The perfect storage solution for toys and games

April 01, 2016

We finished the basement years ago and have thoroughly enjoyed having this extra space. Our family room upstairs isn't big so having a huge space to play and lounge in is fantastic. 

What's even better is I just have to yell "basement!" when the Bub and his friends play -- having all the toys down there is about the greatest thing ever. In the history of ever

As we went through the toys and starting clean up I was reminded of how much I adore the extra storage we had added down there. We have a 17 foot wall that was just blank space before -- you can't see the expanse of it in this photo but it's one of the best I can find (the wall with the TV): 

Years before the basement was finished I knew that wall would be the perfect spot for some incredible storage. And I was right. ;) We had help with the build and then I finished off the top with planked wood and stain: 

Incredible right?? It still makes me swoon a little bit, not gonna lie. 

Later I added some bins from Target for more functional storage: 

You can see more about those and the DIY labels I made here. :) 

I left some of the cubbies open so we could place bigger toys and boxes inside. Most of them are the same square size, some are slightly wider (I wanted the middle set wider in size to accommodate the electronics). It has been wonderful and functional storage over the years!: 

You can see more about those floating shelves here -- I'm still debating on adding some to the other side. We don't need a ton of shelving so I'll continue to sit on that for a while.

Do you think there's such a thing as TOO much storage in a house? I think there is. Even when we had these built I thought about the fact that someday we wouldn't have toys to put in them -- what would we fill the cubbies with?

I quickly realized we'll use these for years to come. Even though my son has grown out of many of his toys, he still likes to keep a bunch, even if he doesn't play with them quite as much. Oh how I wish Nerf guns fit into these cubbies!! ;)

But now we have a grandson (my stepdaughter's son) who loves to play with them, and my nephews and nieces love the toys too. It makes me happy to know we'll have toys down here for quite some time:

I don't think we'll be in this house when we're old and gray, but if we are I'll fill the baskets with pillows and blankets and add some decor to the cubbies. ;) And when we move someday I know another family will love them!

This build was one of our best additions to the house as far as form and function goes. We all love it!

Oh, and by the way -- a couple years ago I added some felt to the bottom ofthose baskets. I just cut it to size and hot glued it on. The baskets started tearing up the paint a little bit and the felt on the bottom eliminates that problem completely. Love it. Just a quick tip for you!

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Comments

  1. Yes to felt on the bottom of baskets! It is a must right off the bat or you are looking at scratch marks and tempted to repaint.

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  2. Wow, very Impressed with that storage idea.

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  3. I would build this but keep a few of the spaces 2 cubes wide. Then you can store longer objects like nerf guns!

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  4. This is the project that started me following you back in the day. It is such a great idea and makes for wonderful storage!

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  5. i love your storage shelves, it all looks so pretty! Hugs,

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  6. Ever think about putting some doors on some of the shelves? I just know what a bad "duster" I am and a few doors would mean less dusting. I always think the same thing about open shelving in a kitchen: dust! I guess it's not a big deal to some people, but I end up not doing it!

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  7. We are having the same kind of weather here - sunny one minute, raining the next. And snow is coming tonight - wahhhhhhh! Love that storage - I would have been so happy to have that when my girls were little and had a bazillion toys!!

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  8. Oh yeah, welcome to Indiana weather. Friday we got severe storms and saturday we got snow. This Spring season I want to say has been weird but this happened last year too. LOL

    I am loving your storage, and I totally agree with you. There is no such thing as too much storage!

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  9. I love this!!! I want to do something similar (and a whole lot smaller) for my makeup collection. I need to get organized and start storing all of my makeup and beauty products properly!

    Mel | www.thegossipdarling.com

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THANKS so much for reading!