As with any shared bedroom, space gets tighter as the kids get older. Currently we have an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old sharing a bedroom, which is fine. The only problem we are finding is that they have so much more stuff now. We needed to sort out a more efficient storage system in their room.

Our ‘4 by 2’ Kallax unit was not big enough for our current needs. Toys, stationery, board games and books were overflowing on top of the unit, on the floor and into our living room.

The children’s drawers were overflowing, with Lily’s clothes in the corridor. So it was time to get them actual wardrobe space, as well as a bigger unit to store their toys, games and books. The photo on the left shows how it was before – it wasn’t bad, it just needed to have enough storage space. The photo on the right shows the after, with our new storage system in place.

Toy Storage – Ikea Kallax

We got the Ikea Kallax 182cm x 182cm unit (5 by 5) in white. It’s big, but worth it! We can store so much now. We already had 5 Drona boxes, so I ordered 5 new grey ones to make it 10 in total. Four shelves in the centre were for books, like a library. Other boxes contained Lego, vehicles, Peppa toys, Trolls toys, dolls, dolls clothes. Board games and other boxed toys could be slotted in quite easily.

I also ordered 3 of the Ikea “Kallax Inserts with 1 Shelf”. I bought loads of Curver 13L baskets from Tesco, which fit perfectly, as you can see in the below photo. This means we can find smaller toys easier by storing them in these baskets.

Soft toys are stored in their mobile units, which are from a previous PR collaboration with Vertbaudet (the fox basket and mobile storage chest).

Next I will talk about the wardrobes.

Wardrobes – Ikea Småstad / Platsa

We got the kids one Småstad/Platsa wardrobe each, with different coloured handles to differentiate the two. They are the same height as the Kallax unit, so we put one of either side of it and it works well.

The little accessories make the unit even more practical, like the Lätthet hooks to hang bags off.

Inside the wardrobe, we put the rail at a height that Tyler could reach on his own, and replicated in Lily’s wardrobe, which she will eventually be able to reach in the future. I bought children-sized white wooden hangers from Dunelm, which I think adds to the look. There is just something about matching hangers, it looks clean and neat.

For the top drawers I got 4 Rassla boxes (25 x 41 x 9cm) with compartments, which make it easier to find socks and underwear, and they make it easier to put them away neatly too.

The handles on the doors and drawers are Begripa and I actually had to drill holes into the mdf to attach them on. It was a proper faff but I did it. I look at them proudly, like, I did that!

Lily was most excited to have her own wardrobe, after 4 years of her life having her clothes in the corridor! She eagerly put her clothes in, deciding which drawer was for what.

Of course pyjamas got a big drawer, and this was her folding system!

Once the new storage was in place, I put back up our seaside bunting and clock. I think this whole side looks really good and it is so practical. Definitely makes our living space more liveable.

The next part of our makeover for this room is to change the double bed for bunk beds. I will keep you posted!

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