child transitions through their 'phases'.

For slightly older and more studios children, there is the Desk/Bed option which provides a two-in-one solution for space saving. If you haven't seen these, you can view an example here from Hidden Bed. Here you can store their desk materials underneath their bed and allow them to move between the two zones simply. It is a great solution to a common storage problem.
Use Walls and Doors
As touched on earlier, a good option to consider with small rooms is to utilise the ample wall-space. Installing shelves on the walls, will free up useful floor space. Doors can be fitted with hooks or over the door hangers to hold clothes or hanging pockets. Utility ropes tied to hooks can be used on the walls to create display areas for artwork or pictures with the help of clips.

Utilise Fitted Storage
Where possible, built-in storage such as cupboards, closets, or shelving should be incorporated into the room. Putting doors on them is even better, as this allows you to close off and hide any clutter. The insides of cupboard or closet doors can be fitted with hanging pockets to hold smaller objects, and baskets or boxes can be placed on shelves to make organising even easier.
Find Functional Furniture
Children's furniture, these days, is usually designed with additional functionality included. Headboards that come with shelves, or have hidden storage areas, changing tables, once outgrown, can be used for storing a child's toys or other belongings, desks come with drawers and shelves (or turn into a bed, as previously mentioned) or a window seat can provide seating as well as storage. Research what it is you need in terms of storage and consider the stages of life your child will have in their chosen room. Furniture that can stand the test of time through clever design is always going to be a good buy.

Re-purpose Items for Storage
Something that may not scream out to you as a 'Kids Room' product may actually be perfect with a little re-purposing and decoration. For example, office storage items are often very clever and robust so with a little creative flair they'd fit right in your child's room. Or another example could be the use of small kitchen islands on casters can also find a different lease on life in a child's room. Metal tool kits can act as great receptacles for children's objects. They are practically indestructible, too. Once you start looking around the possibilities for re-purposing may seem endless.

So with a bit of creativity, planning and research you will find there are many possibilities available for creating storage and space in your child's room. The key will be in teaching them how to then use it....that's a blog piece you might find elsewhere. Good luck and we'd love to see posts of your rooms on our Facebook and Instagram pages

Clare Macintosh
Home Ideas